Part of Your World (Part of Your World, #1)

by Abby Jimenez

This was a woman so far out of my league it wasn’t even funny. It was hard to believe that she was even here, standing in this parking lot full of cracked asphalt in the middle of nowhere, wearing that dress and those heels. Like a model had wandered away from a photo shoot for a fashion magazine and gotten lost.

She smiled at me for another moment. Then she turned and headed for her car, and I stood there, watching her. “Hey,” I called. She turned. “Yeah?” “I could make you something to eat. At my place.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Fresh tomato and basil?” “I have a garden.” “I don’t do one-night stands.” I laughed. “Well, that escalated quickly.”

I woke up the next morning at six a.m., naked and happy after having the best date of my entire life. And then I realized she was gone.

“He said that Neil is brilliant and that sometimes brilliant people make mundane mistakes.”

“Because there are two types of people in the world, difficult ones and easy ones, and they marry each other.”

Bri shook her head with a grin. “Look at that man-trum. Eight thousand nerves in the clitoris and still not as sensitive as a white man not getting his way.”

“And you should know that I don’t do what we did the other night. Ever.” Yeah, she’d said that the other night. A few times, actually. “Well, you should know I don’t do it either. Ever.” And I meant that too. I didn’t.

“She’s coming?” Liz asked, looking excited. I dragged a hand down my mouth. “Yeah.” And then the anxiety hit me. “What the hell am I gonna do with her?” Doug scoffed. “I think you know what to do with her, buddy.”

Was it? I mean, what the hell did I have to offer a woman like her? Well…there was one thing. And I must have done a pretty good job of it if she was driving two hours to have it again. At least there was that.

“Just keep her laughing,” Doug said. “When a woman laughs, her eyes are closed more. She won’t notice how ugly you are.”

I had a quick second of what-if. What if the chemistry was gone or the attraction didn’t feel the same, or I’d built her up in my head and she wasn’t like I remembered? And the second I saw her, I knew I hadn’t imagined a thing.

My heart leaped the second I saw him. I didn’t know how I was going to feel seeing him again—if it would be awkward or whatever had attracted me to him might be gone. But the moment I laid eyes on him standing there, my pulse zinged.

I stared at the road, feeling for the first time in my life like I wished I was the kind of man who owned a tie—or a nicer car.

But I liked that I was giving her an experience she’d never had. It somehow seemed impossible that I could.

“But I feel like I do have to remind you that I’m really not looking to date right now. You didn’t have to make such a big deal about me coming,” she said. I stopped what I was doing. “Okay. We need to clear something up,” I said, looking her in the eye. “When you come down—no matter what you come down for—I’m going to make a big deal over it. Because it is a big deal. You’re driving four hours, round-trip, to be here. That’s not nothing. And if you’re staying the night, this isn’t going to be a quickie situation. While I’d like to say that I could spend all twelve hours of your stay pleasuring you, I can’t.”

“We’re going to do other things,” I said, going on. “We’re going to eat, and we’re going to hang out. And I’m going to put effort into that because you’re putting in effort to be here. And it’s going to be like that every time. Okay?”

I liked her. I wanted her to like coming here, because I wanted her to come back. I knew the second I saw her pull into my driveway that this couldn’t be the last time.

I leaned back on my hands. “My grandma used to say that dragonflies mean change is coming.” She went quiet for a moment. “Must be a lot of change.” “It must.”

“Why don’t you have a girlfriend?” she asked. “What?” “You’re sweet. You’re thoughtful. You’re not hard to look at, and the sex is…why don’t you have one?” “The sex is what?” I beamed.

“I never envisioned her in the future. I only ever wanted to see her the day I wanted to see her. You know how when you like someone, you want to make plans with them? I never wanted to make plans with her.”

I’d had chemistry with other women, but I’d never experienced animal magnetism before. It’s the kind of thing that’s unmistakable when it’s happening—and it happened with her. The same as last time, only stronger. The sexual tension between the two of us was like a sunflower turned to the sky. I’d felt it even when she was gone, I realized. Like my body was looking for her even though I didn’t know where she was. It was a shift in gravity. Two bodies in a hammock, or an old mattress that dips in the middle. I could feel us rolling toward each other.

He glared at me. “Go ahead, poke fun at me. But when things start happenin’ you can’t explain, snow in July, lucky coincidences, you’ll change your tune. There ain’t no coincidences here, boy. It’s the town, protecting itself. And I’m tellin’ ya, it likes that girlfriend of yours and it’ll get ’er back.”

We weren’t dating—this was a fling.

To say this was a disappointment was an understatement. I thought things between us had gone well. I guess they hadn’t.

“Once this guy swallowed a Fitbit. He was cheating and he got a text from another woman on it. His girlfriend demanded he show it to her, so he ate it. It was still tracking his steps from his stomach. We have Nunchuck Guy. He comes in once a month with a concussion. There was the guy with a flashlight stuck in his rectum—”

“You have no idea. People love putting stuff up their butts. And they always want you to think they fell on it in the shower. About fifty percent of my job is keeping a straight face.”

“Grace costs you nothing. My grandma used to say it. She especially liked to say it to herself when I was being a little shit.”

“Yeah. You know, reading makes your penis look bigger—don’t quote me on it, the science is really new.”

“I like to read,” I said, grinning. “It’s the only way I get to live somewhere that isn’t Wakan. I read three, four books a week. A lot of audiobooks. That way I can work and read at the same time.”

“Oh,” she said, sounding a little disappointed. “I guess I should hang up with you then.” I set my brush on the lid of the can. “Nope, I’m taking you with me. Took me a week to get you on the phone, I’m not hanging up with you now.” I didn’t hang up with her later either. We talked for five hours straight.

“Okay. Well, just remember not to name his penis. Once you name it, you get attached.”

Daniel was mine and I wanted him to stay only mine, because what we had was good and it was making me happy and it wouldn’t survive the scrutiny.

knew his friends. He was willing to take me to breakfast in front of everyone. He wasn’t hiding me. I’d hurt his feelings.

“You don’t really have a headache, do you? Do you need something?” She laughed. “No, I made it up so I could stay with you.”

I realized that I would try things with him that I hadn’t tried with anyone. He made me feel uninhibited like that—and safe.

I gave him a gentle kiss. “Alexis Elizabeth Montgomery.” He smiled so that his eyes twinkled. Then he leaned in. “Alexis.” Kiss. “Elizabeth.” Kiss. “Montgomery.”

Daniel was a vacation for me, I realized—like a break from my own brain or the reality of my current crappy situation.

“How’s your head?” Jessica asked me. “You look like you were up all night.” “I was,” I said, glancing at Daniel just in time to see the corner of his lip twitch.

“Grace costs you nothing,” I said. And I went back inside.

I’d gone from being positive I was never going to see him again, to seeing him being the only thing I felt like doing. Somewhere deep in the back of my brain, a warning signal flashed. I was having more fun with him than I expected. I wanted to spend more time with him than I expected—and this wasn’t a good thing. It felt good, but it wasn’t.

I liked her. I liked her so much, it wasn’t even funny.

Alexis made me want to be better.

“A penguin love stone. When a male likes a female, he finds a perfect stone and he brings it to her. If she likes it, she puts it in her nest and that’s it. They’re paired for life.”

“My point is, the penguin’s not picking her mate because he’s the one who has the best rock. It might look that way, but she’s not. She’s taking the rock because the male she wants the most is offering it. Sometimes what you have to give is enough. Even if it’s a rock instead of a diamond.”

Just in her normal routine, Alexis was living a life a thousand times more interesting and cultured than mine—and she wanted to include me in it.

I wanted more. I wanted to see her world with my own eyes, not just these glimpses behind the curtain. I wanted to be a part of it. But it was by invite only. And I doubted she’d ever ask me.

“I want to be your boyfriend.”

Dad would never accept her. Never. Just like he wouldn’t accept someone like Daniel. So Derek didn’t even bother. He’d protected his wife from the rejection and gave up his life instead.

The cord had just enough slack for the somersault. Not enough if I’d let her come straight out—and if I hadn’t been here, that’s how she would have come. Especially if Hannah wouldn’t let Doug help her. The cord would have pulled taut, and they might not have gotten it off in time. The baby could have had brain damage. Cerebral palsy, epilepsy, intellectual or developmental disabilities. She might have died. But she didn’t because I was here. This is why I did what I did.