Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
She smiled tentatively back at me.
“Bye Mr. Martin,” she murmured, swinging her purse over her shoulder. And with that, the two of them were gone, the door swinging shut, the elevator dinging in the hall. It was only then that I let my shoulders slump in the privacy of the kitchen. There was the problem of Jonah, sure, and his surly demeanor, the way he was so ungrateful for everything he had in life, even though he’d been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. But that was going to take years to change, I couldn’t mend our father / son relationship so quickly, with a snap of my fingers. I could only go at it again and again with patience.
But there was also the issue of Ally, because like it or not, my body was aroused around the female, even during this short encounter. Sure, she’d been standing off to the sidelines as Jonah and I sparred, a mere observer, but I’d been keenly aware of her, every nerve aroused, every sense attuned to the beautiful brunette. How could I not be? The woman was stunningly beautiful, fetching and tempting in that red dress, her curves busting out to there, those brown curls framing that angelic face. And shit, but the temptress was here for five days … five days living under my roof, and I didn’t know how I was going to survive.
CHAPTER THREE
Alison
The music pounded as we neared the apartment.
“Are you sure this is it?” I asked hesitantly.
Jonah just nodded, his face brightening as we drew near.
“Yep, this is the place,” he said with a smirk. “The Joneses never care if their apartment gets trashed, they always let Sarah do whatever she wants.”
And we let ourselves in because the party inside was so raucous that the doorbell was useless, the chime drowned out by the blare of music.
“Hey hey hey!” yelled Jonah over to a group of towering boys. None of them even looked his way, he was an ant too small to notice. But a woman did sweep towards us, her blonde hair in a topknot that made her appear even taller than her six feet plus.
“Jonah,” breathed the woman, stooping to give my boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. And was it my imagination, or did he twist his chin so that her mouth landed on the corner of his lips, almost like he was angling for a real kiss? I shook my head, it was probably just the madly flashing strobe lights, my senses were playing tricks on me.
But my boyfriend was eager to introduce us.
“Sarah, this is Ally, my girlfriend,” he said meaningfully, making eye contact with the blonde. “Ally goes to Hudson too.”
And I stuck my hand out for a shake, but the blonde merely simpered at me.
“Oh, you’re Jonah’s new fling, very interesting,” she said with a sneer. “That girl out from the boondocks right? You’re from where again?”
And I blushed, feeling like a bumpkin here at this rockin’ New York party.
“Minnesota,” I said quietly. “The Twin Cities.”
“Where is that again, I’m sorry?” asked the woman airily. “Flyover country right?”
And I felt my temperature rocket, a burn in my cheeks. For her information, the Twin Cities were a major metropolitan area with a plethora of cultural activities. Minneapolis-St. Paul had multiple museums, our own symphony, our own ballet troupe, and dozens of professional sports teams. So yeah, maybe we weren’t fancy schmancy, but we weren’t idiots either, and I resented her for implying that.
“Minnesota-St. Paul is a gorgeous area,” I said tightly, “and a lot of big businesses are based in the city, like Target and Best Buy.”
“Oh, right,” said the woman with a dismissive sniff. “You mean Tar-gay of course, I don’t shop there.”
My temp skyrocketed again.
“Well, whether you shop there or not,” I said stiffly, my eyes shooting sparks. “The company employs lots of people and is on par with any Fortune 500 business.”
But Sarah didn’t care and had already turned away.
“Jonah,” she purred, “What have you been up to?” she asked, licking her lips. “College going well for you?”
Jonah clung to her every word.
“Hudson has been so amazing,” he boasted. “I’m pledging a frat, you know one of the elite ones with the raunchiest guys, and I’ve met so many women, including beautiful girls like Ally here,” he said, slinging an arm around my waist. I pulled back a little, gazing at him oddly. It was true Jonah was pledging a frat but it wasn’t one of the elite ones by a long shot. It was the one where dudes sang a cappella all the time, serenading late into the night while doing synchronized dance moves. What was going on? Why was Jonah making out like he was someone he wasn’t? To impress this towering blonde woman? It couldn’t be, he couldn’t possibly think that Sarah would be interested.