Greenbrook is a lovely suburb of Nashville, accessible via two roads that cross on both sides. There are about fifty houses located six blocks away. These houses are not uniform, and I like them very much, although each unit has certain similarities. For example, like mine, most of them are two stories high and there is an attached garage. The exterior walls vary greatly in the combination of brick, stone or siding, but garage doors are usually white, with no window slats.
A large number of trees, flower beds, and paths pass in and out of the woods, forming a two-mile loop. Around each house there is an acre or more of grass and trees. I walked into the driveway and passed the purple red maple trees and their star-shaped leaves. Allie planted it last year. They complement the white and gray marble exterior wall and black blinds of my house.
I walked across the tiles, walked to the sliding glass door, threw my jacket on the chair, and put the key on the counter to greet Winston. His dog had a lot of wrinkles, his legs were wide, and his face was desperately squeezed into an empty food tray.
"I know Ellie has fed you."
Saliva came out of his mouth, and he looked at me with his sad brown eyes.
"You are disgusting," I said, lifting him from the bowl and snuggling him. "But I like your squinted face very much."
"Hello," a voice came from the living room.
I hugged Winston on the side of the sofa where I found Ryan. He is tall, but to me everyone is tall, slim and muscular. Fortunately, I have a large section sofa like that. If I had something smaller, he would never be able to stretch as he does now, with one hand behind his head, like a makeshift pillow, and the other hand on his stomach.
He was smiling, with a playful, kneeling smile on his face. He was wearing ironed black jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, and his eyes were as blue as the ocean. If he dresses so well and smells good—he either came here to fuck or came out of his mother’s house. If it belonged to his mother, no doubt, she told him that his black hair had expired for a month. Although I have never said a word, I like the way it curls around his ears, chin and eyebrows.
He also wears a smiley button pin on the top of his left chest, close to the collar. This is the first and only time we dated him, I gave it to him, where I won it. I tried to win a goldfish, but after 0 dollars and forty frightened fish, Carney gave me a button and politely let me go away.
Okay, yes, so I only dated with Ryan once. one. Why is there only one date? Carnival games, belly-twisting rides, and marshmallows under artificial lights have turned into exciting love to some extent, just in my sex. For a necromancer, anything exciting is a bad thing. Let me say that my response is what any wise person will do. I immediately locked him out of the door, left him on my front porch, and tightly grasped his remaining clothes. I lied to him that I left my mobile phone in the car, of course he took it voluntarily. I know, but how can I let him go? He is twice my size.
It is commendable that I have known since then that asking questions is very effective and I no longer use this trick. But at the beginning, I didn't know.
"What are you here for?" I already know why he is here.
"I hope this is one of those days," he smiled—a smile, but hopeful.
A day in those children ー ー children who are in love with love. Because even though I don't want to be someone else's girlfriend, Ryan and I still like it, so it's hard for me to get this boy out of my bed.
"Maybe," I said, scratching the back of his ear, "but I am very painful."
"I can be gentle," he said.
I grinned, and Ryan was on me. Poor Winston was thrown on the sofa like a remote control that nobody wanted. I was lifted up and taken to my bedroom.
"Well, don't be too gentle," I bit his neck, leaving a small crescent with a tooth mark. "Don't think of me as a broken hip."
"What about you?" he asked, his lips a little weird.
"Not this time," I said. In order to make my point of view, as soon as he put me in the **, I began to tear off his clothes. But when it's my turn, I always think too much about my anatomical scars. Ryan kissed it just to prove that it didn't bother him. When I found that this posture was sweet, it didn't completely eliminate the panic that I had when I took off my shirt in front of anyone.
I put my insecurities aside and gave in.
He was true to his promise and was very cautious with me, except in important places. When I woke up in the dark shadow of the room, I felt a million times better. Brinkley's speech and Mr. Reynolds's cynicism have disappeared from the background as the night around us grew thicker. The setting sun fell on the sheets, through the windows of my bedroom, and the gentle breeze cooled my sweat on my skin.
Ryan is a black lump beside me. He was stretched, and the curves of the neck, shoulders and chest muscles collected a dark set. I watched his chest rise and fall.
My phone vibrates on the bedside table. Allie's name and photo appeared on the small square screen. "Are you home?"
"Yes."
"Very good," she said, and then sighed. "But I think we have a problem."
certainly.
"I checked the appointment book and we have arranged a replacement. We should meet at midnight"-a page-turning voice came on the phone. "Eve Hildebrand"
"Brinkley is a bastard," I complained, and Ryan curled up beside me. I removed his heavy arm from his shoulder and pushed him away. He seems to have forgotten that we do not hug. "I haven't even recovered."
"That's the problem," Allie said. "I don't believe Brinkley submitted it."
"Who else can?" Brinkley was the only one who could enter my office, and the only one who signed and agreed to replace me. There is a trash can on my desk. Even though Ellie and I have done millions of consultations, I only replaced those customers whose folders were in my box. And Brinkley was the only one who put his name in the trash can. In this way, he is like God, deciding who should get a second chance.
"I don't know, but it's weird. This profile is for a woman," Allie said.
"When did you start to care about non-traditional occupations," I asked, really surprised.
"I don’t care what she does for money. I mean, I care because it’s sad, but she doesn’t quite fit our typical customer profile. There is hardly any information about her, such as no address, no medical history, etc. Nothing, it's just her name and phone number."
Ryan moved, and I switched the phone to the other ear. "Have you asked Brinkley?"
"I can't reach him," she said. "Can you call him?"
That unhappy feeling entered my heart again. I hope I can avoid Brinkley for a week, if I can get away with it. "I think he is tired of the way I questioned him"
"Yes, but something is wrong with this," she said.
"Is there Brinkley's signature on it?" I asked. "Has the money arrived, and have the documents been filed?"
"Yes, but—"
"Then we must do this," I said. Or the opportunity to go to jail.
Allie exhaled slowly. She doesn't like this, but she won't fight with me. "Do you want me to pick you up at eleven?"
"Please. Can you get me a cup of coffee, three shots, I'm exhausted."
"Why not?" Ryan grunted.
I didn't know he was awake, and the dead silence on the phone said that Ellie must have heard his voice, and she hung up without saying goodbye.
Ryan leaned on one elbow and looked at me on the phone.
"I thought you told her we were dating".
"First of all," I said, now very angry, because I kind of believe that what Ryan said was just to make Ellie sad—in a sense, men talk nonsense. "You and I are not dating. We are in **, there is a difference. Secondly, she does know, but I don't think I have to tell her every five seconds."
He got out of bed and pulled his pants.
I don't want to be the only person here, so I also put on the clothes, first put on the shirt.
"You are very thoughtful," he said. He stroked his hair with his hand, but didn't look at me. I didn't know what else to say, so I picked up a falling pillow from the ground, threw it at the ***, and rushed past him.
"I'll check the mail".
"You do this," he shot back. "I still have to go"
I can be just as stubborn. "goodbye."
If he said goodbye, I didn't hear it. I ran down the steps and out the front door.
Why are people so difficult to deal with? Why should they be so emotional? God, my job brings so many risks and so many complexities, I want something simple. It's not such a serious matter. Hell, tomorrow I will begin to have a hallucination, an alien with big eyes will detect my butt, because my brain suddenly decided that it has had enough of death replacement surgery and tore itself in half. This is a common occurrence. My old mentor Rachel was the former agent who trained me and has been locked up for losing her. What if I spend the rest of my life in a lunatic asylum and eat banana mash? This is my possible future, so why should I think further today
Why doesn't Ryan understand
At the end of the driveway, the first few yellow, orange, and red leaves rolled down the paved street, and bursts of leaves were guided by the breeze. I tried to let the air relax the tension between my shoulders because I heard dry leaves scrape along the concrete. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, but when I opened my eyes, I saw a bird. (To be continued) (End of this chapter)