Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 58808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 294(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 294(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
“If you say so.”
My phone dings, and before I can do anything, Grayson reaches out and grabs it from me. I sit there as he reads the message and then looks at me. “He wants to fuck you.”
“So what?” I reach over the table for my phone as it dings again, but he pulls it back and reads the new message.
“And he’s a bit desperate if you ask me. He wants to know if you want to get ‘dessert’ after.” His eyes find mine, and he leans over and holds my phone out to me. “Where are you going?”
I reach out to take my phone from his grip, but he holds it tight.
“Where are you going?” he asks again, waiting for my reply with a fixed glare.
“A fancy restaurant,” I answer and pull my phone away from him. I scan the messages and cringe at the dessert one.
Surely it can’t be that bad. Can it?
I would hate to say he’s right.
Admitting he’s right would be the last thing I would want.
“Come on, I’d rather get this day over and done with,” he says suddenly, standing and putting a couple of hundred dollars down on the table to cover the bill.
I guess he feels the waitress could probably use a good tip after listening to the way we were talking.
Chapter 12
Do I suddenly like orange?
Grayson
I should know better.
At least, that’s what I tell myself.
I shouldn’t hang with the staff, especially not her. She is annoying as fuck, is super bitchy, and is absolutely the most beautiful creature I have ever seen.
I loathe her the most for that fact alone.
I’m sitting in my car, telling myself not to get out.
It’s not the smart thing to do. I should stay.
Stay…
Fuck.
Pushing open the door, I get out.
“Grayson, is that you?” I turn to find an older lady standing next to a man. She clings to his arm, smiling, as he looks at me warily. “That is you, isn’t it?” As she steps closer, she brings the man with her.
“It’s me, Mrs. Pearson,” I say to my old next-door neighbor growing up. She would feed me when my mother was out on dates and left me to fend for myself.
“It’s so good to see you. I always wondered how you got along and hoped you were still alive.”
“Still alive,” I say with a tight nod.
“Oh, sorry. This is my husband. He’s the reason I moved… He lives in a nicer neighborhood, you see. And, well, you know how ours was.”
“I do.”
“Do you still live there?” she asks.
“I do. But in a much nicer house.” Her eyes fall to my car, and she smiles.
“You must have done well for yourself. I always thought you would.” She beams at me.
“Thank you, Mrs. Pearson.”
Waving me off, she turns to leave. “Grayson.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry you had a shit mother.”
I laugh at that before I reply, “I’m not. It showed me what I need and what I don’t.”
She nods as if she gets it, and she very well may. Mrs. Pearson was a hard woman back in the day. It’s why her house was always untouched when other houses in the neighborhood were constantly broken into. And she fed the strays, literally. Then one day, when I came home from school, she was gone.
I assumed she was dead, but it’s nice to know the old bat is still kicking.
Looking back to the restaurant, I decide it’s best I don’t go in until I hear her loud laughter. I spin around to see Avani entering the restaurant, a man walking next to her and eyeing her like she’s the best dish on the menu.
She’s wearing an eye-catching orange dress, a small black jacket, and a pair of heels, with her hair tied up, showing off her delicate neck.
I didn’t know I liked the color orange until now.
Leaning against my car, my gaze follows her until she disappears into the restaurant.
Fuck it.
Locking my car, I walk inside.
After scanning the room, I see her sitting at a table with him.
When did I become a stalker?
She doesn’t look as hungover as she was earlier today when she reaches for her glass of wine.
“Can I help you?” the hostess asks.
“I’ll take a seat at the bar.” I nod in that direction, and she gives me a confused look. I make my way to the bar and grab a seat where I can still see Avani and her date. He says something to her, and she laughs again. The room fills with her cackle, or maybe it’s just that I’m tuned in to only her.
What a witch.
Wonder if she’s put a spell on me.
That has to be the reason I’m here, right?
I’ve never cared what a woman is doing before, yet here I am, waiting and watching her as if she is going to magically come over to me.