Read Online Full Share (Shore House Book 1) by Eliza Freed - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Eliza Freed
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the dune, beckoning me to lead the way. He let out a frustrated sigh. “After you.”
I walked forward through the soft sand, taking deep breaths with every stride. By the time we reached our porch, I regretted every word that had come out of my mouth, including the initial acceptance of his offer to go to the beach. He was my roommate. I wasn’t going to have sex with him or anyone else in this house. I dropped my shells in the pile at the end of my bed with all the broken ones I’d found before.
I locked myself in the bathroom and tried to sort through my feelings. It wasn’t as easy as usual. They were layered on top of each other, and their uneven edges couldn’t be piled together perfectly. The people here were driving me crazy.
When I returned to our room, he was gone. I was alone again. I laid down on my bed and let my feet hang over the edge. I heard the outside shower and knew he was in it. He didn’t sing at the top of his lungs the way Rob would have. He was just there, and I knew it because he was Jack.
The water turned off. I waited for him to return. I wanted him near me. I shut my eyes and tried to fall asleep, but the thought of him wouldn’t allow any peace in my mind. Maybe he wasn’t coming back. Maybe he slept in another room during the week. Maybe he hated me.
The back door creaked, and my eyes shot open. Jack walked in wearing only a towel, and I stared at him like some lovesick puppy. I couldn’t look away.
Jack smiled and put me at ease. “What time is it?”
“A little after four,” I told him.
“I have to get up for work tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry I fell asleep on the beach. I was exhausted from adjusting insurance claims all day.” I exaggerated it, knowing my desk job was nothing compared to the physical exertion Jack had every day at work.
“How is that? Claims?”
“It’s okay.” He stopped smiling. He was sick of my vague answers. “You’ve got a nice life down here all summer.”
“It gets a little lonely.” Jack pulled on a pair of underwear and dropped his towel on the floor. He ran his hands through his hair and hung the towel on the hook at the end of his bed. The slats of pallet caught my eye. I was thankful not to be at sea level.
“Jack, thanks for the bed. I love it.”
Jack lifted my sheet and slid in my bed next to me. He rolled on his side, and I did the same. My back was to him. Every inch of me was touched by Jack. He was warm from the shower, but I didn’t mind. “Someday, you’ll tell me all the things you’re running from,” he said and rested his chin on my head. “But until then we can just be friends if that’s what you need.”
I wasn’t sure what I needed, but his words made me feel nothing but love for him. “Thanks.”
“To start,” he said and pulled me tighter against his body.
“Of course.”
That night, I fell asleep with Jack in my bed and I knew I’d want him there every night after it. I also knew he’d sleep in other girls’ beds, and that the touch of him meant something completely different to me than to him. I was his conquest. Unsettled land of the west. He was my warmth.
I could barely open my eyes to say good bye when Jack’s alarm sounded at six in the morning, and I fell back to sleep before he even left my bed. I dreamed we were driving cross country, and he kept introducing me to strangers as Mrs. Randall, or the missus.
A slight breeze flowed through the windows and skipped over my skin. Air had been forsaken us while we’d huddled on the floor. My phone rang. It was lying next to me on the windowsill with my car keys. The caller ID read Therapy , my code name for my mother. As in, I’d need therapy from having her as my mother. “Hello.”
“Hello, darling.” It was roaring ’20s actress accent time. “What are you doing? Where are you? When are you coming to see us at the shore?”
I waited for her to take a breath. Surely, she wore on herself as much as she did the rest of the
I walked forward through the soft sand, taking deep breaths with every stride. By the time we reached our porch, I regretted every word that had come out of my mouth, including the initial acceptance of his offer to go to the beach. He was my roommate. I wasn’t going to have sex with him or anyone else in this house. I dropped my shells in the pile at the end of my bed with all the broken ones I’d found before.
I locked myself in the bathroom and tried to sort through my feelings. It wasn’t as easy as usual. They were layered on top of each other, and their uneven edges couldn’t be piled together perfectly. The people here were driving me crazy.
When I returned to our room, he was gone. I was alone again. I laid down on my bed and let my feet hang over the edge. I heard the outside shower and knew he was in it. He didn’t sing at the top of his lungs the way Rob would have. He was just there, and I knew it because he was Jack.
The water turned off. I waited for him to return. I wanted him near me. I shut my eyes and tried to fall asleep, but the thought of him wouldn’t allow any peace in my mind. Maybe he wasn’t coming back. Maybe he slept in another room during the week. Maybe he hated me.
The back door creaked, and my eyes shot open. Jack walked in wearing only a towel, and I stared at him like some lovesick puppy. I couldn’t look away.
Jack smiled and put me at ease. “What time is it?”
“A little after four,” I told him.
“I have to get up for work tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry I fell asleep on the beach. I was exhausted from adjusting insurance claims all day.” I exaggerated it, knowing my desk job was nothing compared to the physical exertion Jack had every day at work.
“How is that? Claims?”
“It’s okay.” He stopped smiling. He was sick of my vague answers. “You’ve got a nice life down here all summer.”
“It gets a little lonely.” Jack pulled on a pair of underwear and dropped his towel on the floor. He ran his hands through his hair and hung the towel on the hook at the end of his bed. The slats of pallet caught my eye. I was thankful not to be at sea level.
“Jack, thanks for the bed. I love it.”
Jack lifted my sheet and slid in my bed next to me. He rolled on his side, and I did the same. My back was to him. Every inch of me was touched by Jack. He was warm from the shower, but I didn’t mind. “Someday, you’ll tell me all the things you’re running from,” he said and rested his chin on my head. “But until then we can just be friends if that’s what you need.”
I wasn’t sure what I needed, but his words made me feel nothing but love for him. “Thanks.”
“To start,” he said and pulled me tighter against his body.
“Of course.”
That night, I fell asleep with Jack in my bed and I knew I’d want him there every night after it. I also knew he’d sleep in other girls’ beds, and that the touch of him meant something completely different to me than to him. I was his conquest. Unsettled land of the west. He was my warmth.
I could barely open my eyes to say good bye when Jack’s alarm sounded at six in the morning, and I fell back to sleep before he even left my bed. I dreamed we were driving cross country, and he kept introducing me to strangers as Mrs. Randall, or the missus.
A slight breeze flowed through the windows and skipped over my skin. Air had been forsaken us while we’d huddled on the floor. My phone rang. It was lying next to me on the windowsill with my car keys. The caller ID read Therapy , my code name for my mother. As in, I’d need therapy from having her as my mother. “Hello.”
“Hello, darling.” It was roaring ’20s actress accent time. “What are you doing? Where are you? When are you coming to see us at the shore?”
I waited for her to take a breath. Surely, she wore on herself as much as she did the rest of the
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