Page 45 of Almost True
I choose not to respond to that.
“Anyway, it’s two hundred a week including power,” Garret says. “Not bad for here, really.”
“Not bad,” I echo hollowly. I have no way of affording this.
“D’you want to see the room?”
“Sure.”
I follow Garret numbly into the house, past a dingy living room full of mismatched couches and tables and through a kitchen with several broken floorboards.
“This is the one,” he says, pushing open a door.
The room is worse than any I’ve lived in before. The ceiling is badly water-stained, the floor sagging, and the bed is nothing more than a mattress on the floor.
“Not the nicest, I know, but at least it’s an improvement over the tussocks!” Garret says with a grin.
“Yeah.” I nod robotically. “I think I’ll keep looking, sorry.”
Then I turn and trudge out of that depressing-ass house and back toward my cabin, hating how grateful I am that it won’t work out.
Okay. New plan.
Dex doesn’t want to kick me out. He thinks we can live together.
He’s wrong, because winter is going to be a totally different story than summer, and there’s no way in hell I’m trapping myself in such a small space with someone.
I know myself. I might be enjoying the company now, but it’s going to wear off, because I’m fundamentally a loner. And winter will be the wrong time to figure that out and end up homeless.
But in the meantime, it seems like Dex doesn’t want to scare me off. He probably won’t give me any new dares for a while.
I just need to come up with the ultimate dare, something he’ll never agree to. Something that will guarantee the cabin is mine.
And until then, I need to keep to myself. Stop pretending this is something it isn’t.
Chapter 32
Dex
When I get back from the bar, my head is a bit fuzzy from too many beers. I’m disappointed to find Korren already in bed. He’s probably just pretending to sleep, but it’s obvious he wants to avoid me, which hurts like hell. Especially now that I think I’m feeling something real for him.
But that’s messed up. If I’m actually into him and he’s straight, it’s not fair for me to demand anything from him. I need to step back and respect his boundaries, because I’m still convinced I’d rather live with him—even if it means I’m never allowed to touch him again—than lose him.
Korren is going to be so fucking impressed with my restraint. And it’s going to kill me.
I don’t cuddle him that night.
When I wake up the next morning, Korren is already outside gathering kindling to dry beside our mountain of firewood. There’s no coffee and banter to start the morning, just a terse “Hey” from Korren when I come out the door.
But when I reach for his hand, he takes it without protest. So he’s still not giving up on the challenge.
And after my revelation last night, after touching him so much yesterday on the fishing trip, this is basically torture.
I want all of him. More than he can give me.
Yeah, not going to happen.
We don’t say a single word on the way down to the fire station. I can’t even pretend I’m paying attention to the rest of the crew, so I tell them I’m hungover as an excuse for my grim mood.
