Almost in Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

was like it only took one person to believe in her to help her believe in herself.
    She grabbed some dryer sheets and went to meet Bare in the laundry room. The man was always there for her, bringing her dinner, doing her laundry, taking away the mundane in her life so she could focus on her art. She had to find a way to thank him.
    She found him sitting on a plastic chair staring blankly at the front-loading washing machine. Only one machine was running. She saw a flash of something pink, then something blue.
    “Hey, look, our laundry’s having a party in there,” she said.
    He startled. “Oh, hey. Yeah, I didn’t have a full load, so I put our stuff in together. Easy enough to sort it out after. Mine’s so much bigger.”
    She laughed. “I wasn’t worried about that. I brought the dryer sheets.”
    “Cool.”
    She sat in the plastic chair next to him. “Thanks so much for helping me out while I paint.”
    “No problem at all.” He grinned. “Just consider me a patron of your arts.”
    She elbowed him. “You’re a funny guy. And a good friend.”
    He stopped smiling. “Yeah. So I’m told.”
    “What’s wrong?”
    He hesitated. “Truth?”
    “Always.”
    “Well…” He stared at his hands. “The truth is it’s…” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this—”
    “Spit it out,” she sang.
    He met her eyes and immediately looked to the floor. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a girlfriend and…I’m trying to figure out how to change that. Weighs on a guy, you know.”
    Oh, that was so adorable. Bare wanted woman advice. “You’ve come to the right place. I’ll help you meet women. Let’s practice.”
    He met her eyes warily. “Practice,” he echoed.
    “Yeah, you say what you normally say when you’re interested in a woman, and we’ll practice conversations that go from friendly to a date.”
    He swallowed. “Okay.”
    She hopped up on the washing machine and kicked her legs. “Pretend I’m sitting here at a bar. What do you say?”
    He stood and crossed to her. She smiled at him encouragingly. They were nearly eye to eye.
    “Happy Star Wars day,” he said.
    “I don’t get it.”
    “May the fourth be with you. It’s May fourth.”
    She thought about that. “Okay, yes, it is May fourth, but maybe not a Star Wars reference for a convo opener. Maybe something less…”
    “Geeky?”
    “Yes.”
    He walked away, turned, and crossed back to her. “Hi, I’m Barry. Bare, you can call me Bare.”
    She smiled. “I’m Amber.”
    “Come here a lot?”
    “Only when my clothes are dirty.”
    He laughed. “Buy you a drink?”
    “I’d love one.”
    They pretended to drink.
    He pulled a coupon from his jeans pocket. “You like fro-yo?”
    She held up a hand. “Stop.”
    “What?”
    “Put the coupon away. Don’t bring up your work. Keep the focus on her.”
    He shoved the coupon back in his pocket, walked away, turned, and crossed back to her. The machine changed to the spin cycle, and the vibrations ran through her, kicking up her sex drive. Or maybe it was the look on Bare’s face, because this time when he came for her, that good-natured smiley look was gone, and in its place was what she could only call a fierce determination.
    “Bare?” Her voice came out in a near squeak.
    He stopped right in front of her, between her legs, grabbed her head, and kissed her. His hand slid into her hair, gripping it, while his mouth devoured hers. He tasted delicious, minty and fresh. She wrapped her arms around his neck while he rocked her world, and the machine’s vibrations pushed her further over the edge.
    He slowly pulled back. She stared at him, dazed by the unexpected kiss.
    “Go out with me,” he said.
    “Yes.”
    He stroked her hair. “I don’t mean as friends.” He looked in her eyes. “I mean a date.”
    “I know, I know. Kiss me again.”
    And he did. And it was like the freaking Star Wars ’ Death Star in her body. Unbelievably,