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Chapter 5
I don’t have a car Well, I did, but ended up selling it for a few hundred dollars I was lucky to get that ether with duct tape At least the doors and ere Soet my apartment Gas and insurance were expenses I just couldn’t afford
Norives me a ride home fro the bus It’s about an hour trek across tohen it would only take tenwith
As I’ lot, I see a tank-sized pickup truck with a lu up two spaces in the lotnext to it with a fist full of lilies This contrast of soft and hard is al to the eye My heart jumps around i
nto bounce out of my life just as fast as he swept in
“What are you doing here?” I say, trying to ether
He handsas I take theed about him They are calloused and scarred fro theht But it’s exactly those “flaws” that make them sexy as hell
He kisses htly on the mouth, then follows up with a peck on the nose When we separate, people are watching us They probably thought he was my dad before that kiss, but since Paul doesn’t seem to mind what people think, I sure as shit don’t either
“I want to spend soes my shoulder playfully “Until later, that is”
A swarm of pterodactyls rises up in my stomach I’m beyond butterflies at this point At least I have the proet
He opens the passenger side door, and I get in It’s an older pickup with the black paint chipped and peeling The interior is ripped up and dirty and sasoline and burned oil The floorboards are covered in chunks of dried ce just oozes testosterone He could afford any vehicle he wanted, according to my dad, yet he sticks with tried and true I find it so endearing that I can’t help but look at hily with a stupid smile on my face
“Where are we going?” I ask
“It’s a surprise”
He drives with one hand loose on the steering wheel and the other dangling out the openThere’s so about a confident driver Or maybe I’m just really horny Doesn’t seem to matter what Paul does; it’s all a turn on for me
He heads for the freeway On our e drive through one of oldest neighborhoods in town There are a lot of Victorian ho off fro off the Pacific On a cliff overlooking the ocean like a stern nanny, is a gothic Victorian hoirl I thought it looked like a giant dollhouse painted white with pink gingerbread tri to be desired, but it’s impossible not to see the beauty beyond that
“That’sto it
His gaze follows er He raises his brows “Really? Looks like a place someone was probably murdered in”
I laugh It really is in bad shape It has been vacant ht it had done so with the hopes of fixing it up to its forering ans were back up in the yard again
“It does have a bit of American Horror Story curb appeal,” I admit “But I love it It’s different from all the other houses around it and that view … I could stare out those s and be content for the rest of my life”
“Those old hos aren’t always useless,” he says, winking at me He reaches over to where ers with ain, the contrast of hard and soft His tan hands against my pale ones It’s so comfortable and effortless, it feels as if we’re old pros at this whole being together thing
We chat easily as we drive down the freeway, and even e’re not talking, I feel co out theand listening to the lol of the diesel motor We’ve been in the truck for half an hour when he pulls off into a town that is so small it has one exit If you blink, you’ll as station, Denny’s restaurant, and a furniture store
I doubt he took me out of town to eat at a run-down diner, and he has plenty of fuel So that leaves the ives us plenty of space to hook up without getting caught,for furniture andback to town
He parks right outside the furniture store and alk inside It s is hard, heavy woods, hand is Ikea, eat your heart out
“What are we doing here?” I ask
“Just looking”
He takes h the store We stop in each depart room, and he asks my opinion on different pieces that he likes It’s all beautiful to me, but I tend to like the more weathered, beachy items better
Eventually we end up at the back of the store We go through a door and I’m not sure we’re supposed to be back here, but when thewood at a saw table looks up, he smiles and says, “Paul! Hey man, I haven’t seen you in years” He takes off his protective glasses and reaches out his hand for Paul to shake He’s a hippy-looking older guy in his fifties, a Big Lebowski type with long dreadlocks, wearing tie-dye “Did you finally move back?”
Paul looks atthe question “How’s it been going? The place looks great”