Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Ori raised his hands in the air. “Hallelujah.”
“Damn right,” Dani said.
“I was just telling Ori earlier today about a friend of mine in Miami who is a painter,” Thomas told Danielle. “He has a beautiful oil painting of a red fox he’s willing to display here.”
“Amazing,” Dani said, clapping her hands.
“I’m telling you, you’d love it there,” Thomas told Ori.
Ori was pouring freshly ground coffee into the top of one of the machines, and I saw him slide a glance my way for a moment.
“Oh, right,” Ori said.
“Miami seems like it would be the perfect fit for you,” Thomas continued. “Urban, beautiful, modern, but not completely cutthroat like LA or New York. I’ll add you to our group text tonight. Marco’s a painter and he has connections to all of the art galleries.”
I clenched my jaw.
“Sounds interesting,” I said before I had time to think. Thomas looked back at me like he was surprised I was still listening.
“You ever been to Miami, Finn?”
“Can’t say I have,” I said.
And Ori is allowed to spend more time here in Bestens before he even thinks about moving away again.
“Oh, Gosh, isn’t it warm in here,” an elderly woman’s voice came with a rush of air from the front doors behind me. “And, wow, that cinnamon smell!”
“Welcome in, Mary Ellen,” Ori said, giving her a big wave.
“Ori,” she said warmly. “Don’t you just look like a little peach. Is the good booth available? Oh, it is. Is that a little bit of sugar on top of the table? Does it need to be wiped away?”
“I’ll take care of you today, Mary Ellen,” Dani said. “That’s just a scratch on the table. But you’ll never believe it—we’re actually getting new tables, soon.”
Danielle fielded Mary Ellen with ease, and soon, three other old women filed in, joining her at the “good” booth. Dani was preoccupied with them for at least an hour, and every time she walked off, they flagged her back down for some small request.
I stayed put at the front counter. I was going to wait until Ori’s shift was over, the way I used to back in high school. By early evening, he was free to go.
I’d been turning over the idea of Miami in my head ever since Thomas had brought it up, thumbing at it like an irritated scab.
“Hard Spot?” I asked Ori after he’d clocked out for the evening.
He nodded. “Let’s do it.”
The air smelled like beer and barbecue as we stepped out onto Laurel Ave. The night was already bustling. The fountain on the corner was surrounded by a group of teenagers, one of them playing an acoustic guitar. The twinkle lights wrapped around each tree were already illuminated, and Ori and I ambled across the corner slowly. We both stopped to look in the window of a clothing boutique that I knew neither of us cared about.
I liked being aimless with him.
But I also had a big, burning question in the back of my mind, with no idea how to bring it up.
“What’s up with you?” Ori finally asked, stopping a few paces away from Hard Spot under a lamp post.
“With me?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re acting weird.”
I stretched my arms above my head. “Nothing’s weird.”
He puffed out a laugh. “Finn, cut the shit. If you feel weird about last night, it’s in the past. I’m not going to jump you again or something.”
“No,” I said so loudly that a family across the way gave me a glance. “No.”
He gave me a dubious look. “You sure about that?”
I glanced around quickly, making sure nobody we knew was going to see us by the edge of the saloon.
Then I put a hand on Ori’s waist, leaning over to crush my lips to his.
I let my mouth linger on his longer than I should have. His mouth was all I had wanted all day, and no matter who might have seen us right now, I didn’t want to fucking stop.
But I also cared about Ori.
And, god damn it, I was going to respect his wishes, whether I liked it or not.
I pulled away, sucking in a quick breath of air.
“I do not feel weird about last night, even a little bit.”
Ori licked his lips and I tried to ignore that it was making me hard, right here in the middle of the street.
“Then what was your deal?”
I gave him a look, pausing for a second. “Miami, huh?”
Ori waved a hand through the air. “God, Thomas has brought up Miami about four times today, and I’m exhausted. I don’t want to talk about Miami, or Tennessee, or any of it, if you don’t mind?”
“Of course,” I said quickly.
“I’m sorry,” he told me. “But for tonight, could I maybe have a break from thinking about big, stressful future plans, and just enjoy this?”