Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
If she said anything she suddenly realized might be taken the wrong way, she panicked and rushed to rephrase it or apologize for it.
It was like she was accustomed to walking on eggshells, of tiptoeing around the landmines of someone’s fragile ego.
Over the weeks, she’d definitely been stressing about it less and less with me, even to the point of poking fun at me at times, but it still happened on occasion. A knee-jerk reaction that she was plainly still trying to shake.
She was so fucking sweet, too, I couldn’t imagine getting pissed off at her. But some dickheads didn’t need a reason, I guess.
It was nice as fuck to get out.
Sure, I’d run a few errands with my siblings, and went to doctor visits. But it was different to actually get out and feel like a human being. Even if my mobility challenges were… frustrating.
I was just so used to being able to do whatever I wanted to. Having to adjust to needing help and using the chair hadn’t been easy for me. But it was worth it for a little more freedom.
And, yeah, as I noticed AJ’s stilted steps the longer we moved around the town, I had to admit that the chair definitely had one advantage that just walking on my two feet didn’t afford me.
A place for her to sit.
I mean, sure, it was probably a stupid as fuck idea, given how much work it had been taking to stop myself from reacting to her when she was just trying to help me move around.
I woke up fucking hard and aching every morning thanks to images of her.
The crazy shit was it wasn’t even just flashes of catching her occasionally rushing through the house in her sleep outfit of panties and a tee that did it.
It was simple, innocent shit too.
The way she smiled, double dimples and scrunched eyes. Or how she danced around while she cooked. Or as simple as the way she shook her hair out after she came home from work.
Then I’d let her help me with my shirt.
I could have figured it out if I’d actually tried. I’d been getting dressed without her for weeks.
But some selfish part of me wanted her help.
And her nearness almost fucking snapped my control.
If I were capable of actually reaching out and grabbing her without some part of me screaming in protest, I was pretty sure I would have done it at that moment.
Instead, I just stood there, watching as she went all pink and heavy-lidded, as I realized she was just as interested as I had become.
“There you go,” I said, hearing a thickness in my own voice as AJ lowered her ass onto my lap, her legs draped over my one side. “Isn’t that better?” I asked as I willed my cock not to harden.
“My feet are whooshing,” she said, making my lips turn up at the phrase. “These aren’t even heels. I don’t get it.”
“It was a lot of walking,” I said, going ahead and letting myself drape my arm with the fucked shoulder around her, my fingers resting on her hip, as I used my other hand to get the chair moving again.
“Oh, that’s a weird feeling,” she said, her body tensing for a moment before she settled into it.
“You might want to hold on for this,” I said, seeing the curb cut ahead.
Without hesitation, her arm went around my neck.
Across the crosswalk, I could see a group of women smiling sweetly at us. I could practically see their thoughts all over their faces.
How cute is that?
AJ’s arm stayed around me even after the curb cut. And it wasn’t long until she was leaning her head against my shoulder, a gentle pressure that, thankfully, didn’t hurt. Because I liked having her close.
Did I maybe take the long way around to the main lot that required a trip through a narrow, sketchy little alley between a bar and some shops I’d literally never seen open in all the years I knew the area?
Yep.
And I wasn’t even going to feel guilty about it.
I rolled us all the way to the passenger side of the car, and her head finally lifted from my shoulder, looking at me with this dreamy haze in her eyes.
That was the moment.
The one where I could have just leaned forward.
Could have sealed my lips to hers.
But something in me chickened the fuck out.
Then she was coming back to herself, hopping up off of me, and rushing to unlock and open the door, before helping me slip inside.
I watched her as she pushed my chair toward the back of the car, regretting everything that led to that moment of uncertainty.
Because I should have fucking kissed the girl.
But I couldn’t.
And now the moment was gone, and we were back to being fucking roommates.