Chapter 3PATIENCE
Chapter 3
PATIENCE
I yawned and stretched before crawling out of bed the next morning. My blankets tempted me to burrow farther into their welcoming warmth rather than getting my ass up to go downstairs for breakfast.
A quick look at the alarm clock told me it was after eight in the morning, so I knew I needed to get a move on my day. Coffee and breakfast would be waiting for me downstairs, then I needed to get my computer booted up for my morning class. When all my friends left to go off to school after graduation, I stayed behind and worked while going slowly through school.
Three years after graduation, and I still had no clue what it was that I wanted to do with my life. I know it’s lame, but I love my little town and my family, so going to school was never a big dream for me. I never had one direction I wanted to head in. How does a person determine what they want from their life when they haven’t lived enough to really know?
I didn’t have a passion, drive, or the patience to go to school full time like my friends did. I hated the thought of being stuck inside a classroom as much as I hated the thought of ending up behind a desk. I wanted to be moving and interacting with people. I didn’t have any desire to bury myself in the work and stress that came with having a nine to five. I’d work with Griff if their business was strong enough to support another person, but they were just getting started with their outdoor excursion company, Brook Cove Adventures, and Griff’s new girlfriend had just moved in, adding another person the company needed to support.
With another long stretch, I groaned and pushed myself up and out of bed. My hair was a mess as I made my way downstairs to the kitchen, following the smell of freshly brewed coffee. My eyes were only half open when I walked into the kitchen, but they sprang wide when I saw who was sitting at my mom’s kitchen table.
“You?” I shouted at the beautiful, angry knight in shining armor from the night before.
He quirked a brow at me over the top of a coffee mug as he lifted it up to his lips to hide his smirk. His eyes tracked down my body, and I was suddenly aware of what I was wearing and how it must’ve looked. My neon green donut covered pajamas that said Sweet Dreams across the chest are anything but sexy. They were never meant to be seen by anyone but me and my parents. Crap . If a hole would have opened right there in my mother’s kitchen, I would have welcomed it at that point.
“Me,” he replied as his eyes raked up and down the length of my body once more. His devastating, amused smirk made me want to either throttle or kiss him. Both options were definitely appealing as I stood there under his scrutiny. I wasn’t sure which was the more prevalent inclination—the jury was still out on that one.
Being in the same room with him made me feel keyed up even more than normal. My stomach tightened and flopped when he was near. It was annoying, and for that, I lost my patience even quicker than normal with him.
“Who are you? Are you stalking me?” I crossed my arms across my chest and cocked a hip, showing him attitude.
“You must have me confused with your ex, Patience.”
Even as he said it, his eyes moved to my right upper arm, where Grant had held me the night before. Instinctively, I reached over to hide the bruises I knew were showing because of my short sleeves. His eyes flared with anger at the slightly discolored skin on my arm.
“Morning, honey.” Mom walked in with a smile, carrying some extra blankets that she had set down in front of the man that was quickly becoming the bane of my existence.
“I see you met Mr. Roth already. He’s our new tenant for the garage apartment.”
“Call me Tucker, please.” He grinned at my mom, then sent me a side wink. “Patience and I ran into each other last night at the Brewery.”
My face heated because we did run into each other almost quite literally—or at least I almost ran into him.
“That’s great. After her class this morning, Patience can take you into town to get what you need for the apartment that isn’t already there, and to the grocery store.”
“Mom!” I whisper shouted. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing, honey. He only has his motorcycle, and he can’t go get groceries on a bike, especially when it’s getting so cold out there.”
I shot Tucker a glaring look. The infuriating man looked highly entertained. The scales were definitely tipping more toward throttling him than kissing him at that point. I don’t know why, but Tucker Roth could irritate me like no other.
“I’m not awake enough for this right now,” I grumbled, moving toward the coffee pot and my favorite mug, only to realize it wasn’t where it should have been.
I looked over my shoulder to see Tucker lift my mug to his lips as laughter danced in his eyes. He fucking knew he was getting to me, and that irritated me even more.
“Of all the mugs, you had to choose that one?” I practically growled at him.
“Patience,” my mom chastised, scolding me like a petulant child, but I was beyond caring at that point. This guy was on my every last nerve and he seemed to be enjoying every minute of it. “He’s our guest.”
“He’s your tenant, Mom, not a guest, and he’s drinking from my mug.”
He arched that perfectly sharp black brow at me, and I wanted to slap the smirk off his face.
“Patience,” she chided again. “Go upstairs and grab a shower to cool off and remember your manners.”
I gritted my teeth and stomped my way upstairs to the bathroom. Once I was away from him, I was able to breathe normally again. When I stripped off my clothes, I noticed my nipples were hard points, and they were probably easily seen poking through my shirt as he stared at me. I groaned at the realization he was probably laughing because my nipples were turned on like blinding headlights.
When I stepped into the warm shower, I shivered because it wasn’t as warm as my body was from the heated exchange downstairs. I knew what I was going to find when I slipped my fingers between my legs, but that didn’t make it any less surprising to feel how wet I was. My mystery motorcycle man was living above my parent’s garage, and I wanted him—bad—even if I wasn’t about to admit it to anyone but myself.