Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Things between Chloe and me had been more tense than ever since my dumb lick-the-cereal bowl comment a week ago. She’d gone to bed that night and never again mentioned what I’d said, nor what I’d done to her in that closet days before. I couldn’t blame her if she was confused. I’d confused my damn self.
I looked over at their scarecrow project again. “I see you scored him some nice clothes.”
“Unfortunately, no. We had to use yours,” Chloe chided as she reached for more hay.
I glared playfully at them. “You saying my clothes aren’t nice?”
“Actually, it’s not all your clothing he’s wearing. He’s got a nice pair of yellow underwear that fit him perfectly.”
I nearly spit out my coffee when I noticed the infamous yellow sweat rag sticking out the top of the jeans. “Glad to see you found a use for those.”
“He doesn’t mind a little sweat.” Chloe winked. After a moment, she added, “So what’s the plan for today? What time do we have to be at your uncle’s?”
“The party starts at four, but we can arrive anytime, really. It doesn’t end until late.”
She looked between Effie and me. “Okay, well, I can be ready at four, if you guys can.”
I raised my coffee mug to her. “You have a costume?”
“I do.” She grinned.
“What is it?”
“You’ll find out.” Chloe smirked.
“Oh boy.”
“And what are you going to be?” she asked as she stuffed more hay into the scarecrow.
“A cowboy!” Effie answered before I had a chance to.
“Nice.”
I shrugged. “All it requires is putting a hat on my head. My kind of costume.”
“I didn’t take you for such a simpleton, Ricci. This is the same guy who dressed as a cereal killer for that party that your buddy threw back in the day. I remember thinking how clever that was.”
“Oh yeah. The cereal box over my head, the fake blood, and the knife. I was pretty proud of myself.”
“As you should’ve been.”
The irony of the cereal reference wasn’t lost on me. I wondered if what I’d said about eating Chex had crossed her mind just now like it had mine.
I winked. “Actually, I was thinking of going as a stray dog, but decided against it.”
“No costume needed for that one,” she teased back.
God, she was gorgeous. Chloe’s hair was a beautiful mess this morning, fully down and a little knotted from sleep. She was still dressed in her pajamas and had just thrown a down vest over herself, which meant that unfortunately I couldn’t peek at her beautiful braless morning tits.
With Chloe’s guidance, Effie continued to be busy at work stuffing the scarecrow’s arms with hay. I wouldn’t have had the mental energy to get up early on a weekend and be so creative, so I was grateful Chloe could give my daughter this experience, something I suspected Effie would always remember.
“You guys need help?” I asked.
“Oh, now you ask?” Chloe snapped playfully.
My daughter looked up. “Nope. Go back inside, Daddy. We got this.”
Chloe locked eyes with me, and I smiled. Though I quickly turned away. I couldn’t look at her anymore without remembering what she tasted like. It’d been driving me mad, even if I’d vowed not to let it happen again. It was bad enough that we’d had that near-miss with Effie, thanks to my hard head.
“I left you a plate of waffles,” Chloe said.
“I saw. Thank you. I can’t wait to eat it.” The way I said that last part was suggestive. I knew it. Sort of like “Eat the Chex and lick the bowl.”
“Just pop them in the toaster oven for a minute.”
“Will do. Thank you for making me breakfast.”
“Anytime.” Chloe winked.
Once I was done fucking Chloe with my eyeballs, I enjoyed a quiet breakfast all by myself in the kitchen. As peaceful as it was, it made me realize how much I didn’t actually need quiet. Alone for less than twenty minutes, and I already missed my daughter’s bombardment of silly Saturday morning questions. And I missed Chloe’s laughter as she answered every single one of them before I had a chance to. This was eye opening: Chloe was right outside…and I missed her. I wondered if this feeling would be unbearable when she inevitably returned to Chicago.
***
That afternoon, I put on a plaid shirt, dark jeans, and my most rugged pair of boots, and I dug a cowboy hat out of my closet. After I plopped it on my head, I looked at myself in the mirror and thought, basic. Damn, I really could’ve put more effort into this. But there was no time to go out and buy a costume or make something more creative. The cowboy was better than nothing.
“Hey, Daddy.”
I turned to find Effie in the doorway to my bedroom. My heart squeezed at the sight of her dressed as Elsa from Frozen. Moments like this reminded me how much Katerina was missing.