She’s gonna give me a heart attack, damned if she don’t.
You’re only gonna be here a few more days.
A few more days.
It kind of bums me out, but there’s nothing I can do about it—life must go on.
I’ll be back in Texas.
Back where I belong.
Home.
Maybe then I can start focusing on having a personal life; dating and shit. Meet someone I can come home to and settle down with. It wasn’t easy doing that in New York; everyone and everything felt fake, and I’m the furthest thing from it. I insulted a lot of women just by being honest.
Things will be different once I’m in Texas, under the stadium lights where I was raised.
I remember Pops taking me to practice with him and conditioning. He’d give me a ball and let me run around with it while he and his teammates ran plays and pushed each other hard in the hot, Southwest sun.
Those were the days, and I want what he had.
Minus the part where he was absentee. Minus the part where he cheated on our mama.
I can’t have it all, but I’m going to fucking try.
Towel still wrapped around my waist, bathroom finally clean, I saunter across the short hallway to Posey’s room.
Her door is ajar: perfect invitation for me to lean against the doorjamb and start a conversation.
She’s reading.
I can’t see what the book is called, but I can see that it’s a romance novel—not surprising, considering that’s all she’s got on the bookshelves downstairs that I’ve seen.
Seems like the little teacher is a romantic.
Too bad her date didn’t work out the way she’d planned. Or not.
I mean, I assumed it wouldn’t, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel bad for her.
“Knock, knock.”
Posey looks up, not at all surprised to see me. She sets her book on her lap and waits me out.
“I see you survived your shower catastrophe.”
Her mouth is tipped up into half a smile.
A smirk.
Sexy little shit…
“Yup.” I pretend to pick lint off my nonexistent shirt. “You done tryin’ to give me a heart attack?”
A wider smile. “Nope.”
At least she’s honest. “Then be prepared to pay the consequences.”
She taps her chin with a finger. “Did I not say the same thing to you after I paid you back for climbing in through my window?”