The Thrust Read Online Free PDF

yard, where he had an old car sunshade, the silver-looking kind, rolled up and weighed down with a rock. He unfurled it and spread it like a cone around a simple charcoal grill that hadn’t seen charcoal in a long time, from the looks of it.
    “Pretty simple,” he said, placing the dough flat on the bottom of the grill. He put what looked like an old car window over the grill, and positioned the whole thing so the silver carshade lit up from the sunlight. “The sun is reflected through the glass and it gets really hot in the grill. The bread won’t rise without yeast, but it’ll do.”
    “That’s amazing. How did you figure that out?” she asked. “You’re saving so much time and firewood this way.”
    “Necessity is the mother of invention. But I didn’t invent this—one of the women in town figured it out and shared. We all use solar ovens for at least some of the cooking, when we can.”
    They headed out to the field where Jenna and Barker were camping in Trent’s tent.
    The tent was zipped, with no sign of a morning fire. “How are they still sleeping?” Clarissa asked. “Jenna, wake up!”
    Trent laughed when Barker emerged from the tent half-naked, zipping his pants.
    “Just a minute,” Jenna called. She came out a moment later, looking flushed.
    “Enjoying your privacy, I see,” Clarissa teased.
    “Fuck yeah,” Jenna laughed. “Wouldn’t you?”
    Clarissa felt her face grow warm. “No. I mean . . . no. He slept on the couch.”
    Trent raised his hands and stepped away from the women, quickly extricating himself from the conversation. He went over to Barker and the two men stood together, talking.
    “Seriously, Clarissa?” Jenna asked, looking at Trent. “He’s really hot. And he’s letting you stay at his house. You kicked him to the couch?”
    “I wouldn’t stay at his house if I had to pay my way,” Clarissa pointed out. “Besides, he’s not like that.”
    “All men are like that,” Jenna said, shrugging. “Trust me, he would have been happier if you’d let him share the bed. You would have too. Think about it.”
    “It’s too soon,” she said, shaking her head. “I think being with Roy proved to me that I’m not ready to have sex again, not yet, anyway.”
    “We had a pretty good time, if I remember correctly,” Jenna whispered, smiling secretively.
    Clarissa was surprised that Jenna could talk about that night so nonchalantly. It had been such a defining moment in Jenna’s relationship with Barker. After Jenna and Clarissa took comfort in each other’s arms—something Clarissa had never done before, and wasn’t planning on doing again, even if it had been what she needed at the time—Barker had asked Jenna to make a choice.
    Him, or everyone else. Jenna chose him. Based on her satisfied look, she’d chosen well.
    “That was different,” Clarissa said. “Trent’s a man. I think being under a man again would freak me out.”
    “Eh,” Jenna said, waving her hand. “So push him down on the bed and jump on top. Take control of the situation so you can remember how fun fucking is.”
    Clarissa glanced over at Trent, hoping he couldn’t hear Jenna’s blunt words. “Or,” she said quietly, “I could just be his housemate.”
    “God, you are not this naïve.” Jenna put her arm around Clarissa’s shoulders, her blonde hair falling into her face. She smiled to soften her words. “Trent didn’t invite you to stay at his house because he suddenly decided he needed a housemate. Think about it.”
    Fuck. Jenna was right.
    Trent wanted to sleep with her. Yes, he was a gentleman, and wasn’t being pushy, but how long would that last?
    And Clarissa knew, deep down, that she wouldn’t have accepted his invitation to bunk with him if she wasn’t attracted to him. She could have camped, or made friends with a family or a woman and shared their house in exchange for housework or gardening or something.
    Instead, she accepted Trent’s offer to stay with