AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-Six
Sawyer
She’s been gone like five minutes and I’m ready to call her to come back. How sad am I? No, not sad. In love. Fuck yes, I’m in love with her. I have been for a while now, but too afraid to just say it. Tonight when she said those words, I knew it was time. I would have loved to have actually said them first, but I’m not complaining now.
My girl loves me, and it feels pretty fucking awesome.
I grab a beer from the fridge and turn on Sports Center in the living room. The back door is ajar, the cool breeze blowing off the Bay, along with the sound of this weekend’s football recap filling the house. There’s plenty I could do, now that I have the house to myself. AJ’s been here most nights (not that I’m complaining one bit) and I’ll admit I’ve slacked on a few tasks. Laundry, for one. There’s a mountain of clothes in my laundry room in desperate need of my attention.
After throwing a load of darks into the washer, I head up and jump in the shower. I’m not going to sleep well tonight, not without her in my bed, that’s for sure, but a run might tire me out enough to help me fall asleep. Unfortunately, I’m just not up for a second run today.
The scalding shower water leaves my skin red and tingly. I use the hand towel to wipe the steam from the mirror and place my hands on the vanity. Images of AJ bent over this very unit this morning replay through my mind, making my cock start to stir to life beneath the towel. There’s no desire to knock the edge off, though. Instead, I’ll keep my hands to myself and wait until my girl comes home in the morning.
Home.
That’s what it feels like when she’s here.
Throwing on a pair of basketball shorts and a Rangers tee, I head downstairs to grab another beer. When I round the corner, I stop dead in my tracks when my eyes collide with the woman’s on the couch. They’re all wrong, though. Hers are hazel, her hair blonde.
Carrie.
“What the fuck are you doing in here?” I ask, annoyed at her presence in my living room.
“Your door was open,” she says, nodding toward the back door.
“Silly me. I thought being that it’s my house and all, and no one opened the door for you and invited you in, meant something.”
“Oh, don’t be such a fuddy-duddy,” she coos. She stands up, her long trench-style coat hitting below her knees. She’s wearing those killer heels I used to love so much, but now do nothing for me. Her hair is shiny and tumbles in big waves down her back, and her makeup flawless. She looks like she just stepped off the pages of a magazine.
“Seriously, Carrie. What are you doing here?” I cross my arms at my chest and stare her down.
“I told you I was coming back to town in October,” she says, as if that’s reason enough for her to be standing in my living room, uninvited.
“What does that have to do with me?” I ask, annoyed that we have to do this whole song and dance.
“I missed you,” she whines, taking a step forward. I raise my hand, halting her from stepping into my personal space. “How come you’re alone tonight?” she asks, turning and walking over to the mantle above the fireplace.
“None of your business.”
“Oh, come on, Sawyer. Don’t act like I’m your enemy. I know you. Probably better than you know you,” she says matter-of-factly. Christ, could she be any more wrong? She doesn’t know the slightest thing about me. Not the real me.
Realizing I’m not getting rid of her until she’s ready to either leave or tell me why she’s here, I drop down in the chair that AJ likes to sit in and watch the waves crash over the beach. I also realize I didn’t grab that second beer, because if I’m going to be stuck dealing with Carrie and her high maintenance drama, I definitely need alcohol.
Getting ready to stand up, she stops my progress. “Here, I hope you don’t mind, but I made myself at home and grabbed a drink. I brought you a beer,” she says, handing me a fresh beer bottle with the top already popped off.
I take a drink as she grabs a wine glass and sips the sweet white wine that’s AJ’s favorite. She smiles over the wineglass, a slow and seductive one that heckles my nerves. It makes me drink the beer that much faster. Neither of us speak as I drain the bottle of beer and try to figure out how to get my ex-wife out of my house.
“Spill it,” I direct, setting the empty down on the end table beside me. The way her eyes light up, you’d think I just asked for a hell of a lot more than for her to explain her presence in my house.
“I was thinking,” she starts, setting the glass down on the coffee table. My mind instantly goes to AJ and watching her set down her wineglass while she’s grading papers. “I wanted to apologize for hurting you.”
Wait. What?
I blink repeatedly, wondering what alternate universe I fell into. Never does Carrie apologize. In the years I’ve known her, I could probably count the number of times she’s said the words ‘I’m sorry’ on one hand. Her way of apologizing is to change the subject or give a blowjob. Yeah, I’m not proud to admit my ex could manipulate me through my dick, but it happened.
But not anymore.
“I’m over it,” I tell her, my head starting to feel a little heavy.
