Page 105 of Time to Bounce

I ignored that and kept pushing toward her. “Just let me talk to you. I promise I can explain.”

“Just let me be mad at you, please,” she urged. “I’ve had a long day, and I really don’t want to talk to you right now.”

I ignored her request and followed her down the steps.

I came to a sudden halt when I heard the first buzz.

“Stop,” I pleaded. “Please talk to me.”

She ignored me and kept walking.

I watched her, knowing exactly where she was going.

I saw the box of bees, and remembered when she told me that she had them.

“Don’t you dare go over there,” I grumbled.

“Watch me,” she called out, flipping me the bird as she stopped at the fence line.

Then she sat her ass on a bench right beside them, turned her back to me, and started fiddling on her computer.

She was too far away to hear me without voicing my issues to the entire neighborhood. And remembering how fucking nosy they were when I’d come over during the porn fiasco from the night before had me holding my tongue.

With nothing else to do, I took a seat on her back porch and waited for her to come back.

Every once in a while, she would look at me over her shoulder and catch me staring, surprise evident in her eyes.

I didn’t know if she thought I wouldn’t wait or what, but every time her face froze in surprise, then went into a sneer when she realized I wasn’t budging, I had to laugh a little bit inside.

When it started to get dark, I ordered some pizza and breadsticks for us.

It arrived in record time, and I had to leave at one point to go grab it from the delivery guy.

When I came back, she was no longer on her computer, but sitting on the bench with her head in her hands, the computer at her side in the grass.

I set the box of food down and decided… fuck it.

I would go get her.

Maybe I wouldn’t die.

But then again, I had really good insurance with the city.

Another ER visit would be okay.

Plus, I was fairly sure I’d met my deductible with the stabbing.

Determination in my step, I walked toward her, ignoring the way my heart pounded when I heard the bees getting louder and louder.

When I was next to her, I bent down and closed the laptop before setting it in her lap.

She gasped and jerked her head up, her instant denial already spewing out of her mouth. “Gable Buchanan Carter, what the hell are you doing?”

I ignored her and my full name, swooping her up into my arms and heading to the back porch where the pizza was waiting.

My breath was coming out in pants by the time we made it to the back porch.

“I can’t believe you just did that.” She shook her head, eyes wide. “Are you freakin’ crazy?”

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