AllFreeNovel
Share Us
While I’m dressing, I hear him rifling through his dresser. The less I say at this point, the better.
Thirteen
Winger
Sasha’sawholedifferentperson this morning. The wild and crazy woman from the night before is replaced with someone who might as well be a taskmaster. And the sole task on her schedule is getting home.
I try to talk to her while I’m getting dressed, but she cuts me off and just says, “It’ll be easier if we don’t drag this out.”
“We can do whatever you want, Sweet Pea.” I step closer, bringing my hand to her face, needy to stroke her silky brown hair again. To be close to her, to smell her. God, I don’t even need to have sex with her.
I would in a heartbeat, but just being near her, I know that I’m in the right place in this world. But she stiffens and pulls away.
“You can drop the sweet talk.” She keeps her gaze diverted.
“You don’t need to be embarrassed. What you did rocked our worlds.”
“I’m not embarrassed, I liked it. I did what I wanted.” Her words are clipped and defensive as she puts intense focus on smoothing her hair down.
“Okay, not embarrassed. Do you want this to end? I mean, it was pretty incredible, right?”
“Tank said I could come back for breakfast anytime. I guess we should swap phone numbers, huh?” She turns to me but maintains a disinterested expression.
“Definitely. Let’s swap phone numbers, but you don’t have to rush off. Did Tank say you have to leave?”
“Look, Winger, I may be young, but I know what this is. You don’t have to worry about me getting all mushy, and dependent, and gold-digging, and whatever else. I get it. Plus, I have my own money.”
She tries to walk past me, and I grab her harder than I intended. Her gasp alerts me to relax my grip on her arm.
“Maybe youdon’tunderstand what happened last night. I’m not ready for you to leave. You don’teverhave to leave.”
“That’s sweet and all. Why wouldn’t I want to be three hot dudes’ plaything? But seriously, all I’ve ever wanted to do is settle down and have a family. So this,” she waves her finger haphazardly. “This isn’t exactly my white, vanilla, picket fence, suburban, two-and-a-half kid life.”
I can’t believe she’s pulling back. Time to sort out what the hell is going on in her head.
“You’ve got a lot of dreams built into that statement. But up until last night, you didn’t know this could be one of them. So I tell you what…I’ll drive us back to get my bike, and you can drive away. But we’re going to be in touch. Is that clear?”
“Yeah. Yeah. All good.” She stares in the mirror, adjusting her dress as if we were an old married couple and I was telling her I had to cancel on picking the kids up from soccer and she’d have to do it. A bit miffed, but she’d take one for the team so that I’d owe her.
“I just need to know something.”
“Sure. Whatever.” She’s so closed off, she could put up a defense in the Super Bowl and no one would get past it.
I follow her toward the front door and ask, “Is there anything at all that we did last night that you didn’t like?”
“Oh, contrary, you did all the things I didn’t even know I liked. So kudos to you guys.”
Huh. I thought maybe there’d be at least one thing. But then again, if she doesn’t want to talk about it, she is solidly able to shut us down.
Thankfully, the snowplow has run by the time we head out. Her car can handle the road, and I’ll be able to handle it on my bike on the way back. Alone.
We might as well have the windows down on the ride back to the school with how cold the air is between us.
My heart sinks to depths I didn’t even know were possible. I’m not even sure it’s in my body anymore. I feel vacant.
She gets out of the car and circles around, so I do the same. She graciously lets me give her a peck on the cheek as we pass then shirks out of my grip.
“It’s cold. I need to get back in the car.”
