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’m not a chill person,” I said. “I’m sorry. It’s not in my genes to chill. If you must know, I’m needy and sometimes whiny. I nag until I get what I want. You’re on my mind twenty-four-seven.” I pointed in the direction of my house. “I look for you through my bedroom window—with binoculars. Every song I hear is about you. I can’t shower without touching myself and thinking of you. When I go for a run, I imagine I’m chasing you. My life went from boring to amazing because you moved into this house with the world’s cutest little boy. I watch Josh and make dinner or an apple dessert, and I pretend that this is my house too, and he’s my son.
“So, if you need to know why I asked about homecoming with Drew, it’s because I like you so much, and when you changed Denise’s toilet, I went crazy jealous. And I wanted you to show me a teeny-tiny fraction of jealousy.”
I felt fairly certain that I had ended us.
Whiny? Check.
Jealous? Check.
Needy? Check.
Immature? Check.
Desperate? Double check.
Psycho? Absolutely.
We weren’t “going together,” but had I been in his shoes, I would have sent me home, changed the locks, and filed for a restraining order.
I showed him the worst version of myself because I had no chill. Which was worse? Being oblivious to my least desirable traits or seeing them flashing like a neon sign without feeling control over them?
“Eve—”
I covered my ears because some childish behavior remained in me. “Don’t. I know you’re going to lecture me. You’re going to be an adult. And we are over. I know. I really do. You’re too mature to say or do anything as stupid as I just did. So save me the embarrassment of you being perfect. I’ll just go.” I turned, closing my eyes for a second and berating myself on the way to the door.
Before I slid on my shoes, I heard his footsteps behind me.
“Eve,” he said. “Follow me, please.”
I turned as he headed up the stairs.
“Now,” he said, halfway up.
I bowed my head like an errant child and followed him. He peeked into Josh’s room and softly shut the door the rest of the way. Then he continued to his room. That’s when I noticed he had something in his hand.
I stared at that something as I stopped at his door.
He jerked his head for me to keep walking. As soon as I passed the threshold, he closed and locked the door.
The can of beer in his hand hissed when he opened it and handed it to me. I hesitated, gaze flitting between the beer and him. Then I took it.
Kyle tugged the button to his jeans and pulled down the zipper. “I don’t care which you swallow first. Your choice.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
DEF LEPPARD, “POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME”
Kyle
Melinda thought she was always right.
Caring.
Giving.
Independent.
Confident.
Perfect.
The list of self-declared characteristics went to infinity.
Then she left me with our newborn baby and a letter filled with lies and excuses.
Eve unloaded everything all at once. Maybe any other guy would have run, but I focused on what mattered: She thought of me when she masturbated, and she liked imagining Josh was hers. Sure, some questionable things were mixed between those, but I stayed focused on the important ones.
In the end, I knew she needed me to be human and flawed, to see my impulsive and irrational side.
So I gave her a beer and told her to get on her knees.
A+
Eve was a quick study.
I told her to spit on it, and once she got past her initial embarrassment and apprehension, she gave me the best damn blow job I’d ever had.
“Oh fuuuck …” I groaned as quietly as possible, tipping my head back.
She gazed up at me and grinned. Then she picked her beer off the floor and stood. “How’d I do, Coach?” She took several gulps of the beer while I tucked myself back into my underwear and jeans.
“I’m not proud of that,” I said because I wasn’t.
She sat on the end of my bed, taking another swig of beer. “No? Why not?”
I shook my head, unable to entirely hide my grin. “I’m capable of being a much better man. But I wanted you to know that I’m not perfect, not even close. I make poor decisions that lead to questionable behavior. I don’t think bad decisions are a flaw; it’s one’s inability for self-reflection and willingness to be humbled by our mistakes that makes us insufferable humans.”
Eve drained the rest of the beer and stood. “Your problem is you think everything has to be a lesson. I suppose it’s an occupational hazard.” She handed me the empty can. “Just admit you’ve thought about me doing that to you since the day we met.” With a flat hand, she patted my chest. “They say you're already halfway there if you can visualize something. So way to go.”