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Slapping him on the shoulder, I told him, “You’ll think twice about what you do with me at next month’s training.”
23
MALLORY
I drovepast Mrs. Jonsdottir’s house at a crawl. I did it several times a week, just to stare and dream. Just like a guy who passed a fancy sports car in a dealer’s lot he desired, I pined for the little place. Mrs. Jonsdottir once shared that it had been her parents’ house and they’d bought it as a kit from the Sears Roebuck store, which I found fascinating. It had come in pieces on the railroad, and they’d assembled it with instructions, just like a Lego set.
I pulled over across the street to eye it dreamily. I assumed the white clapboard siding was the original color. The older woman kept the house in perfect condition, but I knew I’d paint the porch ceiling a robin’s egg blue to add more vintage flair. The two shrubs that flanked the front steps would be replaced by hydrangeas since it faced north and would be shady.
I had plans. Lots of them.
My cell rang and I grabbed it from my purse. My mother. I sighed, tossed it back in the bag, ignored. I didn’t even have to wonder what she wanted.
She was a reminder that it would take longer now to get the house. I owed Bridge for the plane ticket. I had to get another one or pay for the gas to drive. And a lawyer. I would get the money for bail back if I was acquitted and that would go to Bridge. Well, if I wasn’t acquitted, then I’d have bigger problems than losing that money. I’d lose my job as well. There wasn’t a chance of buying from Mrs. Jonsdottir or anyone else after that.
The charges were going to be dropped. They were. Theyhadto be. Like Aspen always said, use positive energy and manifest the outcome you wanted.
I wanted to buy Mrs. Jonsdottir’s house. Therefore I wouldn’t have a record and I’d have money to pay for it.
Positive energy.Positive energy!
It was so hard to be upbeat and cheery–like I was with my class of kids all day–when I had all this looming.
There was one way to forget about it all, at least for a little while.
Theo.
He’d invited me to come to his place at six. Not invited,told.
I pulled away and drove the few blocks to the little house Dex used to stay in but was now Theo’s.
He was waiting for me in the open doorway as I came up the walk. He wore the same clothes as he had at school in what I called his doctor-wear, khakis or dark pants and a variety of crisp button ups. Now though, his feet were bare.
“All the kids could talk about for the rest of the day was farting,” I told him. “The playground monitor said it was a noisy recess.”
A movement in the corner of my eye had me glancing to the right. By one of the little shrubs that lined the front of the house was a thin calico cat eating from a dish. He paused long enough to eye me warily. He went back to eating but looked prepared to bolt at any second.
“You have a cat?”
He shrugged. “Stray. He’s been around and I’ve been feeding him. He used to run off, skittish and all, but he’s getting a little better.”
I stared at the cat a little longer, surprised at the gesture. “Oh.”
The corner of his mouth quirked up. “You’re late.”
My heart skipped a beat at his serious tone, contrasting with the playfulness in his dark eyes, and it wasn’t because of the cat. Why did I like that tone? That look? The way he loomed. He was intense. Everything about him was… potent.
He also felt… uncomplicated. There didn’t seem to be any ulterior motive with him. He said come over at six because he’d be hungry. For me.
What he said, he meant. Compared to my mother, whose every word was passive aggressive or straight-out guilt. She knew how to work me to get what she wanted. Theo did, too. Oh, hedid.He could work me right to an orgasm. Except he had no ulterior motive. Not even reciprocation.
He might be abrupt, but he was also refreshing. I knew where I stood with him. Right now, that was at his house to get sex. Sex he offered and I seemed content to accept.
“I stopped by the house I want to buy,” I explained why I wasn’t here on time, five minutes ago.
He stepped back and let me enter. “Didn’t know you were looking for a place.”
I set my purse down. “I found the one, but it’ll be a little while.” I explained how Mrs. Jonsdottir was going to eventually sell to me, leaving out why it might be delayed.
