Page 26 of Pretend I’m Yours
With a sigh, I covered my eyes with one of my arms, trying to block out a bit of the sun that was creeping in around the blackout drapes. I was still slightly hungover, and the light was incredibly bright. I knew I had to get up and function.
I was not going to turn into the guy who moved in and took advantage of all that she had to offer. Hell, I would clean the penthouse for her while she was gone, perhaps head to the store and get her a few things as a thank you for the things she got me when I was feeling so sick.
Whatever I did with my day, I was going to do something that would contribute to the household in some way. It was ironic that I would be using her money and her cleaning products to do it, but it was all that I could do with the situation I was in.
And while I worked, I was going to figure out some way to talk to her about the fact that we’d had sex and figure out what she thought about it.
Who are you kidding? You know it was nothing more than a couple of attractive people taking advantage of the fact they live together. She’s young, hot, and unattached, and so are you.
She was probably just getting it out of her system, just like you thought you were when you started ripping her clothes off. Don’t be an idiot, and don’t make an ass out of yourself by making this something it clearly was not, I thought to myself as I eased myself to the side of the bed.
If I could continue to talk myself out of thinking it was anything but sex, then I knew I’d be able to move past it without giving it another thought. But there was a part of me that knew no matter how hard I tried, I was going to continue to dwell on what happened, how perfect it was, and how desperately I wanted it to happen again.
No! That would be the worst thing you could do. You already think you might be having feelings for this woman, so you really think you can keep taking her to bed and not have those maybe feelings turn into something real?
You’re being a fucking idiot, Drake, and you are setting yourself up to get hurt again. You see where she’s from, the life she lives. You don’t measure up, no matter what she’s telling you. You can dream all you want, but for all you know, you are just as much a charity project to her as any one of her kids she wants to help.
It didn’t matter what she said or what I thought I felt. Hannah was off limits.
12
Hannah
“Think fast!” Teisha said as she tossed a grocery store sub sandwich at me. I squeaked in surprise but managed to catch it before it hit the ground.
I was sitting at a picnic table in a small, rundown park near her work so I could visit her on lunch break. The sun was shining but it wasn’t too hot, and the grass felt good under my bare feet. I hoped one day the city would prioritize fixing the jungle gym and the slides for the kids, but it didn’t seem as though that would happen any time soon.
There were a few other people there. A couple of kids were trying to fly a kite, a bum was sitting under a tree with a bag in his hand, pretending like it wasn’t liquor he was drinking though I’d seen him raise it to his lips more than once.
A young mom and her baby were greeting a man in a suit. I guessed he was on his lunch break and had come to see his family while he had a few minutes off, just like Teisha was doing with me.
“If you had dropped that I would have made you eat it anyway,” Teisha said as she sat down. She grinned at me at first, but then her face changed. “What’re you doing? You said you were going to meet me for lunch, not stare at your books while I get to stare at you as I eat!”
She groaned when she saw the books on the table in front of me, and I made a show of closing them with a loud thud. I rolled my eyes and let out a loud sigh before I answered her, making a point to look as exasperated as possible. “I was just getting some extra study time in while I waited for you, geez!”
“Uh-huh, I bet if I hadn’t said a word you would be sitting over that book right now while I just sat here,” she argued with a pout. Her face quickly changed back to her normal, cheerful self. “We missed you the other night.”
