AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No need. I know where the guest rooms are. I’ll just drop off my stuff.”
“Okay, then. Thanks.”
Lennie wandered off to the east wing while I headed west.
I wandered down the hall to my bedroom and dumped my suitcases on the floor.
Too tired to unpack, I decided that a shower was in order, then food.
I texted Bibi and asked if she could call me tomorrow. I had resisted, in my independent way, the label’s offer of a full-time personal assistant, but maybe it was past due. Our schedules were busier than ever, and anything that could save me time was worth it.
As I made my way past the bathroom, the click of my boots on the reclaimed hardwood echoed loudly.
When I stopped at the foot of my bed and looked at it, I immediately pictured Dawson lying there.
I shook my head, still in shock that thoughts like that belonged to me.
But it was almost painful to be alone again. Strange how I’d gotten used to Dawson and his presence in my life.
It also gave me an insight I never expected.
I always knew that my dad loved my mom. Why else would he have been so destroyed by her passing? And hell, watching him fall apart was my reason for avoiding relationships in the first place. Who wants to go through that kind of pain?
As my mind began churning, I wondered if he ever regretted falling for her. Did he regret me, too?
Questions I hadn’t dared to think about for over two decades were rising to the surface again.
I called my dad once a month to check in and see that he was okay. It usually consisted of a two-minute phone call and uncomfortable pauses between “How are you?” and “Fine.”
Without thinking of the how or why, I pulled out my phone and sent a follow-up message to Bibi.
After I pressed send, I stepped back into the here and now.
Stripping down, I headed to my bathroom and enjoyed a long shower, too exhausted to jerk off. I wrapped myself up in a big, white terry cloth robe, grabbed my phone, and padded barefoot to the kitchen for a snack.
My body clock was all over the place, but if I didn’t eat, I wouldn’t sleep.
Lennie was already behind the center island, cooking.
“Smells good, whatcha making?” I asked.
“Pasta puttanesca. Quick and delicious. You want?”
“Spicy carbs? Fuck, yes. Thank you.”
Lennie nodded and plated up two dishes of steaming hot pasta.
“Wine?” he asked.
“Nah, it’ll mess with my sleep. Just water, thanks.”
“Who the fuck are you right now?” Lennie chuckled as he pulled a bottle of sparkling water from the fridge and poured two glasses.
“I honestly have no idea. Ever since Brodie got with Van, everything’s shifted. First him, now me. What’s next?”
I swirled a forkful of pasta and shoved it in my mouth. It was so damn delicious.
“Speaking of you, I mean, you and Dawson… what’s up with that?”
