Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
“What happened to your castle?” I sat up and leaned forward to wash the sand off my hands.
“It won’t stay,” the older one said.
I look at what they had to work with. They had two plastic buckets, one red and one blue, and sea animal shapes — a dolphin, a turtle, and a starfish. I hadn’t been exposed to many children. My older family members were much older, and all their kids were in their twenties and early thirties. I knew Nadia and Tony’s kids, but it wasn’t like I saw them often. I’d always said I wanted to have kids at twenty-five. Now that I knew it was on the horizon, I wanted to revolt against it. I looked at these two. One had to be around five, and the other maybe six or seven. They were cute and inquisitive, but it wasn’t like my ovaries kicked when I saw them. Rosie said whenever she saw a baby, she wanted one. Each time she said it, my brother took her in his arms and acted like she was something fragile to be worshiped. It was beautiful and depressing.
“Where are your parents?” I asked.
They both looked at the two beach chairs and pointed. I looked over, and their mother smiled and waved at us. I waved back with a smile. A man was lying on his stomach, his left hand hanging to the side, a book he’d been reading discarded on the sand. I assumed it was their father.
“Do you know how to build a castle?” the older one asked.
“Yes.” I pressed my hands back into the sand and closed my eyes, tilting my face towards the sun.
“Can you help us build it?” the younger one asked, his little voice sounding too sweet to say no to.
I sighed and sat up, looking at the two of them again. They were relentless, these two. They reminded me of my brothers. “I’ll teach you, but you’ll have to build it yourself.”
An hour later, I’d built two sand castles. When my stomach started growling, I told them I needed to leave. The sun was setting anyway. I would shower, open a bottle of wine, and order room service. I’d started watching 90 Day Fiancé and was hooked. As I set my things down in the room and kicked off my flip-flops, I took a deep breath, taking it all in. I’d only been here two days and was already dreading leaving. I was at peace here, away from everyone. I wish I could have brought the girls with me, their husbands, and Rocco. I bit my lip and beelined straight for the bathroom as I thought about him.
I was soaking in the tub when I thought I heard a noise. More accurately, I’d been touching myself soaking in the tub when I thought I heard it. I hadn’t ordered room service yet, so I knew it couldn’t be that. Maybe someone had checked into the place next door. I shrugged it off and returned to what I was doing, closing my eyes and thinking about Rocco between my legs as I moved my fingers between them. His blue eyes were on mine as he kissed down my stomach and settled between my legs. He touched me and licked me until I was screaming his name. I gasped, arching my back and moving my fingers faster as I pictured him touching himself before he pounded into me, and then I was gone, my orgasm washing over me like a wave. I set a hand on my heart to calm it and got out of the tub. I dried off and wrapped a towel around myself and another on my head. The room was dark now, and the only light was that of the moon. It was all I needed, anyway, as I walked over to the bed and picked up the phone to order room service. I hung up when I was done and let myself fall onto the bed with an oomph.
“I have to say, the only thing that rivals you coming on my face is watching you make yourself come and chant my name.”
At the sound of his voice, I screamed and sat up in bed. He turned on a floor lamp and remained seated in the chair on the side of the room. I set a hand over my pounding heart and backed up on the bed as I stared at him, unsure if this was real or a dream. It had to be a dream because how the fuck would he have found me? I thought about my mother’s words and how she’d said they’d send a Marchetti or Russo after me. And there he was, sitting with his leg crossed at the ankle, wearing khakis and a blue polo that matched his eyes, looking like a fucking Ralph Lauren ad. My heart kept pounding. He raised an eyebrow.