Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
She tilted her head. “Did you kiss me, or did I kiss you?”
“Come to think of it, you might’ve initiated it.” I smiled. “Wait—did you take advantage of the pathetic state you found me in at the food shop?”
She shrugged. “I felt bad for you. The mac and cheese and SpaghettiOs? It was pathetic. I had to do something.”
I straightened up against her headboard. “Okay, in all seriousness, aside from the kiss, what made you invite me here tonight?”
Felicity continued to keep her distance across the room as she looked down.
“At Harvard, I used to play extreme Frisbee, right?” she said, looking up. “I was one of the worst players on the team, and we didn’t win very often. I always knew most of the time I was going to lose. Yet I was okay with that because the invigorating experience was worth the loss. As long as I didn’t expect to win, I was okay. I could just enjoy the experience.” She exhaled. “Falling for you is a losing game.”
“But one you’re willing to play?” My heart raced. “I’m game if you are.”
“If we’re gonna spend time together, I have to let you know that I…can’t sleep with you.”
All right. Fuck.
I certainly hadn’t been expecting her to mention sex right now, even if the thought of it was never too far from my mind these days.
“I understand.” Even if it kills me. But she had reopened the possibility of spending the summer together. I stood up and walked over to where she had her planners lined up on the shelf. “Do you have one of these to spare?”
She squinted, seeming perplexed. “Um…sure. The ones on the right aren’t written in yet.”
I pulled a blue one off the shelf. “I’ll return it at the end of the summer. Is that all right?”
Felicity shrugged. “Okay.”
The last thing I wanted to do was leave her tonight. But since she’d resigned herself to letting me hurt her, my gut told me to pace myself in doing so.
“Thank you for a lovely evening, Felicity.”
“You’re leaving?”
“I think it’s best if I do. Especially since we have a long day tomorrow.”
“We do?”
“Unless you’re working at the restaurant?”
“Not until the following night.”
“Brilliant, then. I’ll pick you up in the morning, and we’ll head to the store to start purchasing supplies for the renovation. How many people did you say are able to help?”
“My friend Bailey and her boyfriend both live in Providence. I know they’re definitely in. I’ll contact them tonight and see who can make it tomorrow.”
“It’s okay if they can’t. We can get started ourselves either way. But the more the merrier. What do you have already in terms of tools? I’m wondering what we’ll need to purchase.”
“Our next-door neighbor works in construction. He has a ton of power tools in his garage—probably almost everything we need, aside from materials. He told me to just let him know when I need to borrow stuff. I can text him.” She smiled. “I can’t believe this is actually happening.”
As we descended the stairs, excitement raced through me. I’d be spending the day with her tomorrow. And working on this project would be a better way to expend my energy than painting art I was too embarrassed to show anyone.
We stood facing each other at her front door. I chose not to give in to the need to kiss her again.
“In case there’s any question, Felicity,” I said as I turned to go, “it was most definitely me who kissed you today.”
The following morning, I picked Felicity up bright and early, and we went to the nearest home improvement store. We were able to borrow a lot of tools from Felicity’s neighbor, Hank Rogers: an air compressor, pneumatic nailer, and chop saw, among other things. So the first step would be getting the framework up. I’d rented a truck, so we’d be able to transport the wood we’d use to start framing the inside. Then we’d have to hire out for electrical and plumbing before resuming the last of our tasks—things like drywall, painting, then flooring.
Mrs. Barbosa was out when we arrived at her house after our shopping trip. Felicity and I went straight to the old garage structure we’d be renovating and got started. Luckily, I remembered much of what I’d learned from my father when he’d brought me with him on a volunteer mission in Tanzania a few years back. That trip, we’d built an addition to a schoolhouse.
Felicity held the studs while I put them in place. I also taught her how to cut the wood properly. Our team of two was off to a pretty good start, if I said so myself. But a couple hours into it, our private partnership was interrupted when her friends arrived to help. Two guys and a girl entered the garage.