Reconstructing Meredith Read Online Free PDF Page B

you.”

     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 3
     
    Careful not to jar her more than I had to, I pulled out slowly. Then I shifted on to my side and held her close, stroking her face and hair while she cried.
    “I’m sorry,” she whispered after a few minutes. “I didn’t… this…”
    “Shh.” I kissed her gently. “Nothing to be sorry about.”
    She sniffed, wiping her eyes. “I just feel so stupid.”
    “What? Because you’re in bed with me?”
    She laughed. “Yeah, that’s it. Of course.”
    I smiled. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”
    “You’re a dork.”
    “I’ve been called worse things.”
    “Oh really? Such—” She paused, then gestured past me. “Can you get those for me?”
    I picked up the box of tissues from the nightstand and handed it to her.
    “Thanks.” She pulled one out and dabbed at her eyes.
    “No problem.” I kissed her forehead, then sat up. “I’m going to go get rid of this and be right back.” I kissed her one more time, then got up and went into the bathroom to take care of the condom. As I washed my hands, I caught my reflection in the mirror and paused. Even after— especially after—having sex with Meredith, the unsettled feeling lingered in my gut. I still couldn’t get my head around what she’d been through, and something told me I didn’t know the half of it yet.
    Looking into my own eyes, I wondered. Am I cut out for this? Am I capable of helping her pick up these pieces? What the hell am I getting myself into ?
    I turned the water off. Still looking in the mirror for answers, I dried my hands and sighed. Time would tell if I was the right person to help her through this. Between now and that time, I’d do whatever I could for her, and resist the urge to hunt down that worthless piece of shit to show him the meaning of the word “punishment.”
    For the moment, she was here, I was here, and she’d managed to surrender enough to not only have sex, but to come. No way was I ruining this, and I wasn’t about to let her see that her situation had already gotten under my skin.
    I flicked off the bathroom light and went back into the bedroom. Sliding into bed beside her, I started pulled the covers up over both of us, but she stopped me, furrowing her brow as she looked at me.
    She ran her fingertips down my side. “When did you get these tattoos?”
    I glanced down. “Not quite three years ago.”
    “What do they mean?”
    “They’re Chinese,” I said. “The characters on my left side mean strength and wisdom.” I gestured at my back. “The four down my back are power and trust. On my right side, peace and passion.”
    She looked at me, eyebrows raised. “I never thought of you as particularly spiritual.”
    “I don’t know if I’d call it spiritual,” I said. “Those are just things that are important to me. And yes, I made sure they were all correctly translated and the calligraphy was done right.”
    “I don’t doubt that.” She ran her fingertips along one of the characters. “These are really, really cool, though.” She laughed softly. “Maybe you’re not as much of a dork as I thought.”
    I rolled my eyes, chuckling as I pulled the blanket over us and settled in beside her.
    “So tell me,” she said with a playful smile, “what worse things have you been called?”
    “Worse than dork?” I grinned. “Well, one of my girlfriends insists I’m a manwhore.”
    Meredith laughed. “If the shoe fits…”
    “Hey!”
    “Scott, you can’t exactly protest being called a manwhore when you preface it with ‘one of my girlfriends’, you know?”
    I shrugged. “Okay, point taken.”
    “So you’re still into polyamoury, then?”
    “I am,” I said. “I have a couple of girlfriends right now.”
    She laughed again. “Only you could say that so nonchalantly, Scott.”
    I chuckled. “Just doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to me anymore. I mean, I’ve been doing it for so long, it’s pretty normal for me.”
    “For some reason,