Page 21 of Counting Quarters

Chapter Ten

Blaire

“Youbitch!”

The ghostly figure was on my heels the second I closed Officer Abbot’s front door. Hailey had been there the entire time, lingering in the corner and floating between rooms. When she wasn’t rifling through his things, she was trying everything she could think of to get my attention.

I’d learned to ignore the spirits pretty early on, but none were as persistent and annoying as her. I knew it was time to go when I almost slipped up and told him about my gifts.

Hailey went wild, waving her hands around and begging me to continue. To tell him about her.

It hit me all at once what a mistake I was making. I didn’t care if he thought I was crazy. I didn’t care if she was mad at me. Nothing would be as bad as Grammy finding out that I got high and exposed the Granger's secret, putting us all at risk.

“I know you can hear me, Blaire. I don’t want to be here any more than you want me to be. He could have helped us!”

Still avoiding eye contact, I slid through the front door, slamming it in her face, and climbed the stairs to my apartment. Obviously, it was ineffective at keeping her out, but I could tell it irritated her, and that was all I could hope for.

“You’re infuriating,” she finally relented from beside the couch with a deep sigh.

I fixed my eyes on her just in time to watch her fizzle out and fade away into thin air, leaving me alone for the first time in hours. I didn't know what had gotten into me tonight. I shouldn’t have talked to Sheriff Abbot. If I were smart, I would have walked back inside the second he pulled in.

If you were smart, you wouldn't have moved here in the first place, Grammy's voice berated in my mind.

Probably true.

But whenever he was around, all rational thoughts left my mind. He wasn’t judgmental like everyone else in this black hole of a town. He talked to me like a person. Almost like he understood.

The concept of being a black sheep wasn't lost on him.

My thoughts quickly spiraled, leading down to a dark, forbidden place.

Fantasizing about being trapped under the stare of those hooded, stone-grey eyes. To be caressed with those large, capable hands. Would they be rough and calloused, or soft and sweet?

I’d been with one boy in my life. I say boy because that was exactly what he was: a rude, judgmental, hormonal child who was only after one thing. And I stupidly gave it to him.

After only one month of our secret relationship.

He didn’t want people to know he was dating the weird girl, and I was just happy to have someone who was even remotely interested in me. That sort of desperation happened when your peers did nothing but tease you, and your family did nothing but avoid you.

Anyway, he had soft hands. Boyish hands. They were shaky and inexperienced and couldn’t even bring me to anything resembling a climax. I had to go home and finish the job myself after any time we were together.

Once the fling was over and he'd effectively deflowered me, he made me promise not to tell anyone. I wasn't even disappointed about that. I personally didn't want my mistake to be shared throughout our high school and have his body stain my reputation any more than it already was.

I could tell Kyle knew exactly what to do. And not because he was nearly twenty years my senior and had time on his side. He just held himself like a man who knew how to please a woman.

I crawled into my bed and slipped my hand under the waistband of my leggings as more and more thoughts of him infiltrated my mind. Silly, stupid, girlish thoughts.

I didn’t care. I could entertain this schoolgirl crush on my landlord so long as I never acted on them. And I never would. Not beyond my fantasies.

I closed my eyes and his face appeared in my mind as I slid two fingers in, imagining they were his. My hips formed small circles and a soft man left my lips as I picked up the pace, grinding against my entire hand.

Within minutes, my body was set on fire. I was squirming around in my bed, riding out my release as I ground against Kyle’s hands. Once the stars disappeared behind my eyes, I turned over on my side and allowed my lingering high to lull me to sleep.

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