Total pages in book: 13
Estimated words: 11908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 60(@200wpm)___ 48(@250wpm)___ 40(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 11908 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 60(@200wpm)___ 48(@250wpm)___ 40(@300wpm)
I cut him a side glance. “Since when did you get so wise?”
He cracked a grin. “I’ve always been fucking wise, asshole.”
I shook my head and stood. “You’ve always been a pain in my ass, is what you’ve been,” I taunted.
Carter rolled his eyes. “My boot’s going to be up yours in a minute.”
I gave him my middle finger and headed inside the clubhouse. The sun was beginning to peak over the horizon, which meant Nicole would be waking up soon. And I always tried to make it a point to be in the room when she did so she wouldn’t feel so alone and lost in her head immediately after waking up.
I was so fucking gone over her, but I didn’t even care anymore. Nicole had burrowed underneath my skin, and I didn’t want her anywhere else.
9
Nicole
Eavesdropping on Grit and Carter’s conversation was not my brightest moment, I’ll admit. But when I’d woken up alone for the first time in weeks after a flashback, I’d wanted Grit’s comfort. Needed to feel his arms around me, a reminder that he’d never let anyone touch me like that again without my explicit permission. But when I’d heard they were talking about me, I’d stopped right beside the clubhouse doors, frozen like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, my ears straining to hear every word.
“I love her,” Grit said, and my heart lodged in my throat. Grit loved me? Me, who he’d witnessed being assaulted and taken against her will? Me, who he’d seen in my lowest moments?
It didn’t seem real.
“Figured,” Carter replied, his tone matter-of-fact. “Wasn’t hard to figure out. You’ve never been the one to be kind, Alan.” I’d never heard anyone call Grit by his first name—always his last. I’d thought it was a boundary, but maybe it was just something they all still did from their military days. “Even in the military when one of us was struggling, you told us to suck it the fuck up, tighten up our boots, and get the fuck back out there. But for her, you’re… different. It’s not a bad thing.”
“She’s different. The polar opposite of me or the rest of you,” Grit immediately responded. Not defensively. Just… like he was stating an obvious fact. And my heart tripped in my chest.
Carter snorted—loudly. “I mean… we do have dicks, man.” I didn’t know what happened, but suddenly, Carter was laughing. “Alright, alright. I was joking. But I think she’s good for you, Grit. She smooths out your rough edges a bit.” There was a pause, leaving silence to linger in the air. “I hope she sticks around. I like her. And she fits in with Lindsey and Jennifer well. Even the kid seems to like her.”
Tears stung my eyes. I’d lost my parents a while ago, which had left me on my own for the most part. But I’d never realized how lost and lonely I felt until I heard Carter confess he hoped I stuck around. That he wanted me here. That maybe the others did, too?
“I hope she sticks around, too,” Grit quietly agreed. “I honestly don’t know if I can manage without her.”
A tear slipped down my cheek, and I hastily wiped it away. Forcing myself away from the door, I hurriedly—and quietly—made my way back up the stairs. I was just reaching the top of the staircase when I heard the door open downstairs, so I rushed the rest of the way to the room I now shared with Grit and flung myself beneath the blankets once more, pretending to just be waking up and hoping my eyes weren’t red or puffy from crying.
Damn him and his confession for making me so emotional.
I didn’t know how I would explain to Grit that I’d been listening in on his conversation with Carter if he figured it out. Clearly, it’d been a conversation had in private, not meant for my ears. And while Grit had never been angry at me before, what if eavesdropping on a private conversation was a major boundary crosser for him and he decided he didn’t want me to stick around after all?
The door creaked open, and I faked a yawn before lowering the blanket a bit to look up at Grit. He shut the door, his eyes locked on me. Could he tell I hadn’t just woken up?
“Sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up,” he said quietly.
I shook my head. “I just woke up,” I lied, and thankfully, my voice was still raspy, making the lie believable. “It’s okay.”
He nodded and hooked his thumb in the direction of the bathroom. “I’m going to shower, and then, you can do your morning routine, if that’s cool with you?” When I nodded, he turned and headed into the bathroom, toeing off his running shoes as he went. When the door shut behind him, I sagged back into the mattress, relieved he didn’t seem to know I’d been listening in on his conversation.