The guy was two hundred and fifty pounds of sheer muscle.
He was the quiet, brooding type who took and followed orders
exactly. The kind who wasn’t easy to shake and was immune
to any sort of flattery, trickery, pleasantries, wheedling,
begging, or pleading.
Over the past week, Haley had tried everything. Snake had
been in place by Monday morning, following her Sunday
swim, and he’d been the one to take her to class. The guy
probably hulked around campus all day, because whenever
Haley went out to stretch her legs, she saw his car parked in
the same spot. Sometimes he was in it, sometimes not. Unless
he’d crawled into the backseat for a nap out of sheer boredom,
which was laughable, because there wasn’t a backseat in
existence that could accommodate a guy Snake’s size.
Haley had wanted to complain to Claire all week, but after
their showdown on the beach, in which Haley knew she’d
pushed the other woman way too far with accusations she
didn’t entirely believe and bravado she didn’t feel, Claire
hadn’t made herself available.
Haley ate dinner alone for the first few nights, and when it
&nb
sp; was clear that Claire wouldn’t be joining her and no one else
would either, she convinced Jean to just leave her plate in the
kitchen. Snake ate the same things she did, though not at the
same time, until she started eating in the kitchen. It was almost
funny, watching him devour firsts and seconds and often thirds
and fourths. He ate everything without complaint or
compliment, but Jean was tickled pink by the large appetite.
He liked cooking, and Snake liked eating. It was a match made
in heaven and Jean wouldn’t hear her complaints or take them