Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75285 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75285 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“Online?” I asked.
“Yeah. I paint, I upload a high-resolution digital picture of it, then people pay a price to print it out, have it framed, and shipped to them.”
“Sounds very impersonal.”
“It is, but it keeps my pockets lined until I can do what I really want,” she said.
“Which is?”
“Open my own gallery, hold my own showcases, and sell my own art.”
Her face lit up as she talked about it. She walked me through her dream gallery and how she would lay it out. The color scheme and the business model and even how much it would take to renovate a building and make it happen. I was impressed with her passion and how well thought-out her plan was.
I was interested in listening to her as she talked about it, and it had been a long time since I’d felt that way about anything.
Or anyone.
“Okay, Lanie. Time for bed,” I said after a while.
“But I’m not tired.”
“Yes, you are. You’re falling asleep next to Amanda,” I said.
“Can she tuck me in?” Lanie asked.
“I think you should let your uncle tuck you in,” Amanda said. “And maybe I could do it some other time.”
I wasn’t keen on her promising that to Lanie, but it got Lanie moving toward her bedroom, so I let it slide.
When I came back out to the kitchen, Amanda was already cleaning up. She was storing the pot of soup in the fridge, and I could see all the dishes had been put in the sink. I went over and started washing them as she went over to wipe down the table, and I felt us settling into a natural rhythm. Dancing around each other in the kitchen as we both tried to clean up.
And every time she passed by me, I got a whiff of her perfume.
“Brian?”
“Yep?”
“How the hell is a man like you single?”
The question caught me off guard, and I panned my gaze over to her.
“What?”
“Oh, come on. Don’t give me that. You’re good looking, you can cook, and you’re obviously well off by the state of this cabin. Why are you single?”
I lowered my gaze to the floor before I continued cleaning the dishes at the sink.
“Wasn’t always the case,” I said.
“I knew it. Someone has your heart,” she said.
I grunted but didn’t answer.
I glanced over at Amanda as she made her way to the corner of the counter. She hopped up onto it as I began stacking dishes in the dishwasher. Her legs swung off the edge and dangled in mid-air, swinging as if to tease me. I wanted to reach out and grab them. I wanted to pull her body firmly into mine. I wanted to growl in her ear that it was none of her damn business before I pushed her to her knees and whipped my cock out for her to suck.
But I felt compelled to talk to her, and that was something I hadn’t experienced before.
Not with anyone, in fact.
“I was married once.”
Amanda’s eyes settled onto the side of my face as I drew in a deep breath.
“But, things didn’t work out. Ended up being the shittiest decision I’d ever made with my life, quite frankly.”
“Why?” Amanda asked. “What happened?”
That was something I wasn’t ready to talk about.
“Just things. It’s not important. What about you?”
“There was until he turned out to be a jackass.”
“How so?” I asked.
“Just things,” she said.
I stacked the last dish in the dishwasher before I closed it up and looked at her.
“Things, huh?” I asked.
“Yes, sir. Just things.”
My cock twitched at her voice calling me ‘sir.’
“Do you ever get into town much?” Amanda asked.
“Not really. Unless we need food,” I said.
“So you really are a recluse up here.”
“I guess.”
“Don’t you get lonely?” she asked.
I could see her eyes raking up and down my body as I leaned against the counter.
“Not as lonely as you would think,” I said.
“Now that I’m here?” she asked, a slight teasing tone in her voice.
She looked up at me from underneath those long lashes of hers, and I heard my blood pulsing in my ears. I could feel my cock growing with every word that fell from her lips. I was just beginning to notice the outfit she had on. The low-cut shirt with her tits hiked up. Her dark-wash jeans that clung to her legs. The dangling earrings that accentuated the length of her neck.
I took a step back from her before I cleared my throat.
“Speaking of you being here, how’s the state of that cabin of yours?” I asked.
I saw Amanda’s face drop, and I tried not to let it make me feel guilty. I couldn't get wrapped up in her. I couldn't allow my surging urges to fuck anything up. She was a stranger and a young woman who didn’t know where she was going or what the hell she was doing with her life. I already had one child I needed to raise. I didn’t need two.