“Right. And I didn’t want you to be upset. I’m not trying to like, stalk you or anything. Eli is the one who suggested I look for a job on the lake,” she says.
Thanks, Eli. I appreciate the suggestion, bro.
“I don’t think you’re a stalker, G,” I say with a chuckle. She flat-out avoids me most of the time, so yeah. Definitely not stalking me.
Shit, I’d want her to, honestly.
“We’re going to be spending a lot of time together,” she says. “Living together. Working at the same place.”
I nod, but don’t say anything.
“And I know I was kind of a jerk for cutting you off a while ago, but I had to do it. To save my sanity,” she continues.
I frown. “I was driving you insane?”
She nods. Licks her upper lip. Sexy. Fuck. This girl…
I let myself check her out fully. Extra short shorts. The tank top with the low neckline that displays plenty of skin. Her hair is piled on top of her head in a messy bun and she has no makeup on her face. Just pretty, bare Gracie. No one sees this version much, but here she sits. In my room.
I can’t read into it too much, though. I’m sure this interaction means nothing to her.
“Am I really that bad?” I ask when she still hasn’t said anything.
“You love to antagonize me,” she says.
“It’s all in good fun.”
One brow shoots up again. She’s pretty good at that. “Making me angry is fun for you?”
“It’s so easy. I only poke at you because you always react.” A dirty joke sits on the tip of my tongue but I swallow it down. “I’m a jerk. I know I am. I’m sorry I’ve driven you insane all this time.”
She seems taken aback by my apology. “Uh…thank you. I appreciate that. You know, I was hoping to talk to you so we could come to a truce.”
“A truce?”
“Let’s try and keep things peaceful between us this summer. What do you think? I’ll stay out of your business and you stay out of mine,” Gracie suggests.
“You think I’m too in your business?”
“Not really,” she says with a shrug. “But you know what I mean.”
I sort of don’t, but I nod like I get it.
“And I’ll stay out of your way. You can do whatever you want, to whoever you want. I won’t judge.”
Is she talking about my sex life? “Were you judging me before?”
She’s quiet for a moment before she nods. “I have no room to talk though.”
Gracie has been with a few guys, just like I’ve been with my fair share of women. I definitely don’t judge her for it. I’m just like her in male form. “We’re good, G. No worries, okay? You come work at the dock, it’s cool. I’ll help you out with whatever you need. Hey, if we have the same shift, we should ride together and save on gas.”
A faint smile curls her lips. “That would be great. I need to work as much as possible this summer before I start student teaching. I need the money.”
“Me too.” I frown. “And that’s right. I forgot you were student teaching. You won’t be on campus anymore, huh?”
She shakes her head. “No.”
“Good thing we live together or else I’d miss your smiling face. Or scowling face, since that’s what you usually do when you see me,” I say as a joke.