AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’m not supposed to challenge them directly but I gave up on that my first week here. Too bad talking back doesn’t help. I’m still at my wit’s end with Ethan. He’s a petulant spoiled man-child who needs to learn manners, and his horny man-child twin isn’t any better.
“I do mind,” his voice is like gravel. “You’re in my bathroom and I need to take a shower.”
“Wow, is this how you treat all the women you find in here?” The words come out before I can stop them. Truth is, I haven’t seen a single woman sleep over with Ethan all summer.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he laughs and I want to scream.
This family has more money than God and they act as if they can walk on water, too. It’s infuriating, but what can I do? Conrad was right. Paying ten grand for the damaged hardwoods took out a huge chunk of my change. It’s not like he’s paying me mega bucks here, not when he’s providing my room and board. The few thousand I have left will be enough to get me to Boston in time to move into my scholarship-covered dorm, replace my crappy flip phone, and hold me over long enough to get a college job. I had wanted to buy a nice laptop but I’ll have to keep saving.
You’re almost done, I repeat to myself for what feels like the gazillionth time, by the end of the month you’ll be in Boston.
At least Cooper has left me alone ever since our failed hook up. But Ethan? Not a chance. He treats me like I’m constantly in his way, as if I want to bother him when I’m pretty sure it’s the opposite.
“Listen, Ethan,” I try again, gathering all the patience I have left, which is about the size of a grain of salt at this point. “I’ll be done here in ten minutes and then the bathroom is all yours.”
I gaze up at him, waiting for him to leave like a normal human being. I don’t expect an apology, but leaving me to my work would be enough. It’s what any decent person would do in our situation. He doesn’t respond. Not for a long time. And not for the first time, I want to curse him for being so pleasing to look at, for having the chiseled body of a professional athlete, the troubled blue eyes of a sea-weary sailor, and the heart-shaped mouth of a downright sinner.
The fucker.
“You look good on your knees.” He steps closer, his eyes lingering on my mouth for too long. My insides squirm. “But I’m not interested, so leave or don’t leave, but I’m taking a shower.”
He says this so casually, so cruelly, that I’m stunned, caught up on his insinuation that I’m on my knees to do anything other than clean.
Then true to his word, he begins to peel his swim trunks from his tanned, chiseled body. Right in front of me.
Sixteen
My cheeks burn as I quickly avert my eyes and scurry from the bathroom, a glimpse of crisp tan lines on toned muscle seared into my mind. I could tell myself how much I hated what I saw but the truth is I wish I would’ve seen more of him. It only makes my hatred for the man grow stronger. My one saving grace is that he never looked back at me to witness the hot shame that brandishes my cheeks.
Shame he put there on purpose.
Shame he’s put there more than once.
But why should I be ashamed? He’s the confusing one, the player of games, the inappropriate asshole. The bully.
The one who hurt me.
His shower blasts on and I want to turn back and demand he clean his own bathroom. I want to tell him he’s the biggest jerk I’ve ever met and that he needs to learn how to respect others, especially women. He’s not exempt from human decency just because his family is wealthier than God. People don’t choose who they’re born to, and he could just as easily be in my position if fate had taken a different turn.
I don’t say any of those things, though. A girl doesn’t spend her life in foster care and not learn that power dynamics never really change. It’s like I said, I’ve been the background character my entire life. I can handle disappointment.
I don’t like it and I don’t have to like it.
But that doesn’t change it.
It’s why I’m determined to rewrite my future as soon as I get to college, but right now, I know when to keep my mouth shut and my head down. I need to get through the rest of the summer. Collect what money I can now that I’ve sent Conrad the check he required of me.
Then move on to bigger and better things.
Soon…
Soon things will be different.
I’m not going to blow it. I’m going to work hard, study harder, and make something of myself.
Despite the left-out feelings I’ve had to swallow all summer long, I’ve resolved not to party or get into any trouble once I get to Boston. Four years of undergrad pursuing a tech degree and I’ll never have to be poor or dependent on other people again. I don’t mind that it’ll be hard, that tech isn’t glamorous, or that more people switch out of that major compared to others. The obstacles don’t matter because earning that degree will give me more choices than anything else I could reasonably do with four years of a free college education.
I hate blood, so a medical career is out, and I hate public speaking, so law would be a nightmare. With that in mind, I asked my high school guidance counselor what college degree would lead to the highest-paying career. She took one look at my straight A’s in math and encouraged a degree in computer technology.
