Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“I was alone,” I pointed out.
“That was your choice,” he bit out. “It wasn’t mine.”
“I’m sorry that I was overwhelmed and your little girlfriend—”
“I went on two dates with the woman.”
“And your little girlfriend was trying to tank my business,” I continued, ignoring him. “But here’s the thing, I wasn’t dating other people. I didn’t want to see anyone else and clearly, you did.”
“You know how fuckin’ lonely it gets—”
“Oh, give me a break,” I scoffed.
“No,” he said flatly. “You’ve got a ton of family that you can hang with when you’re bored. You’ve always got shit you could be doin’ and I don’t. I’m not from here, Charlie. I don’t have never ending shit to occupy my time. I moved here because Draco’s here and once I did, I was stuck.”
“You’re not stuck.”
“My parole officer is here,” he argued. “I’m here. My job is here. I’m here.”
“How exactly is that my fault?” I asked.
“It’s not your fuckin’ fault.” He looked up at the sky in frustration. “I’m sayin’ that you told me you didn’t want to spend time with me and now you’re pissed that I was hangin’ out with anyone else!”
“Well, I didn’t want to hang with anyone else!”
“Jesus Christ!” he snapped. “Neither did I!”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“You were super fuckin’ clear, Charlie.”
“You’re right,” I said, throwing up my hands. “You’re totally right. I was. Go, do whatever you want. Fuck your way through town.”
“You’re a fuckin’ head case, you know that?”
“Cool,” I snapped. “Then you’re lucky you escaped while you could.”
“For fuck’s sake,” he mumbled under his breath, walking away from me.
I stood there with my arms crossed as he walked to the end of his truck and back again, muttering the entire time. When he got back to me, he leaned down until we were nearly nose to nose.
“To be clear,” he said precisely. “I didn’t fuck anyone.”
“Give it time,” I shot back.
“You’re actin’ pretty fuckin’ jealous for a woman who blew me off.”
“You know exactly why I didn’t want to start a relationship,” I argued.
“That change?” he asked, his face still close to mine.
I wasn’t sure how to answer him.
“Well?” he asked, unwilling to let me off the hook.
“We’re moving the cart this weekend and rebranding,” I said, dodging the question.
“You want to be with me, Charlie?” he asked flat out.
I couldn’t even find the self-preservation to lie.
“Yes,” I bit out. He reached for me, but I shied away without thought.
“What the fuck?”
I swallowed hard. It felt like there was a lump in my throat the size of Texas.
“All I see is you with her,” I said quietly, shaking my head as I laughed at myself.
“We went on two fuckin’ dates and one of those was with other people.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I replied with a helpless shrug. “I look at you and I see you defending her. Getting in my face last night and calling me a bitch.”
“Fuck,” he said, looking down at his feet.
“My parents think I’m in love with you,” I said, scrubbing my hands over my face.
“And what do you think?” he asked quietly.
“I think if I wasn’t, this wouldn’t hurt so bad.”
“Honey,” he said softly, reaching for me again.
“I’m not—” I put a hand out to stop him. “It doesn’t change anything.”
“It changes everything,” he replied simply.
“Not for me,” I said, taking a step backward. “Cause see, pretty sure I loved you before all of this.” I laughed, the sound coming out broken and wrong. “But I thought it could wait until I had shit figured out.” I closed my eyes. “But it wasn’t the same for you. You didn’t wait.”
“What the fuck do you think I’m doin’ here right now?” he asked, his tone making my eye pop back open. He was angry.
“I have no idea,” I replied honestly.
“Charlie, you kicked me out of your room and said I stunk last night—”
“You did.”
“And I still got my ass out of bed at the ass crack of dawn to come lookin’ for you.” He pointed at me. “You’re actin’ like a lunatic, and I’m still standin’ right here.”
“I’m not acting like a lunatic.”
“Why do you think I’m here, honey?”
I stared at him.
“I love you,” he said in exasperation.
“And dating someone else was how you decided to show it. Makes sense,” I replied. Now I was angry again. How dare he say that to me when the night before he’d been with someone else?
“Jesus,” he said, shaking his head as he glared at me. “We’re just gonna keep goin’ round and round.”
“I guess we will,” I said in defeat.
He wanted everything to be better, and I did, too, but I wasn’t there yet. It was all too fresh. As much as I wanted to just step into his arms and let it all go, I couldn’t.
“Listen, you know where I am,” he said, finally. “I’m not goin’ anywhere.”