Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
I hesitate, knowing that this won’t lead to anywhere good, but for some inexplicable reason, I find myself doing it anyway. He slides the lime halfway between my teeth and I bite down, holding it there. His teeth scrape across his bottom lip, his eyes glued to my mouth. He tears his gaze away, plucking a saltshaker off the counter and sprinkles some onto the liquid on my neck.
His palm flattens against the opposite side of my neck, holding me in place, then I feel his hot tongue against my skin. I suck in a breath, eyes falling shut at the sensation. All too soon, he releases me and pulls away. I watch, hypnotized, as he takes the shot before bringing his mouth to mine. Our lips brush as he takes the lime from me, then sucks all the juices from it.
I lick the flavor off my lips, wondering why the hell I’m so turned on from something as simple as a body shot.
“Your turn,” he says in a way that sounds more like I dare you as he tosses the lime into the trash.
I grab another wedge, then squeeze it onto his neck like he did mine before sliding it up and down his skin. I hold the lime up to his mouth and he captures it with his teeth, holding it there while I shake the salt onto his neck. I take him by surprise when I wrap my fingers around his sharp jaw, quickly turning his head to the side to expose his neck. The muscles in his neck flex slightly, our chests brushing together as I push up onto my toes. I lick a path up his hot skin, feeling his pulse jump under my tongue. He lets out a sound that’s somewhere between a grunt and a groan when I pull away. I take the shot and waste no time pulling Holden down to me by the back of his neck, taking the lime from his mouth with my own.
“Fuck,” he says, sounding dazed as I swipe the remaining lime juice off the bottom of my lip and lick it off my thumb.
“Thanks,” I say lightly, as if I’m not affected in the slightest.
His eyes narrow, looking at me intently, and I feel my defenses going up at whatever is sure to come.
“You don’t seem surprised. About tonight, I mean,” he points out.
“Look, I don’t know what you think you saw—”
“What I think I saw?” he scoffs, cutting me off. “I saw enough.”
Embarrassment burns through me. Being cheated on is humiliating enough. Being cheated on and having Holden witness the fallout is even worse.
“You’re handling it well. That’s all I meant,” he amends, even though I know that wasn’t his original point.
“You call this handling it well?” I ask, holding up the bottle. “I just licked you.” I take the bottle with me and walk to the edge of the pool and sit down. Holden follows suit, sitting next to me with his forearms resting on bent knees. I peel off my white cheer shoes and socks before slowly dipping my feet into the water. It’s surprisingly warm. I lean back, flattening my palms against the ground behind me.
“I’ve seen worse ways to cope.”
“Cope.” I snort. “You act like someone died.” I regret the words the second they leave my mouth. Danny’s death is a sore subject. The details surrounding it are still a mystery, and they think Shayne’s brother, Grey, had something to do with it. “I didn’t—”
It’s his turn to roll his eyes at me. “It’s fine.”
“I just meant… it’s not like it’s the end of the world. A guy turned out to be an asshole. What a shocker.”
I pull my phone out of the purse that dangles from my wrist to find another text from the asshole himself, and Holden snatches it from my hand.
“Hey!” I object, lunging for it, but he holds his freakishly long arm in the air and out of reach. “Give it back.”
“Ignore him,” Holden says, setting my phone face-down on the stone floor between us.
“Fine. Let’s talk about something else.”
“Fine with me.”
I swing my legs through the water, watching as the ripples move through the dark pool. “Why aren’t you playing basketball anymore?” I ask, wanting to shift the focus off me. The season just started, and I was surprised that Holden wasn’t there for the first game.
“Why, you miss cheering for me?”
I pin him with a look, waiting for a real answer.
He sighs. “It’s not the same,” he admits when he realizes I’m not letting him off the hook. “Without Danny, I mean. It doesn’t feel right.”
“What doesn’t?”
“Fucking nothing,” he says, huffing out a laugh. “Nothing at all feels right anymore.”
I heard that Holden already had multiple college coaches expressing interest last year. If he doesn’t play, he could lose that chance. “Do you think you’ll regret it if you don’t?”