Me:I know. U keep sayin
I type quickly in response and maximize the image he just sent through. He purposely left out the tip of his dick, giving me only a teaser—probably incentive to get me to meet him.
He could be a fucking serial killer.
I focus on the image, finger myself to orgasm, and shut my eyes in ecstasy as the pleasure bleeds momentarily into my veins.
I see Caleb behind my eyes. His dark features. The dash of silver in his hair. The fine lines on his face as he comes down from his own orgasm…
The one he probably gets from another woman.
I wanteddissociationtonight. Notassociation.
I toss my phone aside, slip under covers that faintly smell of him, and drift in and out of light sleep for a hazy amount of hours until daylight starts to bleed through the curtains.
I shoot out of bed with abnormally high cortisol levels and watch the sun rise from the window. The window looks out onto the yard. Right at the back of it is a stream that leads into a dense forest.
Holy shit.
Why did he choose to buy a house right on the edge of town?
The location of the property is only now occurring to me. I wasn’t in a clear frame of mind yesterday to properly observe my surroundings.
With the whole day ahead of me, I dress in donated clothes from Jess and head out of the house to make my first phone call of the day. Nerves crunch my stomach as I spill out onto the porch, phone in hand with the stove company number ready.
“Hey,” I start as soon as they pick up, heading out into the lawn to ensure this conversation isn’t being picked up by other pairs of ears. “Your stove burned my house to the ground yesterday. I believe there was a fault, and I’m looking to see where we can go…from here.”
Great start, Piper.
Next comes a series of questions. Who was the appliance purchased by? Its age. Has it undergone any modifications or previous repairs?
“We may need to arrange for the appliance to be inspected before we can confirm compensation,” replies the person on the other end of the line. “I’m sorry that this happened to you and your son.”
“I’d love that,” I stutter. “Only that won’t be possible. I’m afraid the fire got a little out of hand.”
“Do you have any photographs of the damage?”
“No.”
“Were Fire and Rescue called?”
“Yes,” I reply, biting my nail to contain the anxiety.
“We’ll request their report, but please be aware we cannot confirm liability or compensation at this stage. Wecanopen a claim in the meantime and pass it over to our assessment team. I’m glad to hear that you and your son are safe, Ms. Hart, and I apologize for the damage this has caused. Please take care.”
Assessment team?
What does the free-of-charge online insurance consultant get out of this, other than a barrel of laughs and five minutes of wasted time?
Jesus Christ.
It’s a good thing those flames obliterated my house and burned away all evidence.
I next dial my home insurance company, but hesitate over the call button. They are no doubt gonna be asking the same things.
“How did the fire start?”
“We’ll send someone over to inspect the damage.”
