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I had no idea what Rose Falls looked like. I didn’t even really know where it was, but I had to assume it was impressive enough for him to try so hard to get it. I knew he said it was something his grandfather wanted, and he appeared to have been close to him. Still, I knew rich people tended to only care about money and making more of it. I found it very hard to believe he was doing this to better the town or for the future.
“You’ve clearly never been to Rose Falls,” he commented with a slight huff.
“Couldn’t even find it on a map if I had to.”
“I don't even think it’s on a map. I had to type in the full address into my GPS before it even figured out where it was. Even then it seemed awfully confused.”
“So, you inherited a serial killer town.”
He gave a huff of a laugh before he spoke, “You’re not wrong. It’s an old town that is rundown. There’s not much in terms of businesses, and the buildings that I saw were borderline falling down. It’s going to be a lot of work and cost a lot to get it up and running. I don’t even know exactly how many people live there. The lawyer said something about ten thousand, but I suspect that is a bit of an exaggeration. I’m not doing this for money. My grandfather purchased it right before Zoey was born. This is something that she can inherit and have for her future. And that deserves for me to put work into it and money.”
It would be nice if that was true. I guess I would find out soon enough how he truly felt about the town and what it could mean for Zoey. He seemed like a good dad. I had to give him that credit. I hadn’t come across any man in my life that was there for their kid, especially as a single parent. He stuck around, even when Zoey’s mother didn’t, so he got some points on that. It didn’t mean I was going to trust him or anything he said. It was why I wanted that contract, and I was going to be making sure it had everything within it. I didn’t want any surprises by the end of this year.
“Is that why you aren’t sleeping right now? I have to imagine there is a lot that needs to be done before the move.”
“There is. I have to find us a place to live and get this place packed up and on the market. I’ll have a moving company come in and grab the furniture. Whatever doesn’t go with us, I’ll have someone come in and donate it all to a family in need. I also need to make sure Zoey can be registered at the new school and probably take her shopping in the next couple of days so she can have some new clothes. She’s been at a private school for the last few years and having to wear a uniform. This will be her first time going to a school dressed as herself. Some clothes that don’t have stains on them would be good.”
“She seems like an active kid,” I commented.
“Very much so. She has always preferred to get dirty than to stay clean and paint her nails. I get the feeling you were like that,” he said as he turned to face me better.
“Because I know how to fix a car that means I don’t know how to be a woman?” I challenged as I turned to face him as well.
“I didn’t say that. You just come across as someone that doesn’t really care about going to the hair salon or spa. I know your current circumstances don't allow for that, but I got the impression even if they did, you wouldn’t be caught dead there.”
“You really enjoy judging people, eh?” I said with a small shake of my head.
“First of all, everyone judges everyone. You are doing it to me right now. Second of all, I’m not judging. Everyone is who they are. Some women are very girly, and others are more tomboyish; there’s nothing wrong with either. All I am saying, from what I have seen of you, and the fact that you can fix a car to an extent, you seem more like the type that prefers to get her hands dirty than getting your nails done,” he explained, but I could hear the frustration within his voice.
“You do know it is possible for a woman to like working with her hands, but also getting dressed up right? They don’t have to be one over the other.” I pointed out.
I didn’t know what was going on with me, because what he was saying was true. I did prefer to work with my hands compared to getting my nails done. I had always been like that. But for whatever reason, my mind refused to give this man even an inch. I didn’t want him to get close to me. I didn’t want him to know me. I wanted to stay as strangers because then it would be easier to leave at the end of the year. I couldn’t allow myself to get attached, to let anyone get close. It was safer that way. I needed to make sure there was a wall up between us; it was the only way to keep all of us safe.
“Okay. Again, I didn’t mean anything by it. Holy fuck,” he said, sounding completely exhausted and done with this. “We should just have sex.”
“Excuse me?” That was the last thing I had expected to be coming out of his mouth. We were not going to have sex. That was literally rule number one. Sex would make everything more complicated, and I was trying to simplify this situation. I hated that I felt a heat wash over me at his words. I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about our short time together. Before he opened his mouth and tried to pay me. The sex was epic, and it left me feeling like a woman dying of thirst and Charlie was the only one that could give me the water I needed. That didn't change that it would be a terrible idea and there was no way I was going to be giving into temptation. I was stronger than that. At least that’s what I was telling myself.
Charlie
“Whynot?Thereisclearly a tension between us. It would allow us to work it off,” I explained.
Okay, it was most likely a terrible idea. I could admit that. However, I wasn’t wrong either. We were both unable to sleep. We were both stressed, and there was a tension between us that I suspected was more sexual than anything. Would it fix everything? Hell no. We were going to keep bickering with each other until we finally figured out how to interact with the other. Some people naturally clicked, and everything was smooth sailing. Others, there was a serious adjustment period. Typically, you didn't live with that person, but it was too late to back out now. All we could do was try and make this work. Maybe getting some of our frustrations out would help us out.
“You’re insane. It is literally rule number one, no sex,” she immediately countered.
I could tell she was against this, but I could also see the heat within her eyes. She was attracted to me. She might not like it, but she was. She wanted this just as badly as I did. I wasn’t happy about it either. I didn't want to crave the feel of her skin against mine. I didn't want to be fighting a hard-on every time I saw her. Maybe if we had sex one more time, it would work it out of our systems, and we could go back to trying to tolerate each other.
“It is rule number one, but technically that is when we sign the contract. The contract doesn’t even exist yet and it won’t for the next couple of days,” I countered.
“We don't even like each other. We can’t go five minutes without arguing. And now you want to add sex into that mix?”
“You don’t have to like the other person to have great sexual chemistry,” I said as I moved closer to her. I knew she wanted this. She just needed to stop worrying so much about what came after. “We don’t get along, fine, but we are also stressed and unable to sleep. Sex would be a great way to work off that stress, and maybe it would help us to not argue so much.”
“Oh really? And how do you figure that?” she asked with a smirk.
“Well, maybe it’s a sexual tension between us, and that is making it very difficult for us to focus on anything else. We are arguing because we just need to have sex one more time to get the other out of our system. Really, what do we have to lose? It’s not like we could argue more. If this doesn't work, then we will at least get to have great sex again and be able to finally get some sleep.”
I could see a small smirk forming on her mouth. She knew I had valid points, and she had nothing to counter them. I could also tell she didn’t want to counter them. She was pleased that I had made all valid arguments. Would I wake up tomorrow regretting this, quite possibly, but not because of the sex. The sex was going to be amazing. I already knew that. Might make things a bit more awkward, but really how much more awkward could it be?
