AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When I used to visit home more often, I’d stay with Mom and Dad. Their small trailer house didn’t leave much in the form of privacy or space, but I was used to it from growing up there. Still, I’m glad that Warren invited me to stay here at the bunkhouse.
Now that I’m going to the bar with everyone, it’s a good thing that I don’t have to stumble up the porch steps of my parent’s trailer at two thirty in the morning.
Warren already mentioned that he wants me to stay for Christmas and through the end of the year. We’ll see how long I last, but right now the decision to let loose tonight feels great. If I was back at my apartment in Baltimore, I’d already be four hours deep into working my life away.
Now that I think about it, maybe I’ll pull my laptop out for a few minutes before I get ready.
“Oh no you don’t,” Kee warns from the doorway of the loft.
The whole upstairs of the bunkhouse is an open room with several beds. There are also a few couches, oversized chairs, and a huge TV. It’s almost like a second upstairs living room. I remember Warren talking about it before they renovated the downstairs to have four separate bedrooms. The guys all lived up here at one point. I wonder which bed was Gage’s?
My head whips in her direction. “What? I wasn’t doing anything,” I say as I try to casually slip the laptop back into my tote bag like I wasn’t about to plug it in and hook up to the WiFi.
“You’re a terrible liar.”
“Fine. But I don’t have anything to wear and it didn’t look like Warren was in a huge hurry. I have plenty of time to—”
“B. Look at me.” She grabs both of my shoulders and shifts my body to face her directly. “No working. And turn the notifications on your phone off too. This is going to be good for you if you stick to the plan. All play. No work. Deal?”
“Deal.” I link my pinky with hers and lift our joined hands to face level. We kiss our thumbs and high-five our free hands above our heads. It’s a silly secret handshake, but we’ve always used it when making promises to one another, no matter how big or small.
“Now,” she whips her towel off and fluffs her glossy wet hair up. She’s never been shy and it makes me laugh out loud. “As far as an outfit goes…”
“I did bring these,” I hold up a pair of jeans that I haven’t worn in years. I’m not even sure why I still have them. I’m not nearly the same size that I was when I started college eight years ago.
Pulling them on, buttoning, and zipping them up is a fight for my life. But when I lift my hands and turn in a circle, Kee gasps and squeals like a little girl.
“Holy shit. Those are hot as hell. They’re practically airbrushed on!”
I look down and see that they’redefinitelytight. They don’t leave much to the imagination. Hugging the curves of my hips, thighs, and ass.
“Put this on.”
She hands me a cropped tank top and I take off my hoodie to slip it over my head.
“I might as well stay home. Not a single person is going to be talking or looking at me with you walking in like that.”
I playfully slap her on the arm and roll my eyes.
“Won’t I freeze to death? It’s not that cold out, but it’s not exactly tank top weather,” I say.
“First of all, did you forget that bars are hot as hell on the inside? Second of all, it doesn’t matter what time of the year it is. When you’re going out, you wear whatever you want. You might shiver on your way to the taxi, but you’ll look like a million bucks doing it,” she laughs.
She whips out a sinfully short and flowy baby blue dress with sleeves that flutter and ruffle over her shoulders. When it’s on, she spins around the room.
Before I raid her makeup bag and do my hair, I hook my phone up to the Bluetooth speaker that I brought for a time just like this. She smirks when she hears the first song. We dance and float around like there isn’t a care in the world.
Having something fun to look forward to is a whole lot different than dreading a deadline. The natural blush flushing my cheeks is from excitement this time, not anxiety. My smile feels more easy and honest. Less forced.
I made the right decision coming here and I’m so grateful to Kee for tagging along. And to Warren for pushing for it. Not everything in my life is perfect. But I have a group of people who love and care about me, that much is obvious.
I’ve never taken that for granted. After all, the countless hours I spend dedicated to making a successful career have all been for my family. I love them more than my own happiness and health. I need to knock it out of the park as a doctor. I need to make enough money to retire my parents, get them out of the trailer park, and allow them to enjoy the rest of their lives in comfort and safety. Stop Warren from holding back. Give him enough money to allow him to go chase whatever wild dream he’s been unable to go after. I have a sneaking suspicion that working here on this ranch isn’t it.
For now though, in this moment, I’m forgetting all of that self-inflicted responsibility. I’m going to live and make decisions for myself and no one else for a change.
I smile to myself as I look in the mirror to put in my earrings. My smile haseverythingto do with being excited about a night out with my best friend and my brother.Nothingto do with the grumpy cowboy downstairs who all but sent me into cardiac arrest when he touched my hand. Nothing at all.
Chapter 7
