Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 62430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 312(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 208(@300wpm)
Ididn’t think I was going to get any visitors, but I was wrong. Leave it to Mike to be more invested than a friend should be. Years ago, he had taken the fall for me, bought drugs to try and secure my freedom from the dealers who were after me, and gone to prison for it. The one stand-up thing I had done to repay him, helping to rescue his wife, seemed so far in the past. I hadn’t expected anyone to come, but I was grateful he had.
I had been in the low-risk area for a couple of days and had gotten to know some of the residents. A few of them weren’t so bad. I sat through a few card games and had a regular table to eat my meals at. They put me with a roommate who snored, but he didn’t jump up on the bed at midnight and declare his allegiance to Satan, so I couldn’t complain.
Gina had been by to see me a few times, just enough that I couldn’t tell if she was interested or not. She was consistently friendly and open, sharing more of her personal life than I thought she usually shared, but I couldn’t be sure. She smiled affectionately but never touched me, not even a pat on the back. I was beginning to think I would leave this place without ever resolving the sexual tension between us. I had to play the part of the drug user, unavailable for romantic relationships. She had to play the part of the professional nurse, friendly and caring but reserved. If there was more to it, I couldn’t tell.
She came to get me in the gym. I was doing push-ups in the narrow space, getting creative with the method. It was just a game, just something to stay occupied. I put my hands as far apart as they could go and still support my body, rocking from side to side as I pressed up and down. I didn’t realize I had an audience until the exercise was over and I put my knees down.
She clapped appreciatively. “How many of those can you do?”
“Eleven,” I answered, coming to my feet and brushing my knees off. I didn’t mind her watching. Of all the people who could have caught me flexing my muscles, she was the one that might pay dividends.
“You have a visitor,” she said.
I brushed past her, through the narrow space that was meant for a door. In that moment, when we were both confined to the four-foot entrance, I could smell the soap she used. It was a lemon-vanilla scent, clean and wholesome. Our chests were centimeters apart, so close that I could feel the aura surrounding her. Just one more inch and I would be able to enjoy the swell of her breasts against my skin. Her chin was tilted up, her eyes following me as I moved. Our lips passed close enough to kiss—if only I had the abandon to do as I pleased. I slipped free, removing myself from her presence before her proximity became intoxicating.
She inhaled sharply as I passed, giving me hope that she felt the same as I did. The moment over, I left her behind as if she had just been a messenger delivering a summons and not the person I most wanted to see. Walking over to the visitors’ area, I found Mike in one of the chairs, a Styrofoam cup in hand.
“Mike!” I took the rest of the distance in stride, thrilled to see him. I thought I had this whole thing licked, that I was going to make it through treatment without any friends on my side but seeing my oldest and closest friend waiting for me was almost too much. I swallowed the tears before they could emerge and clapped him into a big hug. “You came?”
“Of course I came,” Mike laughed. “Did you think I would leave you out here in the big city on your own?”
“How’s Tammy?” I asked, taking a seat.
Mike sat back down, taking a swig off the cup in his hand. He winced.
“It’s bad,” I said.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I don’t know if you could call it coffee.”
“They call it coffee,” I countered, “but I don’t know if it is.”
Mike laughed. “Tammy’s fine.”
“How’s the lumberyard? Have you been by?” I wondered, eager for any information about the outside world.
“I haven’t been back,” he admitted. “But I’m sure they’re doing fine. How are you doing?”
“Thirteen days clean and sober,” I answered.
“That’s great.”
I shook my head.
“It is great,” he insisted. “You have to give yourself time and celebrate each small victory.”
We caught up for the hour that was allotted. At the end of the visit, Mike stood, reaching out for my hand. I allowed him to pull me into another hug.