Read Online Out Bad by Janice M. Whiteaker - Free Book Online

she was intriguing as hell.
    "I would love a beer."  He smiled at her,
getting only a nod in response.
    Gwen opened the fridge and pulled out a brown bottle. 
She grabbed the hem of her shirt and used it to twist the cap off before
handing it to him.
    He watched her as he tipped the bottle to his lips.  A
woman who drove a Beemer and lived in a house like this, but twisted off a beer
cap like a man. 
    She turned and shot the cap into the open trash can with one
hand while she opened the fridge with the other.  "I think I could
use one too."
    She twisted the lid and chugged a good amount before tossing
her cap in with his then leaned back against the gleaming granite
counters.  Her eyes darted to him, then quickly away.  She chewed her
bottom lip and took a breath to say something.
    But she didn't.
    She blew the air back out before taking another drink. 
She took another breath.  "I ordered pizza.  It should be here
so--"
    The doorbell rang.
    Joe set his beer on the counter and headed for the
door.  By the time Gwen was beside him, he'd already paid the delivery man
and had an armful of hot cardboard. 
    "You didn't need to pay for those."  Gwen
closed the door behind him.
    "Neither do you."  He walked back to the
kitchen with Gwen on his heels.
    "I wasn't going to.  Gabbi and Heath were. 
They wanted to feed you.  It's the least they could do since you probably
sweated out half your body weight fixing their air.  Gabbi's going to be
pissed."
    He set the boxes on the counter and gave Gwen a grin. 
"Gabbi can't tell me what to do."
    "Isn't that the truth."  Heath walked through
the door with a little girl on each hip.
    "Where'd you disappear to?"  Gwen handed him
a beer.
    "I had to even up the odds.  Gabbi was chasing
naked wet girls across your bed upstairs."
    Gabbi walked in the kitchen.  "I swear to God
Heath."  She looked at Gwen.  "He is kidding."
    Gwen stepped to Heath just as he was trying to take the
first drink of the beer she'd given him and snatched it out of his hand. 
She held it out to Gabbi.  "Thirsty?"
    Gabbi took it and swallowed a long gulp before giving her
husband a grin. 
    Heath shook his head.  "Can't even make a damn
joke."
    "That bed is no joke."  Gwen lined the pizza
boxes across the counter.  She looked at Gabbi as she flipped open the
lids.  "I changed my mind.  I'll leave it to you and he can't
sleep in it."
    "I'll sneak in anyway."  Heath grabbed a
slice out of the box closest to him.
    "I'll haunt you.  Scare the crap out of you while
you sleep."
    "Who says you don't scare the crap out of me
already?"
    Joe grabbed a piece of pepperoni and leaned against the
fridge, watching the banter between his friends and Gwen.  Heath was
right.  She wasn't what he'd been looking for.  But he was beginning
to wonder if maybe he'd been looking for the wrong thing.

Seven
    Gwen stared at her cell phone, the screen lit up, her sister’s
number punched in but not yet called.  She had made it this far at least
four other times today, successfully talking herself out of making the call
each time. 
    Until now. 
    She touched the green call button and held the phone up to
her ear listening as the line began to ring. 
    “Hey.” 
    Gabbi's voice sounded a little strained and Gwen could hear
the girls chattering loudly in the background. 
    “Girls quiet down.  I’m trying to talk to Auntie
Gwen.” 
    She could picture her sister chugging coffee as she tried to
keep her head above water doing dishes and laundry and picking up piles of
various toys.
    “Is Auntie Gwen coming over?”  Caroline’s sweet sing- songy three-year-old voice seemed much closer to the
phone. 
    Gwen loved those little girls more than anything in the
whole world and hearing them excited to see her made her heart swell.
    “Honey I don’t know.  Go play and I will find
out.”  There was rustling as Gabbi walked through the house, the sound of
the girls in the background fading away. 
    “Okay.  I