Page 26 of Counting On You

I’m so close to my goal—too close. After my assistant, I managed to squeeze in the neighbor right before heading for rehab.

One more conquest, and my 365-day, non-stop sex calendar is complete.

The truth hits me like a train.

Damn.

Why am I stuck with a sexy nutcase as my roommate? The rules are clear: all other patients are completely off-limits.

I even had to sign a damn admissions release that I’d abide by those rules.

Talk about callous and unfair.

But what if she hasn’t signed hers yet?

The rules would be broken by only one of the parties involved in the tryst, so it would be a “glass half-full/half-empty” kind of situation.

It’s a possibility, far-fetched, wild, and forbidden, but I decide I like it. Therapy is supposed to start tomorrow. What’s one broken rule before treatment has started? You can’t break something that she hasn’t agreed to yet.

They would understand.

We’ve already been labeled as addicts so we’re not here for the free coffee, right? We’re here to get help. I bet they evenexpectus to have a relapse or two along the way to recovery.

I’m so absorbed in my own thoughts that I barely register the footsteps thudding down the hallway.

The knock on my door startles me.

“Jesus. How long does it take you to get done?” she mutters, probably thinking I can’t hear her through the closed door.

More knocking, louder this time.

Good grief.

Is she trying to break down the door?

“Why the fuck can’t you just give me a few moments?” I yell, trying to sound angry, but I can’t help the amusement creeping into my voice.

“Your ten minutes are over.”

I groan, more out of desperation than out of frustration. “Another minute.”

“Don’t keep me waiting.”

Bossy much?

The steps retreat.

This is going to be interesting.

As soon asI enter the living room, her relaxed expression turns into another frown.

“What took you so long?” She scans my white robe. “Is this what you call dressed?”

“Which one do you want me to answer first?”

“Sorry?”

“You asked two questions,” I explain patiently. “Which one do you want answered first?”

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