Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 52338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52338 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
"What if I let him?" I muse with a smirk.
"He can't touch you without a dick."
I giggle and shake my head. If I'm being honest, I think it's actually a little sexy that Trent is willing to get a little violent over me. Unfortunately, I was too drunk to truly appreciate the exhilarating moment of having someone watch us. Maybe we can explore it again once all of this is behind us for good.
"You're going to make a lot of enemies if you keep going around threatening people," I muse. "And I'll probably never hear the end of it if he decides to retaliate against me or something."
"Trust me, you don't have to worry about him. If he knows what's good for him, he'll look the other way every time you pass him," Trent says.
"You're completely nuts," I retort with a giggle.
I slide out of bed and stand to my feet, stretching big and wide. "I'm going to take a shower, and then I need some fresh air." I take a few steps toward the bathroom before looking back at him. "Want to join me?"
He smirks and shakes his head. "Your dad is only a few feet away. I've managed to get on his good side. I don't think he'd appreciate it too much to hear me banging his daughter in the shower."
I let out a hearty laugh for the first time in what feels like forever. It feels good to be able to laugh with him again. It's nice being back on even ground with him. Ever since he'd told me everything that's been going on, our dynamic turned from playful and fun to something tense and serious. I'm glad we can go back to laughing and joking the way we used to, as it has at least distracted me from the problems awaiting us.
He remains in my bedroom while I quickly take a shower. I purposely come out of the bathroom naked, feeling his heated gaze on me as I move around my bedroom to get dressed. After pulling on a tank top and a pair of leggings, I tie my hair up into a messy bun and look at him expectantly.
"Let's take a walk," I suggest.
He nods and stands from the bed, following me out of my bedroom. We make our way through my silent house before we step out into the backyard. Neither of us says anything for a little while as we walk across my huge backyard. I look at the huge oak tree in my backyard for as long as I can remember, a small smile settling on my lips.
"I used to climb that tree when I was younger," I start. "My dad used to hate it so much. Every time he saw me swinging from one of the branches, he'd threaten to cut the tree down because he couldn't keep me out of it."
"I can't see someone like you wanting to climb trees," Trent muses with a chuckle. "You seem like the girly type."
"You can ask my dad," I retort, giving him a playful shove. "Back then, all of my dad's friends had sons, so I was stuck playing with a bunch of boys. They liked to climb trees and in order for me to be 'one of them,' I also had to. And once I did, I actually liked it." I look up at the tall branches that stretch up toward the sky. "It always made me feel so big yet so small. And the views were so much better up there than on the ground."
Trent jogs ahead of me and jumps up, grabbing a branch. I watch as he pulls himself up to sit on it before looking down at me with a grin.
"Think you still got it in you to climb a tree, little spider monkey?" he taunts, moving to another branch.
I look at the first branch warily. It's been a long time since I've attempted to climb a tree, leaving those days behind me once I hit puberty. But as Trent grins down at me, I sigh inwardly and jump up, just barely grabbing the branch. He laughs a little as I struggle to pull myself up, clapping when I finally sit on the branch with a huff.
"Looks like you still got it after all," he teases as he lowers himself to the branch I'm sitting on.
We look out at everything around us. While we aren't high enough to really have a nice view, we can see into a couple of my neighbor's backyards. I take in a deep breath, letting the warm air fill my lungs before blowing it back out.
"When I used to climb up here, I used to pretend I was a bird," I murmur.
"Why a bird?" Trent asks. "Birds aren't the only thing in trees."
I shrug. "Birds are the most free." I drop my gaze to my lap. "Birds can go anywhere. If they sit in a tree and realize they no longer like it, they can fly off and start somewhere new." I look toward my house. "I used to wish I could get far away from this place. You know, leave the social media life behind and go to school across the country if it means I could have a regular relationship with my dad. I wanted to be that bird that chose another tree when my tree no longer felt like home."