Page 79 of Above All Else
Standing, I dropped mine into my pocket, dug my keys out of my desk drawer, and walked out of my office. “If anyone needs me. Don’t call. I’ll be sleeping.”
Hushed laughter filled the space as I punched the exit bar on the door and flinched, my eyes squinting in the bright morning light.
Birds sang, welcoming the day, while my body cried out. I sank into my car, drove to the phone store, and purchased the latest and greatest, my eyes bobbing closed as the salesman went over warranty options.
Two hours later, I pulled into my garage, a new phone in hand and every variation of shirt, pants, and undergarments on the shelf. Rock n’ roll blared across the house speaker system, and bacon assaulted my sinuses in the best way, causing my stomach to rumble as I entered the house.
She’s awake?
She’s here...
She stayed.
My heart somersaulted as I dropped the bags to the floor and shuffled into the kitchen.
June stood at the stove, her hair in a messy high ponytail, her ass cheeks peeking out from beneath her shirt...myshirt. She danced, her hips swaying to the music, her spatula transformed into her kitchen microphone.
“I promised to make you pancakes this morning.”
She jumped with a squeal and spun in a half circle, her feet leaving the ground, causing me to snicker.
I dropped her new phone box onto the island countertop and settled on the bar stool beside it.
June grabbed the remote, and the music stopped. “Sorry.” She pointed back at the bacon sizzling in the pan with the spatula. “You said make yourself at home, and I was starving. I couldn’t wait.”
"Ididsay that.“ I braced my elbow on the counter. “But I didn’t expect you to eat the two-hundred-dollar black bacon.”
Her eyes widened, and she switched the stove off. “Two-hund...”
Laughter roared in my chest, and she paused, her breathless shock morphing into a piercing glare.
“You liar.” She tossed the spatula at me, the residue splattering over the surface, and turned the stove back on. “That wasn’t nice. I nearly had a heart attack.”
“You think I can afford bacon that expensive or I’d want to even pay that price?”
“I don’t know how much you make or how expensive your bachelor tastes are.” She glanced around, her palms pointed skyward. “I mean, look at this house. You look like you can afford anything.”
My cheeks ached as I leaned onto the counter with my other elbow. “I do well for myself, but I’m not rich by any means.”
“You drive a Mercedes.”
I raised a brow. “And?”
“Those are rich people’s cars.”
A short, derisive puff of air shot through my nose as Isuppressed a laugh. “They are not.”
“Are too. Name one person in Avon who has a Mercedes. I bet you can’t.” She reached across the counter, took the spatula, and flipped the bacon.
“Okay, A Mercedes isn’t practical in the mountains.” I shook my head. “And does that mean you think everyone in Avon is poor?”
“I didn’t mean it that way.” She shrugged with a smirk. “Agree to disagree, I suppose.”
“So you would oppose me buying you one?”
June spun and pointed the wet spatula at me. “You absolutely will not buy me a car. I have one in Avon. I’ll have a company ship it to me.”
I opened the box with her new phone, powered it on, and stuck it in the protective case. “We’ll see.”