Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 17879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 89(@200wpm)___ 72(@250wpm)___ 60(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17879 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 89(@200wpm)___ 72(@250wpm)___ 60(@300wpm)
“That sounds good,” he says. “Excuse me for a minute.”
He gets up from the table and disappears, heading in the direction of the bathroom leaving me alone with Myles. Once my father is gone, he turns to me.
“What are you doing?” he hisses.
“Whatever do you mean?”
“Your foot was in my crotch.”
“Oh, is that where it went? My bad.”
“Maeve, we talked about this—”
“No, you talked about it,” I hiss. “I want to be with you, Myles.”
“You know why we can’t.”
“I don’t accept that. I’m a grown ass woman and I can make my own decisions,” I tell him. “And I know you felt exactly what I did. I could see it in your eyes, Myles. You can say otherwise now, but when we were together in the pool, I fucking saw it.”
He fell silent and looked away, telling me I’d made my point. That I was right. The moment lingered in the air between us like a thundercloud and as the silence stretched on, the more frustrated with him I got. I turn away and speak to the open room.
“Maybe you’re not the man I thought you were.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Are you running from me because you’re scared?” I ask, turning to face him. “I thought you were braver and stronger than that. I guess I was wrong.”
Before he had a chance to answer, I got up from the table and threw my napkin down then turned and stormed out of the room. And with each step I took, I felt my heart breaking just a little bit more.
I felt stupid.
Foolish.
How could I have been so wrong about him?
8
MYLES
Ipace my room for what felt like hours. After dinner, I made an excuse about not feeling well and said I wanted to go lay down. Howie said he was going to bed too because he had to go to the office early the next morning. In truth, I just needed some time alone to think.
What Maeve said still has me worked up several hours after the fact.
Not the man she thought I was? Running from her because I’m scared? She all but called me a fucking coward and it pissed me off. As I’ve thought about it incessantly these last few hours though, I realize I’m so pissed off because I know she’s right.
I am letting my fear rule me. I am letting my fear dictate my actions.
In my defense though, it’s not without reason. A pretty good bloody reason. Her father. I don’t think he’s quite as liberal-minded as she thinks he is. Especially not when it comes to his daughter. I highly doubt he’s going to take kindly to a man twice Maeve’s age coming on to her. Taking advantage of her, he’d reason. And I think it’d be even worse if it’s me.
He’d expect more from me than to perv on his daughter who is literally half my age.
It’s something she needs to understand. We need to clear the air and put this behind us. If we don’t, and this awkward tension is in the room whenever we’re together, her father is going to figure it out. And that’s not going to be good for anybody.
Fired up, I quietly slip out of my room and pad silently down the hall to her room. I pause and put my ear close to the door. I don’t know if she’s asleep or not. But I can see light under the door and think she might still be awake, so I knock softly. My stomach lurches when I hear movement inside and a moment later, the door opens.
She frowns when she sees me. “What do you want?”
“We need to talk.”
“What is there to talk about?”
Without answering, I push past her and step into her room. She backs up as I close the door and stares at me like I’ve lost my bloody mind. Maybe I have. She’s wearing small shorts and a t-shirt, showcasing her full breasts and long, shapely legs. I tear my eyes away from her and think of the most boring things ever to keep from getting a hard on.
Maeve backs up and drops onto her bed, pulling her pillow into her lap. She eyes me with something like disappointment, or perhaps it’s disgust. I walk in and perch on the edge of her desk, bracing myself on my hands. We stare at each other in silence for a moment, that now familiar tension in the air between us.
“What do you want?” she asks.
“I wanted to talk about what you said earlier. About me being scared.”
“It’s true.”
“You’re bloody right I’m scared. I’m scared of losing my best friend,” I tell her. “I’m scared of losing you too if your father finds out about us. You’re both my family and I don’t want to lose either one of you.”