Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 62696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
She'd rather be alone than go through that again.
Maybe she was fooling herself, thinking she'd be safe here.
Maybe it was time to find a new town.
"Sorry about all of this, Sally. I think I need to go home. My mom will be home from work soon."
"Don't apologize to me. I was ready to leave anyway. I have a class this afternoon."
She had been planning to skip it, but it would be the perfect way to regain her equilibrium. To face her fears head on.
"Oh, okay. I'm glad you came, anyway. I'll see you at the diner later this week?"
"Yes. Have a good night, Kaylie. Call me if you want to talk."
"I will. And thanks."
Sally watched Kaylie turn down the street that she lived on. Sally's house was just a couple of blocks further. She would run home and change into her workout gear.
There was nothing to be afraid of now. She’s averted the crisis. She would just continue to avoid Donnie. She would not give into temptation.
She would be strong.
She looked behind her suddenly, feeling like someone was watching her. She shivered suddenly as her arms broke out in goosebumps.
But there was no one there.
Chapter 7
Donahue
Donnie and Jack sat in silence in the slowly emptying parking lot. Janet had left shortly after Kaylie and Sally to go see if her friend was okay.
She hadn’t seemed okay to Donnie. The poor girl had been so upset. The whole thing was hard to watch.
Meanwhile Dev was in the clubhouse bar, slowly drinking himself into oblivion.
"What a disaster."
Jack just nodded. No one had expected Kaylie to run off like that. Dev must be destroyed right now.
Donnie knew it was selfish of him but he was still upset that Sally had left before he got a chance to work his magic on her. Kaylie had taken Sally with her. He'd barely had a minute to talk to her at all.
Talk, ha. He’d just wanted to take her home. He’d had plans for her tonight.
Big plans. Big and hard plans. Plans that involved making her scream his name.
But now that shot was blown, and Dev was crushed.
Donnie considered going in to keep his friend and leader company. But the thought of drinking heavily was unappealing to him. He wanted to be sitting with a certain pretty lady, eating chicken wings. Or not. He'd really rather be tasting her right now… those sweet lips… her earlobes… then lower…
He should go see if she was okay. Offer to take her out another time. Make his move.
He had a vague idea of where she lived, just from seeing her walking around town. It wasn't in the best part of town, that much was certain. It was odd, all the little things he'd noticed about her in the past couple of months. All without realizing he was doing it.
Kind of like a stalker actually.
He stood up abruptly.
"I gotta go."
"Okay. I'll keep an eye on Dev."
"Thanks man. I'll check in later."
He was out the gate and on his bike in less than a minute. He pulled his helmet on and smiled. He never had chicks on the back of his bike but he kept a spare helmet back there just in case. He kind of hoped he would need it.
Maybe Sally would be up for a ride.
Chapter 8
Sally
Hustle, girl, hustle.
Sally pulled the hoodie down over her face and walked faster. If she could get there in 5 minutes, she could make the 4 o'clock class at the dojo. You weren't allowed in if you were late. Jerry Davis, who owned the place, was very strict.
Then again, he always made exceptions for Sally.
She did her best to ignore the fact that Jerry pretty openly had a crush on her. After almost two months though, it was hard not to notice the discounts, special attention and lingering looks.
It was too bad he wasn't her type. He was blond and reasonably good-looking. A total jock. A nice guy with his own business. Exactly the kind of guy she should be going for. But he just didn't do it for her.
He was too… boring. She hoped he never actually asked her out because she would hate to hurt his feelings.
After all, this place had changed her life.
Before taking classes she'd been weak, at the mercy of anyone stronger. Now she could at least stand up for herself, if not win, a fight with someone twice her size. Plus, she had the element of surprise on her side.
No one expected a tiny little blond like her to whoop their butts.
She almost hoped she'd get a chance to use her new skills someday.
Almost.
She hustled and slid into class just before Jerry shut the doors. Good. She needed this today. She needed to feel empowered.
Jerry's eyes flicked over the seven students lined up. Oh no. An odd number. Sally knew what that meant.