Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 192(@200wpm)___ 154(@250wpm)___ 128(@300wpm)
“If you were going to take care of it, you wouldn’t have put it off all this time. And you just said ‘could’ve,’ not that you did,” Shelly points out.
Damn, I did say that.
“Shelly’s got a point.” Stella looks up at me as she nods in agreement. “My momma’s always sayin’ ‘Ella baby, you need to find yourself a good guy to take care of things for you.”
“My mom says that too,” Shelly agrees.
“You sure you don’t have a boyfriend you’ve been hidin’ from us?” Stella asks.
“I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Then who’s been driving you to and from work, even after getting your car fixed for you?” Shelly asks with a smirk before she whirls back around to face her mirror.
“Oooh, girl. No way did you pay for those repairs if you haven’t even been driving your car,” Lana, another dancer, says and crosses her arms over her chest. “Are you gonna try to keep fooling us or are you gonna admit you got yourself a man?”
I look at all the women in the room, women who have been nothing but kind to me. I love them, but I know from past experience that they’re like sharks in bloody water whenever they smell gossip in the air. I also know they aren’t going to let this go until I spill my guts. “You guys have this all wrong. And plus, the driver side door on my car is better, but I wouldn’t say it’s totally fixed. It still sticks every once in a while, and the repair guy said the others are all lost causes, since they’ve been welded shut.”
“You shouldn’t be crawling over car seats and consoles in your condition anyway,” Maria, the youngest dancer in the bunch, mutters, staring at my round belly with wide eyes. “Not when you’re ready to pop any day now.”
“Is that why the new boyfriend is still drivin’ you around?” Stella asks. “If so, that’s a good sign. Protective guys are hot, especially when they go all caveman.”
“Oh, I love a caveman.” Lana gets a faraway look in her eyes.
“Stella’s right,” Shelly agrees, catching my attention. “I know I haven’t met him yet, but he already has my stamp of approval if he’s looking out for you.”
A blush creeps up my cheeks and my gaze drops to the floor.
“Girl.” Stella grabs my hand. “That’s a guilty look if I’ve ever seen one.”
“Um. Well, it’s just that Shelly’s wrong. She definitely knows him, since he lives upstairs from our apartment,” I admit softly.
I lift my head to see Shelly’s eyes widen in surprise, and she shrieks, “Your new boyfriend is Justin? Holy fuck! How’d you get in there with the Viking hottie?”
“I… I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” She shakes her head, laughing. “He’s barely said two words to me in all the time I’ve lived there. He’s a nice guy, but I’ve always gotten the impression he isn’t too happy about having me as a neighbor, which is strange as fuck, since most guys are more than happy to be anywhere near me.”
Maria snorts, and Shelly glares at her, asking, “What? You don’t think it’s weird for a guy to not be interested in having all this”—she waves a hand at her body—“living right downstairs from him?”
My nose wrinkles at the idea of my Justin being attracted to Shelly. I know it’s crazy for me to think of him as mine, since we only met a week ago and I’m about ready to pop out a baby, but I just can’t help myself. My feelings for him are growing by leaps and bounds each and every day we spend together. I mean, I let him kiss me on day one, and now one week later, I can’t imagine my life without him in it. He’s become that important to me in such a short time. It’s kind of scary, but not in a way where I’m afraid. More like an exciting scary.
“Nope. I don’t think it’s weird at all.” Maria aims a smile my way. “I really like that the guy Aubrey is dating isn’t interested in his stripper neighbor. It means he has a little class.”
“Hey!” Shelly cries. “I’m classy.”
“Quit tryin’ to make this about you, Shelly. It’s about Aubrey and her new boyfriend.” Lana sighs.
“He’s not really my boyfriend,” I say for the hundredth time, even though I’m becoming a little confused about the status of our relationship. I’m not exactly sure how the whole relationship thing works, since I’ve never been in one before, but I’m pretty sure you aren’t boyfriend and girlfriend until you have a conversation about it.
“Did he get your car fixed for you?” Stella asks.
“Yeah.”
She looks up from doing the straps on her heels and raises an eyebrow at me. “And he’s still drivin’ you to work?”
“Uh-huh.”
“He feedin’ you too?”