Being Jolene Read Online Free

situation right because even if it was awkward as hell, I needed to fix this. And honestly, I wanted her damn name. A part of me wanted more, as crazy as it sounded.
    A name, a number, something because when I saw her strutting out of Caleb’s room and then again in the bar, here in one of the smallest towns in Idaho, I knew I could turn a coincidence into an opportunity. It had been a long time since I had wanted an opportunity with a woman. A chance, that was all.
    She didn’t look up, though. I took a few steps towards the porch and said, “Hey,” which made her jump, dropping her pencil. She reached down and grabbed her pencil and then looked up to see who had called out in greeting. When her head moved up and her eyes sought mine, I saw a range of emotions filter through before she quickly hid them behind her gorgeous face. Shock followed by the tinniest bit of guilt and then nothing. It was obvious she knew who I was. At least I was somewhat unforgettable, but the look on her face had me taking in a large breath, brewing up my courage. I didn’t take that as a good sign so before she could speak I quickly said, “I wanted to apologize for last night.”
    This time she didn’t hide the shock on her face. “Seriously?” she gaped at me.
    I shrugged. “It wasn’t right of me. I shouldn’t have been drinking and you deserved better than that.”
    “I . . . I . . . um.” She took a small sip of her tea, looking everywhere except at me. Her gaze went down to her cup. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a guy apologize for sex before. This is a first.” Her head lifted and here eyes finally met mine.
    I gestured to the seat next to her. “Can I sit?”
    She shook her head in disbelief. “Why not? Let’s see how more weird we can make this.”
    I took a seat and leaned on my knees, looking over at her.
    Whoever she was.
    Her dark hair tumbled down her back in thick waves and her dark chocolate eyes were free of makeup, her natural beauty shining through. “What’s your name?” I asked softly, because then maybe she would respond the same way and her name would only be mine to hear, mine to know, like she was a secret treasure and it was my lucky day when I stumbled over it.
    “Jo. Jolene Hayes. And you’re Ty, which is not short for anything.”
    I grimaced, remembering seeing her the first time in Caleb’s apartment. “I lied about that. My full name is Tyrell, but I hate it. I much rather go by Ty, so I don’t even bother telling people anything different.”
    She smirked. “You lied to me and apologized for bad sex. I’m at a loss of words.”
    I borrowed my brows. “Bad sex, huh?”
    She didn’t even flinch. “Whoops. I guess you didn’t say that. I did.”
    Awesome. Not only had I had a one-night stand with her, but it was bad sex. I only sighed at the mess I had made.
    She looked at me, tapping her pencil against the pad of paper. I glanced over to see she wasn’t writing but rather drawing. A face, but in a very abstract way, everything blurring together. She pulled the pad closer to her blocking her drawing. “Would you like some water, you busted through the trail out of breath and quite sweaty.”
    “Taking pity on me? You know, for the bad sex?”
    She laughed as she got up and my god, it was a sexy sound. One I wanted to hear over and over again. Dammit, Ty, you needed to clear your head because the chances you have with Jolene had been small before you even started and so far you’re sinking.
    Jolene sat down the bottle of water and I drank the whole thing in less than thirty seconds, not knowing how thirsty I was, but I had pushed myself on that run. Then came silence, really fucking awkward silence. The only sound was her constant light tapping with her pencil. I wondered if it was a nervous tick, a give of hers.
    As the silence waned on, I knew I wanted to see her again. In a town this small, I probably would but I was at a loss of what to say because I felt like I had already