Page 42 of Give Me Redemption

It’s a lay.

Not a romance.

A knock sounds on the door. I grab my robe and head out of the bedroom, checking the peephole first, making sure it’s Malcom. He stands on the outside looking down. I unlock the door, and he tilts his head up.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hey,” I reply. I move out of the way and he steps inside.

As soon as the door is shut, we grab each other and I close my eyes, pretending it’s Jace the whole time.

I know I’m messed up.

I know I’m truly fucked.

Chapter Nineteen

Jace

Weeks slip past us, like only time knows how to do. It’s stealth. You almost don’t even pay it attention. Summertime is almost over but keeps reminding us it’s not when we head out. Bryce and I have come to a free concert downtown and we’ve run into Harrison. She’s with some friends, and I can tell my brother is falling hard for the girl.

It’s an odd, happy thing to witness. The man has been alone for so long. Hell, he didn’t even date when we were growing up. He’s always preferred it that way, but I can tell his whole world is changing. And it’s all because of this girl sitting beside him.

My phone vibrates and I check the screen.

You lost.Michelle texts.

I smile to myself. We had a bet going that she couldn’t go a whole week without eating nuts. The girl is a nut freak. I mean, peanut butter, sunflower seeds, pistachios. She’s always eating them when we talk on the phone. It doesn’t even annoy me.

I don’t think anything she does annoys me.

You went a whole week?I respond.

Yep. You lost and you owe me now.

What do you want?I text back.

It takes her a minute to respond, so I put the phone back and listen to Harrison’s friends talk about the concerts and how hot it is. But my mind stays on the girl I can’t seem to get enough of.

She’s beautiful, down-to-earth, not into anything flashy, and she’s starting to have this hold on me.

It’s exhilarating.

I’ve even chilled out on partying. It’s crazy. I’ve been going to the ranch a lot and working. It feels good to have a purpose.

I still have my wild nights out occasionally, and I’m still sleeping with other women, and Michelle does her own thing.

I fucking hope she isn’t sleeping with anybody, but I can’t tell her not to. We don’t even know what’s going on between us, and it’s only been a month. My phone vibrates again, and I grab it.

Cook me dinner.She replies.

Done. I’ll even do it at your place so you don’t have to get out.

Okay!

Her place… Could this mean we can take things farther? I’ve never in my life gone this slowly with a chick before. It’s fucking killing me. Being around her is like seeing the ocean for the first time.

That feeling that something is so much bigger than you.

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