Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
I eyed the bottle of whiskey rolling around on the floor. It was almost empty. I was tempted to take a sip to fix the pounding in my head. It wasn’t exactly a good idea, but it was sure as shit something I had done before. Instead my eyes shifted to the most important object in the world at the moment.
My phone.
I had texted Dana a couple of times over the past few days. I was trying as hard as I possibly could not to make things worse. We were just starting our relationship.
For Christ’s sake, all I had done was kiss the woman a handful of times! It wasn’t enough. It wasn’t nearly enough.
My heart lurched in my chest when I saw the text notification. She had ignored my messages for the most part. Until this morning.
It only said four little words. Four words that made my stomach do a fucking backflip. Not just a flip either. A flip off a fucking cliff.
I’m ready to talk.
I didn’t think. I didn’t consider the fact that I needed a shower. I didn’t think about anything. I just typed out my own four little words.
I’m on my way.
I went into the bathroom to splash cold water on my face, then realized I needed to do more than that. I turned on the water in the shower full blast, put some toothpaste on a toothbrush and stepped into the icy blast. I brushed my teeth stoically, letting the icy cold water wash my hangover away.
Five minutes later I was on the road, stopping only to get coffee and pastries to go. I got a full box in case the aunties were hungry.
I was so desperate to get back in with Dana, I would feed the whole block. Weed the flower beds. Fix the sagging window sashes.
Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea… it had been in the back of my mind to offer to spruce things up for the aunties before things went awry. Those ladies were classy, sweet, and cool as fuck.
Whether she took me back or not, the aunties were getting an upgrade.
But she would take me back, I vowed. She had to.
If she didn’t, I didn’t know what the fuck I would do.
Beg, probably. Hell, I was ready to beg now.
I parked my bike and walked up the front path to face my destiny.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Dana
“He’s here,” Auntie number two said with a worried look. “Go easy on him,” she added. “He looks nervous.”
“Not too easy,” Auntie number three admonished. “Let a man walk all over you once and before you know it, you’re a rug.”
“Doormat, Auntie,” I said, giving her a kiss. “But I get the gist of it.”
I wasn’t angry with Drake. The truth was, I was looking forward to seeing him. But I did have to talk to him about the yelling. The memories it brought up. Why it was something I didn’t want to be around.
I took a deep breath and opened the door. He stared at me, his eyes wide.
“You look beautiful,” he blurted out. I gave him a tentative smile. “Hi,” he added, looking absolutely miserable and happy to see me at the same time.
I was feeling about the same. I wanted to throw myself into his arms. But I resisted. We had to get some things out in the open, first.
I had to be clear about my boundaries. Auntie said that was important. And I knew she was right.
“Would you like some lemonade? Iced tea?” I offered politely. Auntie had raised me right. I noticed the lace curtains twitch from out of the corner of my eye and hid a grin. She was watching. Probably not by herself, either.
“No, thank you. Unless you are having some,” he added, as if afraid he was depriving me of a drink.
“Not that this moment,” I said, then gestured to the rocking chairs at the far end of the porch. The window was open down there, I noticed. Making it easier for the aunties to eavesdrop.
“Actually, let’s go to this side,” I amended. I didn’t need an audience for this, I decided. I was nervous enough already!
“Whatever you want,” Drake said, looking hopeful and like he didn’t give a damn where we sat, as long as we were together. And then he said exactly that, minus the ‘damn’ of course. The man was trying to be on his best behavior. I blushed and bit my lip, sitting in one of the vintage bentwood rocking chairs that lined the porch. There were at least enough for all the aunties, plus a few spares. It was one of my favorite things about the auntie’s house.
“I’m so sorry I scared you,” he said loudly. He cleared his throat at my startled glance and started again. “Nothing would make me raise my voice to you. But knowing someone had hurt you… well, I lost my grip for a minute there. I can’t remember the last time that happened to me.”