Smug Bastard - Stacey Marie Brown Page 0,60
would have laughed my ass off.”
“And don’t forget with a dog named, Goat.” I snorted, thinking of his long ears and happy face. Crap, I missed that fluff ball.
“Never could forget him.” She licked her lips, swallowing roughly. “Not thinking past this moment. I’m glad your bike broke down.”
“Not thinking past this moment… I am too.” I kissed her softly. Jesus, I was being all mushy and sweet. Something I normally wasn’t. I wasn’t a cuddler or sweet talker. Sex… maybe stay for breakfast if I really liked you, and then separate ways.
Becca was an exception, but even then, neither of us were good at snuggling, ready to get on with our day. Jobs came first.
So why did the idea of lying next to Kinsley all day sound perfect?
Tell her. Tell her now.
“Kins?” My chest puffed like I was preparing for battle, her dark eyes meeting mine. They were like the darkest color of coffee and could shred all your secrets and barriers as you willingly dove into them, letting them drown you. “You know the construction job I said I was taking time from?” I licked my lips. “Well, it was mine. My business… Well, part of it anyway.”
“You own your own construction company?” She looked impressed.
“I used to.”
“You don’t anymore?”
“No.” The story of my past grasped my tongue, holding on for dear life, not wanting to leave my mouth.
“Do you want to? Have a company again?”
“Yeah.” I really did. It wasn’t only because it was all I felt I was good at, but I loved being out on a lot, building with my hands, creating something from scratch. “I do.”
“What about starting your own?” she asked.
“Haven’t thought much about it lately.” It had taken me a while to think about anything positive.
“You should!” Her eyes lit up. “I could help you. Business is what I studied after all. Can’t let my degree go to waste.”
“Is that what you want to do? Business?”
“Unlike my sister and brother, I have nothing I’m really interested in. No set direction.”
“Then what do you want to do, Kinsley Maxwell?” I brushed my hand over her cheek, wanting to know everything about this woman.
“I don’t know. That’s what this trip was about. Finding myself. Finding what I was meant to do.”
I snorted. “You know life doesn’t work like that. Like some movie where you go on a trip and suddenly all comes clear, your future set.” I tucked deeper into the pillow. “Believe me, life is messy, full of twists and turns. Once you think you got a handle on it, it flips it all over, destroying your world in a blink. Nothing is easy or simple.”
“It seems to be for Kasey and Kyle. Always has been.”
“I love your brother, you know that, but Kyle is not a deep person. He looks at life at surface level. So does Kasey. You are not like that at all. You never have been. Even when you annoyed the crap out of me, you saw more—past the façade people put up. Drove me insane when you’d look at me, peeling away all my bullshit.” I squeezed her ass. “But the deeper you see the layers and complexities of life, the more difficult it can be, but with it comes the beauty in truly seeing… really living.”
“Like?”
“Like the highs of being fully alive, living in the dark and light. Feeling it all. Do you think Kasey would jump from a bridge or have dirty sex in an alleyway where everyone can see? Can you picture Amie and Kyle breaking the headboard or getting complaints from neighbors?”
“No.” Pink tinted her face as she sucked in her bottom lip. “Not at all.”
“Because they wouldn’t. They would be shocked by it. Uncomfortable. I don’t want to live in a routine. Groundhog Day. Doing the same day over and over and forgetting to look up. I want to feel all the highs and lows. Appreciate them instead of just skimming the surface. Ugly, awful, beautiful, or dirty.” I inched closer to her. “And you don’t strike me as someone who really wants that either.”
“I don’t.”
“So out of all your classes, what made you feel the most excited? Don’t think… just answer.”
“My marketing class… when I got to be creative,” she said. “Designing logos, business cards, and advertisements for social media. I loved putting together ads. How a simple color could entice a customer or make them not want to buy. It was fascinating.”
“So why don’t you do that?”
“What?”
“Advertise and market for businesses?”
“I