Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
“Mack-N-Cheese?” I bark out a laugh. “That’s your worst?”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’m just getting started, Big Mack.”
“Already been done, babe.”
She eyes me curiously.
“You utilized that one in the ER.”
“Oh God, I really don’t want to talk about all the things I said and did when I was high on morphine.”
Instantly, I think, she probably doesn’t want to talk about what Vicodin and a hot bath make her say and do either. But I definitely keep it to myself.
“Next time I have an emergency, they’re going to have to sedate me, Mack-aroni,” she adds and then giggles again. A real, girlish peal of laughter that leaves her pretty little lips like a song and urges a smile to damn near lift my cheeks to my ears.
“So, are all my nicknames going to be food-based?”
“I’m not sure yet, but it’s highly likely, Mack-aroon.”
I can’t not laugh at the last one.
Damn, this woman, she sure is something.
Once you peel away her prim-and-proper and always-professional layers, her center is soft and gooey and fucking fun. And sexy as hell when she really lets herself go.
Katy twirls her fork on her empty plate, and I smile at the simplicity of her fidget. It took us an hour and a half and two microwave heat-ups to get through our plates between conversation, and I don’t know that I’ve ever had a more interesting night.
We’ve certainly come a long way from the first day we found ourselves in this condo together. Her smiles come easily, and her laughter rings off in waves of chest-seizing melodies. I take a quick swig of the beer I picked up at the market earlier and pause for her reaction to my explanation of my family dynamic.
“Wait a minute… So you’re only a few years older than me, but your parents could basically be my parents’ parents?”
I laugh. “Well…if I followed that sentence correctly, then I think yes. They had me fifteen years after they had my sister, Lizzy. Unexpectedly.”
“Wow.”
“It was great, honestly. I never knew a time when I didn’t have someone interested in what I was doing. My family is supportive in a way that made me want to be supportive of other kids who maybe didn’t get such a lucky draw.”
“The reason you became a teacher.”
I nod. “What about you? What sent you down this path?”
She shrugs. “I’ve always been driven to help people. To set them up for success. My parents had me at sixteen, and a lot of people turned their backs on them. They had a couple of teachers, though, who made it their mission to make sure the three of us had a chance. They tutored them for free to complete their GEDs and even helped set them up with first jobs that could accommodate a kid.”
“That’s incredible.” I smile. I can’t help it. Stories like Katy’s are the kind I live for. It also makes me a little sad that it’s taken us this long to actually get to know each other like this.
“It was what they needed to make it,” she says with an agreeing nod. “And they worked hard. I can’t thank my parents enough for the life they gave me. But out of the three of us, I’ve always been the old soul.”
“And I’m the good-time guy,” I add with a teasing grin. “No wonder you can’t stand me.”
“I never said I couldn’t stand you.”
I chuckle. “Maybe not out loud, but…c’mon, Katy Cat, everyone at Calhoun knows you’re not my biggest fan.”
“No… I mean…” Her cheeks turn a gorgeous shade of pink as she trips over her words. “You’re just…”
“What? Horrible?”
“N-no. I…” She stammers for a moment, and a guilty grin covers her mouth. “I was going to say you’re somewhat of a thorn in my side at work. But, hey. The more I think about it, you’re right. It’s probably the school’s fault for putting our classrooms where they did.”
“You don’t have to try to make me feel better.”
“No, really,” she answers, and her voice rings out with raw honesty. “Most of my issues are noise-related, and well, I guess you are a music teacher. It’s never going to be quiet. I just wish you weren’t right next door. I mean, you have to understand that teaching math to elementary kids with a live concert echoing inside my classroom isn’t exactly easy.”
Damn, I guess I never really thought about it like that.
“And I’d be a real jerk if I didn’t admit that you’ve surprised me on this unexpected vacation,” she says, but her voice is quieter than before. “Besides stealing my wine and donuts, you’ve been really great to me. Who knows, if it weren’t for you, I might’ve let myself bleed out on the beach.”
Inside, I’m fist-pumping the air at her words, but on the outside, I keep my shit together.