Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 104151 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104151 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
“I want you to teach me things.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
My dick wanted the same thing. But no way it would happen in hell, heaven, or anywhere between.
“Math?” I asked with a grin. “Literature?”
“I want you to teach me to shoot a gun and use a bow and arrow. And I want to learn how to drive your fishing boat and fillet fresh-caught fish.”
I tapped my fork against my lips for a few seconds. “I’d have to ask your parents.”
Eve frowned, canting her head to the side. “You can’t be serious. I’m an adult. I can vote for the next president. Buy cigarettes. Get an abortion. Or get married. Oh, did I mention I can purchase my own gun?”
She had a good point, but it wasn’t that simple for me. “I think it’s better if I just pay you like I’d pay any other babysitter.”
Twisting her lips, she slowly nodded. “Fine.” She grabbed my plate, scraped the rest of my dinner into the trash, and set the plate and fork into the sink. Then she put the lid on the lasagna dish and gathered it and the paper sack in her arms. “Josh, your applesauce is on the table,” she called on her way to the front door. “I’ll see you later.”
Josh ran past me as I followed Eve.
She shoved her feet into her white sneakers, but with her hands full, she couldn’t get the left shoe past her heel. I squatted before her, untied her shoe, and put it on her correctly. After I finished tying it, my fingers feathered up her calf. I quickly stood the second I realized what I was doing and seemingly had no control over my unexplained impulse to touch her leg.
“You didn’t have to throw my dinner in the trash,” I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. Anything to dismiss what I just did.
But Eve didn’t miss it. She looked like a frozen statue, not so much as a blink. After the longest seconds and most uncomfortable moment of my life, she released a slow breath, rubbing her lips together—and then she fucking smirked. “I only do nice things for people who can return a favor. You don’t know how to reciprocate. You’re a boring rule follower. I’ve never met anyone so square … except for my parents. Good night, Mr. Collins.” She turned and bent forward to push open the screen door rather than asking for help.
“I can carry those home for you,” I said.
“Josh is eating. You can’t leave him alone. I’ve got it.”
“I haven’t paid you.”
She descended the porch stairs. “Think of it as a trial run that didn’t work out. A free trial.”
“Eve—”
I wanted to follow her, but she was right. Josh was eating his applesauce, and while it was unlikely that he’d choke on it, I couldn’t risk it.
I touched her leg.
Could I have been a bigger creep?
CHAPTER SEVEN
MICHAEL JACKSON, “THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL”
Eve
Erin was my biggest competitor in cross country, which meant she was always willing to run with me when I needed to burn off frustration. After depositing the leftover lasagna and bag of ingredients at home, I drove straight to her house because I had a lot of steam and so much to share with my best friend.
“He touched my leg!” I said for the hundredth time after telling her the events.
We jogged our usual route in the field on the south side of town.
“Maybe he had to touch it to get your foot into your shoe.”
“No. It was after my shoe was on and tied. And he just … teased the back of my leg with his fingers. I nearly dropped everything I was holding, and I had to bite my tongue because I almost moaned.” I slowed down to let her catch her breath because she was giggling so much.
“That’s so inappropriate,” she said.
I didn’t respond.
“Right?” she prompted.
“Yeah. Of course. I mean, it’s not like I’m a minor. And he’s older but not old enough to be my dad.”
And I grinned after he did it.
“He has a child, Eve. And maybe this age difference later in your life wouldn’t be a big deal, but I bet your parents would die. I’m serious. They. Would. Die.”
“Sarah dated an older man.”
“As old as Kyle?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t asked his age. And it doesn’t matter anyway,” I said, feeling winded. It had been a while since I’d felt the need to run that hard. “I totally just quit on him. I can’t go back now and beg for my job back like nothing happened.”
“Can you just imagine if he would have done more? Like, what if he would have kissed you? What would you have done? I would have died.”
I knew what I would have done. I would have kissed him back because I had been thinking about kissing him since the day we met.