Fool me once…
I’m not getting fooled twice.I sink my fork into the pie and slice off one last piece. If the blind date hadn’t canceled, I’d be at the restaurant right now. I’m still relieved I’m not there, putting up a fake-ass front that I’m enjoying myself.
But…if I were there…I would be distracted.
I wouldn’t be sitting here, trying to shake off the emptiness before it settles into my chest, sinking deeper and deeper until it consumes me.
I’m not lonely.
I don’t want anything more.
Why would I?
I have a house to myself. Get more action now than I did when I was married. I have no one to answer to but myself. No one to nag at me. Annoy me.
Keep me company. Make me laugh. Wrap my arms around in the middle of the night, when the house is cold and—dammit.
I set my fork down and lean back, sighing. I might be able to keep the emptiness away for now, but I can’t shake this restless mood or deny how much I don’t want to sleep alone tonight. I look around the living room, and the fact that I’m the only one here presses against me like a heavy, wet blanket, slowly suffocating me.
I’ve only been here for a few months, and my plan was just to stay until I found something else. Something smaller and easier to manage. Yet here I am, all alone in this big house, with rooms to fill and a large dining room begging to be used for family meals.
It was a model home for one of the neighborhoods our company developed and has been professionally decorated. We put a lot into this house, with tons of upgrades in the kitchen, a huge tiled shower in the master bathroom, and crown molding throughout the downstairs.
It’s been on the county Spring Home Tour for three years in a row now, and every year it gets high ratings from everyone who passes through. But houses aren’t meant to sit empty, and I know Dad was throwing me a bone by suggesting I buy it. I got a hell of a deal on this place, of course, and we still bring clients in to show them examples of our work.
And I agreed to have it on the home tour again this spring, which I’ll probably regret.
This house was built for a family, with an open-concept floor plan and a large bonus room over the garage which would a perfect playroom. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining that I got really nice house for dirt cheap. This place is fucking sweet, and the women I bring home are always impressed by it.
But it reminds me just how alone I am.
I slide the pie to the back of the counter, a habit I got into years ago. We always had dogs growing up and most were terrible food hounds, stealing anything they could off the counter. I get something to drink and then go back into the living room with the intention of playing video games and keeping myself occupied that way, but I know that won’t be enough.
Because I don’t want to be alone tonight.
“Fuck it,” I say, not caring that I have a ten AM meeting in the morning. These clients are perpetually late, and we’re meeting here at the house so they can look at the wainscoting in the guest room upstairs. I’m a generally neat person, and I vacuumed the entire house yesterday, so it’s not like I have to rush around cleaning before the meeting.
It’s plenty of time to get home…or to kick someone out.
Either way, I’ll have a warm body next to me tonight. It’ll be enough…for now.Chapter 8Rory“Why are you calling me?” I slow and pull into the gravel parking lot of Getaway. “Are you dying?”
“Not tonight,” Lennon laughs. “And I’m driving. So you get to listen to my beautiful voice. I know you miss it.”
“I do,” I say and drive through rows of pickup trucks as I look for a spot. “So if you’re not dying, then why are you calling me?” We text occasionally, not as much as we have in the past, but we’ve both been busy with work.
Which isn’t a good excuse, I know.
“You’re never going to guess where I have an interview next week.”
“Orlando.”
“Ew, no. My hair and all that humidity do not mix,” she laughs. “Guess again.”
“Um, Vegas? I know you love the dry heat.”
“I do, but I’m not that lucky. You’re never going to guess so I’ll just tell you. Newport.”
“Yay! Wait…Newport? That’s by me!”
“I know! I wasn’t sure about taking this job, but they’re desperate for an assistant principal at one of their middle schools, so I agreed to come and talk face to face.”
“Ahhh, that’s awesome!” My lips pull up in a smile. I lost contact with the few close friends I had in college, and most of the nurses at my previous job were older than me. We got along just fine and went out to lunch together a few times, but they were busy with their teenage children so hanging out as friends never really happened.