Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 133688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
“I’ll work on removing the spray paint.” Dad pats my back. “It’ll look good as new in no time.”
I manage to smile. “Thanks.”
“We can keep it in the back parking lot of the deli. There are security cameras too.”
“That’s a great idea,” Dad agrees.
Five minutes later, Gemma returns with the biggest grin. “All sorted out. You’re gonna stay at Katie’s new house.”
My heart jumps into my throat, and I’m sure I heard her wrong.
“Wait, what?”
“Yep, it took some sweet-talkin’, but she can’t say no to me so…” She shrugs, clearly proud of herself. “Pack a bag because you’re going first thing tomorrow morning. But tonight, you can sleep on our couch.”
“Okay, I’ll be over after I board up that window,” I say, hardly believing any of this.
Once again, I feel like a burden to everyone who has to adjust their lives for me. I’m determined to figure out who this coward is and put him through hell. It’s one thing to come at me because of what I’ve done, but you leave my family the fuck alone.
My blood boils at how they’re harassing others to get to me. I wonder if they hope I’ll lose my support system since they’re being targeted by association. This person highly underestimates the people I’ve surrounded myself with because nothing will change how protective they are of me. Tyler, for one, is someone I trust with my life. Though we’ve got to know each other when he accompanied my sister during their short monthly visits, seeing him nearly every day for the past month has cemented our friendship.
“You sleep okay?” Gemma asks when I make my way to the kitchen.
I stretch my arms over my head and crack my back. “You need a new couch. Preferably a longer one.”
She snorts and nods. “Whenever we move, we definitely will. Just for you, brother.”
Tyler strolls in after his shower and cups Gemma’s face before kissing her. She clings to him, and it lasts for a solid thirty seconds.
I clear my throat loudly. “Can we keep it G-rated, please? I don’t need a visual on how you knocked up my sister.”
Gemma glares, and Tyler laughs. “Sorry, man.”
“If you need a tutorial, there are plenty of websites I can show you,” Gemma taunts.
“Nah, just send him to PornHub. Plenty of…educational videos there.” Tyler chuckles as he brews a pot of coffee.
“Yeah, watching that while at Katie’s house is really gonna make things less awkward,” I say, groaning. “Are you certain she’s okay with this?”
“No, but oh well…” Gemma smirks. “Just stay out of her way, and she won’t even know you’re there.”
“Sounds easy enough. She’s dodged and ignored me every time we’ve run into each other, so it shouldn’t be an issue.” I sigh, walking around the counter for a mug since the coffee’s ready.
“Or use the opportunity to help her. She’ll never admit it, but she doesn’t really know what she’s doing,” Gemma says, grinning. “She watches videos and reads up on it, but it slows her down.”
“She won’t speak to me, so I doubt she’ll let me near her tools.”
“Wait…is that a euphemism for something?” Gemma waggles her brows.
“Hormones,” Tyler mouths with wide eyes, signaling for me not to challenge her.
I suck in a breath. “I’m gonna take a shower and get ready to go…”
“We’re leaving in thirty minutes,” Gemma announces as I walk down the short hallway to the bathroom.
Once I’m under the stream of hot water, it doesn’t take long before visions of Katie surface. I’ve thought about her every single day of my life, so today’s not any different. My cock gets hard as I picture her heart-shaped face and ruby lips. I always adored her spitfire attitude. It’s why I fell for her in the first place.
Before Gabe showed up, we used to have movie nights every weekend. We’d sit on my bed, share a large bowl of popcorn mixed with M&Ms, then fall asleep together. I almost had the courage to kiss her one night, but then something in the movie had her bursting out with laughter, and Coke spewed out of her mouth. It sprayed all over my chest, and she couldn’t stop giggling.
Of course, I laughed with her, but as soon as I took off my shirt to wipe off the mess, I saw the way her eyes stared at my chest. Katie licked her lips and quickly averted her gaze when she realized I’d caught her.
That was when I should’ve made my move, but I fucking chickened out. The self-conscious part of me took over, so instead of kissing her, I created more space between us.
Didn’t stop my fantasies every time I took a shower.
“You ready?” Gemma asks as I stroll into the kitchen with my duffel bag and air mattress.
“Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”
“Eh, don’t worry,” Tyler says. “What’s the worst that can happen? She poisons you and feeds you to the gators?” He chuckles, patting me on the back.