AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Present Day
Mack
“Hi sweetie,” my mom says, kissing my cheek before rushing like a madman over to the oven. “Shit! The casserole!” she shouts, pulling the breakfast casserole out before it burns.
I try not to laugh as I follow her further into the kitchen. “You need help with anything?”
“Thea’s bringing a watermelon if you could help cut it up. I think I just saw her car pull in.”
“Thea’s coming?” I ask as I lean back to look out the window and see her struggling to pick up the watermelon that’s almost as big as she is. God, she’s adorable.
“She’s here more than you,” my mom teases.
My jaw drops. “Mom, be for real.”
She waves me off. “I’m not complaining. You’re too much work. I don’t need you over here any more than you already are.”
Her little sneaky smile gives away that she’s full of bullshit, but still. “Mom!” I whine, proving I am exactly the thing she’s accusing me of.
I’d normally be out in the driveway already, grabbing the watermelon from Thea, but I’m trying to keep my distance. Well, starting from this moment. I don’t know how I always get myselfback in this situation with her. But fuck, it’s been nice having someone to talk to again. Dammit, I need to get a new hobby or something.
It always happens so naturally. I needed to make sure that fucker dropped her off and left, so I kept her on the phone until I was convinced she was alone. That’s how it always starts though. One text leads to another. I respond. She responds. The conversation never dies out, and then I find myself looking forward to looking at my phone. I get distracted way too much at work. I end up eating dinner on my couch every night with my phone in my hand, texting her instead of actually having a life.
If she were any other woman, I wouldn’t be having these conversations on a screen. I can’t invite Thea over though. Texting feels safe. It’s reasonable. It’s not crossing the line. Not yet. It’s only a matter of time though. Those thoughts that I shouldn’t be having, that I can’t be having, always surface.
I didn’t have a choice. I started giving dry replies until the conversation ended naturally. We haven’t talked since Thursday, and it’s been driving me fucking insane not knowing what she’s been doing these past couple of days. I don’t even want to admit to myself how many times I checked her socials. It felt like she was torturing me by not posting anything the whole weekend. It was even worse since I was stuck in a hotel most of the weekend for work and had nothing to do but sit on my phone in between sales meetings.
There were at least twenty times I had the urge to message her about my boss, Will, during the last sales meeting. I was frustrated as hell with him earlier this week. He’s always having these power trips and is constantly arguing with me about which division I’m supposed to be located in. The district manager, who’s above Will, is the one giving me the direction, but Will still always has to argue with me about it. It was pissing me the fuck off on Tuesday, and Thea was… perfect.
She’s like my breath. Like I don’t know how I could have finished the day without talking to her. That’s the part that scared me most. I’m making her my outlet when I’m the one who is supposed to be taking care of her.
And fuck, this was a lot easier to handle when she didn’t look likethat.
Declan grabs the watermelon from her and brings it to the kitchen while she slips off her shoes. She brushes her hair behind her ear, smiling when our eyes connect. My eyes momentarily fall down her legs in her too short shorts. It was surprisingly chilly this morning, so she’s wearing an oversized sweatshirt that hangs so low you can barely tell she’s wearing pants.
Wait a second.
“Is that my sweatshirt?” I ask as she walks into the kitchen.
She places her hand on her hip and leans against the counter. “So? What are you going to do about it? Take it off of me?” she asks all bratty like. She thinks she’s being her usual vexing self, but now all I can think about is yanking it over her head.
“Thea! Honey! How’d the boudoir shoot go?” my mom asks, interrupting before I can take that thought any further.
Thea’s face lights up just like it always does when my mom takes an interest in her hobbies. “Oh, it was so much fun! The photos should be done tonight or tomorrow.”
“Oh, yay! I’m so excited to see them. How’d it go? Did they do hair and makeup too?”
Thea pops a grape into her mouth, turning and blocking me out of the conversation even though I’m still listening. “Her friend, Minny, did the hair and makeup for the portfolio shoots, but once she starts accepting real clients, then she’s going to hire someone. I just had to bring a few different changes of outfits.”
“What’s a boudoir shoot?” I ask, inserting myself back into the conversation while I grab a knife and start cutting up the watermelon.
Thea’s eyes open wide for only a moment before she tries to play it off. “Hm? Nothing.”
“Bullshit,” I say, grabbing my phone out of my pocket to look it up.
Thea steps toward me. “What are you doing?” she asks, her voice raising.
I’m flooded with images of women dressed in skimpy outfits. My eyes bug out of my head as I look back at Thea. “What the fuck is this for?”
