Big Roomie by Penny Wylder (young adult books to read TXT) 📗

read books to me when I was young and most of them were set in London, so to me it became this magical, mythical place with such amazing history. I had to see it for myself. My mom lived here for a time and she always wanted me to experience it for myself. She was excited for me to come. And when I told my friends I was coming, they wanted to come too, but their desire was mostly for the parties and the shopping.”

“What about you?” I ask. “London seems like a far place to travel for work with heavy equipment. I’m sure there are jobs like that in the States.”

He shrugs. “There are, but the States isn’t my home.”

“You live in London?” I ask, confused considering he’s renting a place the same as us.

“I don’t really live anywhere. I don’t call any single place my home.” I stare at him, waiting for him to elaborate. He gives me a half smile as if he’s unsure whether or not to get into it, but then he seems to make a decision and speaks. “I grew up in foster care. I guess you could say I didn’t have the easiest life. Things were hard. I went from one abusive family to the next. I started doing drugs and getting into a lot of trouble. I’d been arrested six times by the time I was fourteen. Then I met a man who turned things around for me. He pulled me out of my downward spiral. He took me in, had me help out on his farm, and taught me how to work hard and be a good man. His name’s Johnathan. He’s the closest thing to a father I ever had.

“Johnathan grew up on the English countryside, so I always wanted to work here.”

“Is Johnathan still alive?” I ask.

“He is, but he’s an old man now. I work here and send money back to the States to take care of him.”

“That’s very kind of you,” I tell him. As I watch him talk, I start to see him differently. He’s no longer just some random hot guy I lost my virginity to. He’s beautiful, inside and out. It takes a special person to work hard to take care of someone else when they don’t have to. Johnathan isn’t his parent or even his legal guardian, and yet he takes care of him because Kain is good and it’s the right thing to do.

Kain shrugs off the comment. “Johnathan saved my life. It’s the least I can do.”

And here I thought Kain was just some playboy, drifting along, getting by on his good looks, tricking naïve women into his bed with his wit and charm. But now I realize there’s so much more to him, and God help me, I’m falling for him.

We take the Tube into London. The train is packed full of people. I’m practically sitting on Kain’s lap. I feel his hand move to my hip and he holds it there. I’d love to strip naked right here, right now, and ride him until we both explode, but that would be inappropriate. Instead, I just fantasize about it and start to get uncomfortable as my panties get soaked and I have to sit in them, chafing.

Once we get to London, I’m overwhelmed with the confusion of it all. There’s something very disorienting about watching people drive on the wrong side of the road, seeing unfamiliar models of cars and double decker busses, the different accents. It’s wonderful and nerve-wracking at the same time.

Luckily, Kain seems to be unmoved by all of it. He’s used to working here, after all. Seeing his calm demeanor helps orient me. He shows me all of the different shops. We go into a cute little boutique that seems like it would be just my style.

“Thank you for showing me around. You don’t have to stay with me. I don’t want to take up all of your time on your day off. I can find my way back.”

He absently looks through a rack of clothes. “I’m enjoying myself, actually. Unless you’d like me to leave.”

“No,” I say far too quickly. He looks at me with an eyebrow raised and chuckles. I blush. “I’m enjoying myself too.”

I try on a few things and find a cute little black dress with a high neck, three quarter length sleeves and mid length. It goes perfectly with my Dr. Martens boots and has a very European look to it that I love.

“That’s the one,” Kain says the moment I step out of the dressing room. “That’s definitely you.”

I’m surprised he likes it. I would have thought he’d be more attracted to the girly types with the short skirts and low-cut tops.

I look at the price tag and convert the price from pounds to dollars in my head and sigh. “Maybe I can find something similar to it somewhere else. This is a little more than I was looking to spend on one dress.”

I get dressed and we leave. “I think I know the perfect place. It’s about a mile down the road if you don’t mind the walk,” he says.

“I don’t mind.”

We start to head in the opposite direction, then he stops abruptly and pats his pockets. “Shit, I forgot my wallet. I’ll be right back.”

I sit on a bench and watch all the strange cars pass while Kain runs back to get his wallet. I’m not sure why he would’ve taken it out of his pocket in the first place, but I guess he had his reasons.

London is so beautiful. I love the mix of old and new architecture. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I make sure to take pictures of everything, including Big Ben in the distance. I can see now why my mother loved this place so much. I can also see why Kain chooses to come here to work. It’s lovely. I could see myself living in a place like this. Maybe not