Page 20 of Everything I Crave

She leans over the pizza and inhales the heavenly, spicy scent.

“I almost snuck a piece before you got here,” I laugh.

“I don’t blame you!” She turns around to grab a plate off the counter. And piles it with pieces of pizza.

I do the same and we head over to the couch after grabbing a soda from the fridge for both of us.

A relaxing night with my sister is just what I wanted when I text her. I grab the remote and turn on the TV, finding a rerun of a cooking show that we both like to watch.

We eat a few bites in silence before she starts with me. “So, Gunnar.” She waggles her eyebrows.

I roll my eyes. “There is nothing going on between Gunnar and I.”

“Yea, okay. I might have believed you if I didn’t see the way he watches you while you’re at work. If a guy gets too close, so does he.” She raises her brows.

“He has made it clear he doesn’t want me. He has made it clear that he is doing me a favor. We might be working on friends, but he has placed me firmly in the ‘Baby Harper’ category. I don’t think I’ll ever get out of that.” I shrug.

“But you want to be?” She pushes me on it.

“Um, yea, have you seen him?” We both laugh. Every female in a hundred mile radius has seen him. I’m pretty sure that’s the only reason The Barhosts so many girls’ nights is so they can ogle him while they drink.

“He’s a really good guy too. He does a lot for the teens in this town. He started that teen night after he heard a bunch of the teachers complaining that the kids just find a field to drink in instead of doing something productive. And he donates all the food and sodas out of his own pocket so the kids don’t have to worry about paying for anything. He doesn’t want anyone excluded.”

“Really? I can see that. He acts tough, but I don’t think he really is.”

Addy tells me a little more about his work for the teens, and how he started hosting live music for the kids who have bands, or like to sing. He gives them an outlet, something I wish I had when I was younger. I’ll have to ask him when he gets back if that’s something that I can help with. It might make me want to get back into the music world again if I’m surrounded by raw, unjaded passion for it.

We finish our pizza, and she leaves a few hours later after the new cooking show champion is crowned.

I’m thankful for the quiet night with my sister. And that she respected my boundary. Something I don’t think my other sisters would have been able to do if they were all here. They believe that there is power in numbers. Maybe one on ones is the way to go.

As I lay on the couch my mind is spinning with ways to help Gunnar on the teen nights. Maybe I could help branch off that and start a new mentorship program for the girls. I type all my ideas into the notes app on my phone until I can't fight how heavy my eyelids are getting.

Chapter Ten

Gunnar

I pull up to the small lot behind The Bar, exhaustion creeping in.

After two straight days of physical labor working on the the cottage with my brothers, my muscles are protesting any movement. Including getting out of my truck and walking up the stairs to make it to my bed.

My parents’ cottage on the property had a pipe leaking, so we had to replace all the flooring. My brother called and asked me to come help with it. I love staying with Wyatt, but I am happy to be home in my own house.

Once I muster the strength, I lock my car and head up the back stairs to grab a quick shower, and hope that the hot water relaxes some of my tight muscles.

Willow is asleep on the couch when I walk through the door. The sun streams through the slider, casting a golden glow on her. It makes the copper hues in her hair glow like the sun.

Her perfect round ass is on full display in short bike shorts with my tee twisted around her waist.

Fuck me.

The urge to squeeze or slap said perfect ass is too much. I grab a blanket from the chair and cover her up before heading into my bathroom to shower, and dream of what it would be like to touch every part of her flawless body; that I’ll never get the chance to touch.

I woke up this morning to a text from her, that I haven’t been able to respond to yet. It was a continuation of the little twenty questions game we’ve been playing.

Willow: What is your favorite charity?

It is such a random question, I don’t know how to answer. I do a lot for our Lupine Valley community but very few people know about what I do. Outside of the community, I like to donate to quite a few charities. I just wonder what prompted her question.

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