Page 64 of Personal Foul
“And I like sneaking around.” She presses a kiss to the side of my neck. “No one else knowing that you secretly like to fuck a girl who serves beer and burgers six nights a week for tips.” She laughs and trails kisses down my neck.
“Hey.” I thread my fingers through her hair and tilt her head back, so her eyes meet mine. “I would tell everyone if you let me. I told you before, the way you work turns me on. It’s hot as fuck that you manage that place on your own. I’ve imagined you spread out on one of those tables with you in those fucking knee-high socks you wear more than once.”
Her lips twitch with amusement and I pull her close to me again and kiss her.
“You scare me to be honest…” she whispers.
“What? Why?”
“This version of you. The way you can be when it’s just us…” She frowns a little. “It’ll freak you out, but I feel like I should be honest. I think I could end up catching feelings, and I worry that could fuck this up.”
“Princess… I’ve already caught them so don’t worry about it.”
“What?” Her eyes look bright, nervous as they meet mine, and I worry I’ve said too much.
“Why do you think I’m asking for more time?”
“You like hate fucking me?” She gives a half-smirk.
“I mean, fuck yes, I do. But… I likeyou. I have no fucking idea what I’m doing. Or where this goes. But I want to see.”
She grins and her eyes drift over me, her grin broadening as she reaches my face.
“Me too. I mean, I have no idea either. I’m not good at any of this but…” Her eyes are so soft when she looks at me, that I almost can’t hold her gaze.
“We can start with the parts we know we’re already good at and go from there.” I give her a playful smirk, trying to lighten things because I can feel the thud of my heart in my chest picking up. Feel the way something that must be what falling into a four-letter word feels like cracking away at the ice that’s there, and I don’t know how to process it.
“I like that idea. Seems like a solid plan.” Her fingers slide up my chest and over my shoulder as she leans in to kiss me again, and fuck, this girl has me. And I wonder if maybe, finally, she might let me have her.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Wren
I wakeup the next morning to the sound of the phone in the room ringing loudly. I didn’t even know there was one, but as it blares through the otherwise quiet room it’s very apparent it exists now. Easton is similarly surprised by the way he stumbles out of bed and fumbles over to the dresser the landline is perched on.
“Fuck,” he curses as he nearly drops it when he picks it up. “Hello?”
There’s a pause on the line, and I can hear a feminine voice through it.
“Yeah. She’s here. Sure. One minute.”
“Wren, someone’s on the line. They say they’re your grandfather’s aide?”
My heart bottoms out through my stomach, panic and bile welling in my throat because for her to call this line means something bad has happened. Means shehadto track me down and call me here.
“Hello?” I ask the second I can get the receiver to my ear.
“Wren. Oh good. I was so worried. I’ve been trying to call your cell, but I wasn’t getting an answer. Worried something happened to you too. Honey, your grandfather had a stroke last night. He’s in the hospital, and I’m here with him. Wanted to make sure he had somebody he knows. I know you’re on vacation, sweetheart, and I hate to bother you, but I have another appointment this afternoon. I hate to leave him alone. Do you think you could come down? I can cancel if I need to. But I was hoping you might have enough time to get here.”
“Oh my god. Yes. Of course! Let me just figure out how to get down there, and I will text or call you as soon as I know. I’m so sorry, Sherry. Is he… is he okay? How bad is it? Tell him I love him, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“They haven’t said a whole lot to me, honey. When I found him, he was alert, but he couldn’t talk though. So I’m worried for him.”
“All right. Keep me posted, and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
My heart is pounding in my chest, and I can feel the tears starting to fall before I even know what’s happening. I look down and realize I’m still mostly naked, and I need to find clothes. I need to get scattered clothes in my suitcase and then get a car out of here. I grab my phone off the nightstand and open it to realize I forgot to plug it in last night, so I run to my suitcase to get my charger and get it in the wall.
The buzz of shock in my eardrums is so loud I can’t hear, and my eyes blur from the tears that are falling. My brain is still half awake, and the dull thud of a headache is already pounding away at my temples. I need water and some of the hangover meds the girls got me, right after I get this stupid fucking phone charged. I can’t believe I let it go dead in the night.
