Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 155775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 779(@200wpm)___ 623(@250wpm)___ 519(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 779(@200wpm)___ 623(@250wpm)___ 519(@300wpm)
“Thank you,” Addie croaked.
Cash stiffened, but didn’t say anything.
It wasn’t his place.
33
Addie was in agony.
This was, by far, the worst period she could ever remember having. She guessed it was because of the stress she was under. She didn’t have any of her usual things around her. She had one pair of period panties from LittleLand that she’d put in her carry-on luggage for the plane, thankfully. And someone had had the foresight to stock the bathroom here with feminine supplies.
But the heating pad and painkillers just felt like they only took the edge off.
Nausea bubbled in her stomach, and she drew herself up into a ball on the bed. She needed some stronger painkillers. That was clear.
You could ask Ralen. He already knows you’re getting your period, and he seemed very unbothered.
Right. The only problem was that wasn’t who she wanted to go to.
She wanted to go to Cash. She wanted to beg him to hold her and make everything feel better. She wanted to slip into Little headspace and have him take care of her. But she’d gone and messed everything up, hadn’t she?
She’d barely seen him all day. And every time she had, he was acting awkward and weird around her. Like he was scared to touch her or be near her.
Why had she acted like such an idiot? Why did she care that it wasn’t real? Maybe having a fake relationship was better than none at all.
She didn’t really want this tension between them. Like they were strangers, living in the same house, coexisting.
Things would be much better if she could just go home and hide.
Because hiding always solved everything, didn’t it?
She was so tired of being a wimp, of never going after anything that she wanted.
So what are you going to do about it?
Getting up off the bed, she moved out into the hallway. She didn’t know where her sisters were.
Monroe had disappeared after breakfast time, and she hadn’t seen her again. She should really go check on her. And Dotty was probably working in her bedroom.
Addie walked out into the living room to find Ralen there, eating a huge sandwich. She raised her eyebrows at him.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said, around a mouthful of food. “I had oatmeal for breakfast and soup for lunch. This sort of body wasn’t made to live on liquid stuff. Liquid stuff isn’t real food, right? You’ve got to have something to munch into or your teeth rot away. I read that once.”
She hid to grin. “Sorry.”
He pointed at her with his free hand. “You’re not supposed to talk, young lady.”
Dear Lord, it seemed that Cash’s bossiness was rubbing off on him. Although maybe Ralen was just as bossy, he just hid it better.
He eyed her for a long moment. “You don’t look good, Addie. What’s going on? You’re all hunched over and pale.”
“Yeah, that’s why I was looking for someone,” she croaked out.
“Is it your throat?” he asked, setting aside his food. “Do you need something for it?”
She shook her head and rubbed her belly, hoping he’d get it.
“Oh, your period? What do you need? Write me a list. I’ll see you get everything.”
“Thanks,” she told him, grabbing a pen and paper.
“Okay, Cash is out getting a few things. Is it all right if I send this through to him to get?” he asked as he read through the list.
All right. Cool.
That was cool.
No problem.
Cash looked at the bag of stuff that he’d gotten for Addie from LittleLand.
Hopefully she didn’t see it as him trying to be her Daddy, but just being a friend.
“Here, maybe you should give her these things,” Cash said to Ralen, trying to give him the bag. It included the painkillers she’d asked for.
The other man had a mayonnaise stain on his shirt. “Nope, I’m not doing it. Man up. Do it yourself.”
“I don’t think she wants to see me,” Cash told him.
“Not sure where you get that dumb idea from,” Ralen said.
“Maybe because I fucked up this morning and tried to Daddy her when she didn’t want it? When we don’t have any sort of relationship.”
“Hmm. Sure.” Ralen turned and walked away whistling. “That’s what’s going on.”
Cash had known Ralen for years, but sometimes he still didn’t understand him very well.
But it seemed he was going to have to deliver the stuff to Addie himself. He knocked quietly on her door in case she was asleep. Then he heard movement inside, and the door opened. She stared up at him.
Fuck. She looked terrible. Her face was pale, and her lips were pinched. There were dark marks under her eyes that spoke of the last few sleepless nights.
He immediately wanted to tuck her into bed, to cuddle her, feed her up, and make sure that she got a good night’s sleep.
Pull back, man.