Page 55 of Doughn't Let Me Go

I shake myself from my stupor when I realize she’s just spoken and I have no idea what she said.

With reluctance, I drag my gaze from her mouth and say, “Sorry, what?”

Her tongue darts out to coat her bottom lip, like she knows what I was just thinking about. “I asked if there was a certain time you’d like me to be waking Kyrie up?”

“Hell no. It’s summertime. Let that demon sleep—just means more quiet time for me. As you’ll see soon enough, living with a seven-year-old is no joke.”

Dory laughs. “Fair enough.”

She turns the faucet on, rinsing her cup, then pulling open the dishwasher to put it in there. She grabs my mug too, and I make a note to stop being a lazy shithead and clean up after myself because she doesn’t need to be doing that.

I’m not a slob by any means, but I also don’t always need my house to be spotless. Sometimes I let the dishes pile up a little, and sometimes my clothes don’t always make it to the hamper. Not anymore. I can’t have Dory cleaning up my messes. It’s not fair.

When her eyes slide my way, it’s clear I’ve lingered too long.

I clear my throat. “Right. Getting dressed. Be ready by seven thirty?”

“Got it.”

I turn to head out of the kitchen, but I don’t get far.

“Porter?”

I stop but don’t look back. I don’t know why I don’t look back, but I can’t. If I look back, I’ll stay. I can’t stay.

Keep it professional, not personal.

“Yeah?”

Then, “Is she still in the picture?”

I squeeze my eyes shut, hearing the question she’s really asking.

Should I be worried about your jealous ex?

“No.”

* * *

“You can’t just bossme around, Porter!”

“You do realize I amliterallyyour boss, right? You signed the contract,Doris.” I slam the grocery bag onto the counter and hiss her name like it’s a curse. “That’s how this works.”

For the first time in my career, I missed a conference call. Fran called me panicking, thinking she never scheduled it into my calendar, worried I’d fire her.

I reassured her that her job was safe, that the mistake was all mine.

The missed call isn’t why I’m pissed.

I’m fuming because the girl who’s managed to worm her way into all my thoughts is driving me up the wall with her stubborn bullshit.

After our mostly comfortable encounter this morning, I thought for sure we’d finally found some common, unawkward ground.

I was proved wrong right away.

It started with me insisting we ride to breakfast together because I didn’t trust her car. That comment made her angry.

Then I refused to allow her to pay for her own breakfast.

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