Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Connor
I grabbed one of the clean rags from my supply bin and wiped the sweat from my face. “Fuck, it’s hot in here.”
“Sure is,” Sabrina agreed. My idea of cleaning houses had taken off, and I was now the owner of Spit Shine Clean LLC. I even had three employees, including Sabrina, who was trying to earn as much money as she could for graduate school.
We were working for one of our favorite clients, a family who was big on praise and tips and short on complaints—if only all our clients had those traits. Unlike most of the larger, fancier houses we cleaned, this one didn’t have air conditioning, and it was the middle of one of the hottest Junes on record. I’d worked on an estimate beforehand, so Sabrina and I had gotten a late start, and we were both dripping with sweat after trying to clean in record time.
I was disgusted by how much the heat had bothered me over the last few weeks. I’d gotten spoiled since coming home from the desert. Working in overheated houses was about as rough as life got these days except for the punishing workouts I put myself through every morning, but since I did those on autopilot they hardly seemed to count.
“You all done?” I asked Sabrina.
“Just need to mop the kitchen.”
“Okay, I’ll put the rugs back in place in the bathroom and carry the equipment out.”
A few minutes later Sabrina met me at my truck. We hopped in, and I cranked the engine.
“You lock up?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yep.”
“Did you leave the key under the planter?”
“Yes, sir.” Sabrina saluted me.
I flipped her off. “I was just checking.”
“You’re always checking. The rest of us do remember things on occasion, you know? Sometimes we even manage jobs without you.”
I started to protest, but Sabrina was right. I was a micromanager. This company was mine and I wouldn’t settle for anything less than perfect. I blew out a long breath and wiped my sweaty face again. “You’ve done a great job so far.”
“Thanks.” She patted me on the shoulder. “I know you’re just nervous.”
“Nervous? Marines don’t get nervous.” That was a lie and a half, but I had a reputation to uphold.
Sabrina rolled her eyes, seeing right through me. “Right.”
“Quality of service matters.”
Sabrina smiled like she was humoring me. “Of course it does. That’s why I actually follow your instructions instead of blowing you off.”
“Sabrina.”
“Yes?” she asked with saccharine sweetness.
“You’re pushing your luck.”
“Try to relax once in a while. Please?”
“Relaxing gets you—” I almost said killed. Maybe I hadn’t left the desert as far behind as I’d thought.
“Are you okay?”
I shook off the memories. “Yes, and I know I’m an asshole.”
“You are not. Trust me. I’ve worked for some assholes, and you’re not one. You’re demanding, but not unreasonably so. The business is your baby. You want to take care of it. I get that. I just hate seeing you so stressed.”
“I’m not—”
She raised her brow. “Don’t even try.”
I fought back the urge to snap. “Fine.”
“I’m going out with some friends tonight. Why don’t you come along?”
Why was she always trying to make me socialize? “I don’t think—”
“One of them is really hot, and she just broke up with her boyfriend…”
“Are you seriously trying to get me to sleep with your friend?”
“Of course not! What kind of girl do you think she is?” Sabrina seemed to be trying to keep a straight face. I raised my brows. “Okay, yes I am.” She let go of her laughter.
“I don’t think—”
“If you don’t click with her, there’ll be plenty of other women there.”
That was so not going to happen. “Yeah… I really don’t—”
“Don’t tell me you’re shy around women.” Sabrina’s sarcastic tone made me bristle.
That wasn’t the problem. I had hidden my preferences for years. Even though it was theoretically okay to be gay in the military, I sure as hell hadn’t been ready to come out. Now, as a civilian, I didn’t have the same concerns, but I still couldn’t own up to what I wanted. Which sure as hell wasn’t a girl, no matter how pretty she was.
I started to tell Sabrina, I’m gay. I could say those two words, couldn’t I? How hard could it be? Sabrina didn’t care, and Asheville was a gay-friendly city, but I’d hidden my desires for so long that faking straight had become natural. “I’m not shy. That’s insulting. I’m tired and I want to go home and crash.”
“So you’re going to go home alone and lie on the couch watching crap TV instead of going out with friends?”
I liked the relationship I’d developed with Sabrina. I’d hardly known her when I accepted her invitation to stay at her place until I could get one of my own. Now we were almost as close as I was with her brother, or more so considering the distance Mario had put between us since our last mission. Maybe I should just go out with Sabrina and her friends. It had been weeks since I’d done anything but work, and a hell of a lot longer than that since I’d fucked anyone. But I couldn’t pretend to take a woman home, and I obviously wasn’t ready to admit why I didn’t want to.