That Day, Karen Deen [early readers .txt] 📗

carrying on about. There’s not much to tell. I’m just having dinner with a friend. You know, that thing that normal people do. It’s called socializing outside of work and family. You should try it sometime.”

“A friend who is a woman, okay, and when did you meet? Is this recent or have you been hiding her for a while?” The glint in her eyes tells me she is enjoying seeing me squirm. I’m better off to get this over with as quickly as possible.

“Okay, here is the story. Asha is a woman I helped in the storm. She lives in the house on the point where you saw my truck. Her dog ran away in the storm and she couldn’t get it back home. I helped her, and then all hell broke loose with the weather and we lost power. We kept each other company that night and got to know each other.”

“I’m sure you did.” She giggles.

Ignoring her, I continue talking. “I helped her fix her house the next morning, and then we are catching up for a dinner tonight. Simple, end of story. Okay, can we move on now?”

“Not a chance. Who is she, where is she from?”

“Her name is Asha, and she is from North Carolina.”

“Very fucking funny. Yes, I got that part, smartass. She lives in that house that no one seems to live in for very long. They come and go every few years—which I can never understand, because it’s a beautiful spot. I’d die to live there. I know, maybe it’s haunted, that’s probably it.”

“Who knows. All I know is she seems nice. We have fun together and I enjoy her company. You know I’m not looking for anyone serious, Sis. I’m not marrying material, much to Mom’s disappointment. I’m just not ready yet, and I’m not sure I ever will be. Christ, I can’t even sleep through the night. Who wants a man like that?” I sit down on the bench next to her, and she puts her hand on my thigh, not even flinching at the dirt on it.

“You have to stop beating yourself up about it. One day, it will happen. Someone will sweep you off your feet and all those sleepless nights will be spent loving her. You have to believe it’ll happen. Shit, I’m not giving up hope, so neither should you. I might have had my heart broken once, but that doesn’t mean I’ve given up of finding it again. I mean, he’s taking his sweet-ass time finding me, but I’ll still be here waiting when he finally arrives.”

“I love you, Sis, and don’t you worry, your Prince Charming is out there for you. But he better realize he has to get past me first. No more douchebags allowed.” Putting my arm around her shoulders, I pull her in for a hug.

“Don’t think I don’t realize you are deflecting talking about you by moving the focus to me. And just in case you forget, go home and shower before your date. You stink.” She pushes me away and we both start laughing.

“Dinner with a friend, and yes, I will make sure I shower and even use soap. I’m not a Neanderthal, you know.”

“Debatable some days,” she says, standing and leaning down to kiss me on the cheek. “Make sure you pack up before you leave.” Her giggle makes me laugh. Great, Ricky gets off work early, I get grilled by my sister, and then she leaves me too. Guess I’d better get moving, otherwise I’ll be late for my friendly dinner that is definitely not a date.

By the time I got to the beach, the swell was flat and there was no point going out. So, now I’ve got an hour to kill before I pick up dinner. I’m reading, trying to get a few chapters in before I leave.

These books are hidden treasures but reading them before I leave is a huge mistake. All it’s doing is putting thoughts in my head, the kind I don’t need to be having before I see Asha. Who knew reading about sex can make you horny as hell? If this is what she is thinking about night and day, then I’m not surprised she was so fucking hot in bed. I don’t blush easily, but this scene has me imagining Asha laid out just like she’s describing. No wonder she told me I wasn’t allowed to ask questions about these parts and that demonstrations are off the table. And not on the table either, like in the book.

Fuck! I can’t show up to her place with a raging hard-on and just say, “Excuse my cock sticking up, it’s your fault, I tried reading one of your sex scenes.” Yeah, that’s going to sound so mature. Get a grip, man.

Maybe that’s the option. I need a good firm grip on my…

Nope! I’m a man. I can deal with this. I don’t need to run off to the bathroom like a schoolboy.

Here I was giving Seth shit about watching porn, and I can’t even make it through reading a book.

Tonight’s going to be a long night.

“I wasn’t sure what you like, so I got a bit of everything,” I say, holding the bag up in front of me as Asha opens the door. I actually drove up to the house this time, rather than doing the trek up from the parking lot at the beach.

“I’m a sucker for anything Mexican, as long as it’s combined with guacamole and sour cream. Come in, please.” She waves me in through the door, Coco at her feet, greeting me with her tail wagging madly.

“Thanks.” Asha takes the bags out of my hand and places them on the table. “You look lovely.” I shouldn’t have said it, but it just slipped out. Although my father told me you should always compliment a woman who looks beautiful.

“You don’t look too bad yourself. A bit different to the last time you stepped into my