AllFreeNovel
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My mind is restless, and my chest is fluttery as we continue to drive farther out of town. This is actually happening. I’m moving in with Lenox. I know I’ll have my own room, and hopefully it won’t be for too long, and I won’t have to interact with him too much. But… I’m moving in with Lenox.
There isn’t much out here. It’s a two-lane road and a whole lotta trees, and that’s it.
“I ordered clothes,” I say, hearing the breathlessness in my own voice and wishing my nerves weren’t so obvious. “I used your shop address for everything since I didn’t know where your house was.”
Lenox doesn’t respond, but he does shift in his seat, which tells me he heard me.
“I thought about packing up my LA townhouse, but then realized I still need it for when I have to be there for board meetings and Monroe things. Plus, I had nothing there that would fit winters in Maine. I didn’t think bikinis, T-shirts, shorts, or scrubs would cut it here.”
“I have a hot tub.”
I belt out a laugh. It’s awkward as fuck, but mercifully he doesn’t comment on it. “Does L.L. Bean make flannel bikinis?”
“You didn’t order clothes from L.L. Bean.”
I continue to stare straight ahead, especially as we turn onto a random, unmarked dirt road that leads straight into the fucking woods. It’s like The Blair Witch Project. All I need is a camera and a runny nose, and I’ll fit right in.
“No. I didn’t. I ordered a lot of sweaters and fleece-lined leggings and cool warm boots and things like that. And a coat. A few coats, actually. As well as gloves, hats, scarfs, earmuffs?—”
He reaches over and places his hand over mine for a brief second before returning both to the wheel. “Do you feel comfortable driving a truck?”
“I’ve never tried,” I admit.
He’s so calm. How is he so calm when I’m freaking out? I shouldn’t be surprised. Freaking out isn’t part of his emotional repertoire.
“I have a Jeep too. That might be better for you.”
I’m about to ask why I can’t get a normal car when the dirt road turns into no road at all, and now we’re essentially driving along little more than a grass-covered path cut between the trees. I could never do this at night without hitting one. I’m positive of it. How he can tell where he’s going is a mystery to me. There are no markings. We’re legit driving through the forest, turning here and there.
We continue like this for another half a mile or so and then creep along to a tall, thin, metal gate with signage randomly placed along it that says, Danger, High-Voltage, and others that say, No Trespassing.
“You have an electric fence?”
He clears his throat, and a few minutes later, we crawl to a stop, facing the fence. Lenox presses a button on his phone, and the gate opens, though I’d never be able to tell how he knew where the opening was.
“Lenox.” I gulp out his name.
“It’s okay,” he promises, though there is something new to his voice. A hesitancy almost. “I’ll explain everything. It’ll make sense when I do.”
I shake my head because I highly doubt that. This isn’t normal. Normal people don’t live like this, and I’m not even speaking about weird normal people like myself. People with too much money or who live like a Kardashian or even people who live totally off the grid and farm all their food and survive on rainwater and solar power. All joking about his character and personality aside, this is actually Batman-caliber shit. Like… how does this even exist in real life?
We pull through the gate that immediately closes behind us and continue on through the woods, with nothing visible past the dense foliage. We amble slowly along, the truck jostling us about as it navigates through branches and the soft earth of the forest floor. Then, after a few more tense, far too silent minutes, we hit a clearing and…
I gasp. “Holy fuck!”
This is not what I expected. Not at all. My hand covers my mouth, and I start to shake.
“Lenox.”
“I didn’t want to tell you.” He audibly swallows, and for the first time ever, I can see he’s nervous as he grips the wheel.
I shake my head. “How did you…”
“You showed it to me. Remember? You told me all about it.”
That’s because I was so excited about it. Only I didn’t know he was paying this close of attention. “And you built it?”
“I liked it.”
