Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 67355 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67355 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“Yes, when that new office complex went up, it was bound to bring in an influx of new residents.”
“Yes, my old neighborhood is unrecognizable almost. At lot of my old neighbors have moved because the property taxes got too high. So many of the old houses on my dad’s street have been renovated to the point where they look like new builds. But yay for progress, right? As least we now have a fancy coffee shop on practically every street corner.”
“That’s usually how progress works.”
She rolls her eyes. “At the expense of the less fortunate but I don’t expect people like you to understand that. Look, I’m here now so we why don’t you tell me exactly what you want from me.”
I see no point in defending myself because I did live a privileged life and while I did understand how things worked in our word, she probably wasn’t receptive to hearing me say it.
I close the distance between us and caress her cheek with the back of my hand. “I thought I’d made it abundantly clear what I want. You.”
She flinches away from me and takes a step back. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what? Touch what’s mine?”
“Stop saying that. I’m yours.”
“That’s not what you said over the phone,” I challenge her.
“If you’re going to be like this, then I’m leaving.” She attempts to walk past me but I grab her by the arm and twirl her around with enough force to send her body crashing into mine.
I wrap my arms around her soft body and bury my face against her neck, inhaling deeply. “You smell, amazing.”
She pushes herself out of my hold. “Stop it, Jackson. I should have known better than to come here. I must really be out of my mind to think you’d actually help me.”
“I don’t say I’ll do something and not follow through, Zora. You maybe have me painted as some villain from your past but I assure you, I’m a man of my word.”
She releases a hollow belly laugh without a hint of humor. “Maybe I’m painting you as the villain because you were. But I’m not here to rehash the past nor am I going to stay to because you’re bored and want to amuse yourself at my expense.”
This isn’t going how I’d pictured it but then again, I didn’t expect her to jump into my arms either. I inhale deeply and slowly release the air from my lungs. “Zora, have a seat and we can talk about this.”
She shakes her head. “No, I think I’d rather stand.”
“Clearly, you’re not in need of my help then. What are you going to do when your father is out on the street?”
She stiffens. “You are such an asshole.”
I shrug. “I may be but I’m the asshole who’s in a position to help you. Now sit down, Zora.”
She glares at me for several mutinous seconds before perching herself on the edge of my sofa and then her shoulders sag and head droops. For the first time I notice the bags under her eyes. Her family’s situation has clearly taken its toll on her. I should feel guilty because I’m partly to blame for this but I tell myself that I didn’t make her brother a compulsive gambler and I didn’t force her father to put himself into debt for that idiot. But I could unload that burden for her.
I walk over to the couch and take the space next to her. She tries to scoot away from me but is blocked by the arm rest. I move closer so that our hips touch.
She holds herself rigid.
“Is being in my presence that difficult for you, Zora?”
She keeps her gaze averted from mine, focusing on some point in the room I can’t determine. “What do you think, Jackson? This whole situation confuses me? You treated me like shit in high school and now all of a sudden you want to sleep with me? And you’re willing to bail my family out in order to do it.”
“That’s an oversimplification. We’re going to do more than just sleeping together Zora. And yes, I’m willing to help you on the condition that you agree to my terms.”
She twists her lips and folds her arms across her breasts. “Typical of you to not acknowledge all the harm you’ve caused me back then.”
“You keep saying that but I have a different recollection of our high school experience.”
She shakes her head and sneers. “I guess you would say that. In my experience, bullies have a hard time apologizing for what they did or they pretend it didn’t happen because no one wants to be the bad guy. But in case you need your memory jogged, you were definitely the bad guy, Jackson.”
“I never claimed to be a good person, Zora and if you want to paint me as some monster so you can live out some tragic heroine fantasy, then so be it. All I said is that I remember things differently. But would my apology really change anything?”