Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 531(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
He flips me to the bed, lifting my leg over his shoulder, and fucks me until we both fall apart together. But when we’re left lying with the sun beginning to set outside, I hold on tightly to him. I kiss his shoulder, and whisper, “I don’t want you to go.”
“Me either, Shortcake. Ten days,” he says, resting his head next to mine.
His words are a good reminder of the countdown before us, making it easier to keep things in perspective. “Ten days,” I add, my body finally running out of air.
He rolls onto his back, letting his right arm flop wide, and exhales loudly. His eyes are closed when I cuddle up to him and drape my arm over his chest. I say, “I wanted to give you something.”
“What do you want to give me?”
“I thought it only fair to give you a 10 percent discount off your reservation since the sex has been so good this weekend.”
I can’t see him, but his chest vibrates when he bursts out laughing. “Only 10 percent good?”
“Fine.” I lift my head to see his smile, anchoring my elbow to the bed. “You drive a hard bargain. Fifteen percent.”
He grabs me, tickling my ribs mercilessly until I’m begging for forgiveness. I’m given a reprieve when I agree to 20 percent. But when I get up to use the bathroom, he catches me by the wrist, causing me to turn back. When I do, he says, “I don’t need a discount to make love to you.” He pulls me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around my waist. Placing a kiss on my shoulder, he looks up at me, his lips lingering on my skin. “I don’t want your money.”
“What do you want, stud?”
Running his hand on my back, he says, “You. Only you, baby.”
Dinner was nothing more than a frozen pizza and fruit I had on hand, but neither of us wanted to leave the apartment.
It’s a quieter night. We don’t mind as long as we’re together. So by the time we’re in bed and he’s spooning me from behind, he says, “Remember when you wake up tomorrow that I wanted to stay. Will you do that for me?”
I’m not expecting my emotions to overwhelm me, but tears form and escape the corners of my eyes. My heart lumps in my throat, leaving me too choked up to reply. I nod.
He kisses the back of my head as his arm tightens around me. We lie in silence until the only sound is gentle breaths that lengthen as the night goes on. And then I fall asleep against my best efforts to stay awake.
With a gasp and my heart racing in panic, I sit up, opening my eyes. The room is dark, and the silence deafening. I can’t hear him breathing or feel the warmth of his hand on me. The bed isn’t dipped behind me, and the covers are made like he never existed at all.
Baylor’s gone.
I’ve never felt lonelier in my life.
One Week Later . . .
“I don’t understand.” I sit forward on the chair, my heart beating hard in my chest. “Do you mind explaining it to me one more time, Mr. Josten?”
The real estate leasing agent takes his pen from the pocket of his dress shirt, drawing my attention to the sweat circle extending around his armpits, and taps the loan agreement with the tip of it. I wasn’t expecting a visit from the new management company based in Austin, which is now in charge of our lease agreement. And if I’m hearing him correctly, I definitely would not have given him a piece of my strawberry cobbler on the house. Or the vanilla, light-on-the-syrup-heavy-on-the-cream specialty coffee I made specially for him.
“What do you do again?” I ask, my thoughts scrambling under the blindside of this situation. He’s not much older than I am, but he’s talking to me like I’m a child, slowing his speech as if the actual words were the problem. No, it’s the new rent increase that’s an issue.
“I’m the new five-county rep for the company hired to manage its portfolio.”
“And my shop falls under your jurisdiction?”
“Well, that’s one way to put it. I’m here to help with whatever you need.”
Anger starts bubbling under my cooler demeanor. “By raising my rent so high that it will put me out of business?”
“Well.”
“That’s a lot of wells, Mr. Josten.”
“Well.”
“There you go again. I guess I’m wondering when the management changed and why.”
“The property was sold recently to a venture capital company. They hired us to acquire new contracts for the change.”
“You were told to raise the rent? I’m just surprised that they can increase it in the middle of the lease like this.”
“No, we’re tasked with pricing real estate accordingly. It’s our expertise.” Tapping the contract again, he adds, “And we’re not increasing it in the middle of the lease. Your lease is up in six months. That’s when the increase will kick in.” He sits back in the bistro chair, seemingly proud of the job he’s doing. “That is, of course, if you renew. If you choose not to, then—”