Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 19583 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 98(@200wpm)___ 78(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19583 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 98(@200wpm)___ 78(@250wpm)___ 65(@300wpm)
"Being that I make weekly trips to D.C., I don't see why we have to stop. I can come to see you in Piedmont or Bahama. Whatever you want, wherever you want, Jelly Bean."
I stroke the side of her face, bringing her down to me for a kiss that leaves her breathless and me wanting more. Hours pass with us spending time together in my house. From our conversations to making love, being with Danielle is everything I imagined it would be and more. She’s always been a bright spot in my life. Like everything is lighter, brighter, and more colorful when she’s around.
Eventually, I get around to fixing her car, which doesn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. It would have been done faster had we not distracted ourselves with rule-breaking sexual punishments, but I wouldn't trade this time with Danielle for anything in the world. We’re trying to make up for all the time we lost, and we can’t get enough of each other.
The sound of her phone ringing interrupts our time together, and she convinces me to come with her to the bar.
"Are you sure you don't want to hang out with just your siblings?" I ask her on our drive over to one of the few bars in Heffen's Bluff.
"I'm sure. Besides, Ev said Josh got some news, and he's throwing them back. Hilary broke up with him in his DMs."
"Ouch. That sucks."
Danielle shrugs slightly, her lips curling downward. "He's going to be a mess. He was planning to ask her to marry him. We had lunch a few weeks ago, and he was asking about rings and how to propose. This really fucking sucks."
"Well, maybe we can help cheer him up."
"Are you going to sing?" Her eyes glisten with mischief. "Josh would love to hear me butcher a tune, so it's only right you join me in the karaoke shenanigans."
"I'll join you, but I don't think I'll sound too good. It's been a long time since I had to use this voice to carry a note."
"Wait, you get stage fright, don't you?" Her eyes light up, and she snaps her fingers. "I knew you were afraid of something. Okay, this is great. You get to see me work, and I can repay you for everything you're doing for me. Besides, if I help you, and Ev and Josh get to see me work, it will show them that my job is real, you know? Then they'll tell Mom, and even she won't be able to deny that I have a real job."
"Hold on, Jelly Bean."
The excitement about her work keeps Danielle from letting me get a word in. "Now that we have an idea of what to work on, I can give you some tools to deal with your fear of public stages. This is going to be an intimate setting, maybe fifty people at the most."
"Jelly Bean—"
"So, I want you to focus on me. It doesn't matter if I'm on stage beside you or in front of you. Focusing on one person gives you the chance to tune everyone else out. It can feel like we're the only people in the room. When you get that nervous feeling, that anxiety, I need you to take three really deep breaths and focus."
"Danielle—"
"One thing to keep in mind is that this isn't as serious as you may think it is. A lot of times, we're often so critical of ourselves that we put astronomical expectations on our performance. We're waiting for our audience to be disappointed, which ignites the fear and stops us from performing altogether."
"Are you saying my performance disappointed you, Jelly Bean?"
"What?" Her head snaps in my direction, but I keep my eyes on the road. A smile spreads across my face as she stumbles slightly over her words. "No, you were great. You felt amazing. You were perfect."
"Punishment included?" I ask her, just to see the crimson creeping across her cheeks. Memories of her sliding back and forth over my cock brings heat to my face as well.
"Punishment performance was exceptionally good. I'd even say you can go a little harder next time."
"Well, now, Jelly Bean, that excites me. I'm looking forward to testing the limits of pain and pleasure between us."
"I'm open to that, but don't distract me with sexy time talk. We need to talk about your fear of stages and performing."
I chuckle to myself. "I already told ya, Jelly Bean. I'm not scared of anything."
"We'll see." She smirks and squeezes my knee as we pull into the parking lot of Lost & Found. It's nearly full, and music is playing through the outdoor speakers. The scent of fried food wafts through the air, and the aroma of beer hits us the moment we step inside the place.
A stage is set in the corner where live bands play, a poor excuse of a mini Christmas tree standing off to the side. Tonight, two people are laughing and singing into the microphone. The words they're supposed to sing along to scroll from a projector across the wall beside the stage. It's an off-key rendition of Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You.