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)
Lover? Who the fuck talks like that? What is she doing to me?
“Jesus Christ, it’s worse than I thought,” Ryan says, following my line of sight. “You’re so fucked.”
I don’t bother denying it. I pull out my phone, sending her a text.
Me: You can do better than this guy. He’s wearing boat shoes, Valen.
Me: …in January.
She glances down at her phone in her hand, but I can’t see her face from this angle, so I have no way of judging her reaction.
Valen: Stop stalking me. And he’s nice.
Me: You’d get bored with a nice boy.
Valen: You’re nice to me. Are you calling yourself boring?
Me: I’m nice to you in ways that end with orgasms. There’s a difference.
Valen: You looked pretty cozy with Quinn a minute ago. Go be nice to her.
Quinn. So that’s her name.
Me: Are you jealous?
Valen: Please.
Me: Please what? Be specific. You know I love it when you beg.
To that, she doesn’t respond, deciding to pay attention to the nice guy in front of her instead. Luckily, she doesn’t keep the conversation going much longer, giving him a friendly squeeze to his upper arm before she walks away.
“Ouch,” Ryan says, apparently still watching. “Friend-zoned for sure.”
“He’s right,” Quinn agrees. “The body language tells it all.”
Ryan scoops her up into his arms with his free hand and she squeals in surprise as she winds her arms around his neck. “What’s my body language telling you?”
Annnd that’s my cue to leave.
I ditch the rest of my drink on the fireplace before I set off in search of Valen, keeping my gaze straight ahead. I avoid eye contact, not wanting to get held up by anyone else. I catch up to her upstairs in the hallway, heading for the line of people waiting for the bathroom. Before she sees me coming, I grab a hold of her hand and yank her into the nearest bedroom. She yelps, caught off guard as I close the door behind her.
“Running from me, Sweet Valentine?”
The room is dark, and I don’t hear any moans coming from the bed behind me, so I’m fairly confident that we’re alone in here. Thank fuck.
“You should get back to Quinn,” she says, her breathy voice sounding more than a little bitter.
I smile, crowding her space until she backs up against the wall. “Did it bother you? Seeing me with her? Seeing her touch me?”
“Why should it?” she asks, but I can hear the forced ambivalence in her tone. “You can do whatever you want, remember? And if she’s what you want—”
“She’s not my type,” I cut her off.
“She’s everyone’s type,” she counters. “She’s cool, too. You should go for it.”
She’s so full of shit.
“I’m sure she’s great, but you should know by now that my type is bratty brunettes who are too ashamed to be seen in public with me.” I twirl a stand of her hair around my finger before giving it a sharp tug. “Now stop pretending like you haven’t missed me.”
“You’re the one stalking me,” she says into the dark. “If anyone’s missing someone, it’s you.”
I slide my hand along the side of her neck, my thumb grazing her cheek. I can’t see her expression, but I can feel the pulse jumping in her neck.
“I did miss you,” I say bluntly, deciding to lay it all out there. “I missed falling asleep with you. I missed waking up and smelling Creamsicles in my bed before I even open my eyes. I missed touching you—”
Valen interrupts by linking her fingers behind my neck, pulling me down to kiss me. I lift her by the backs of her thighs, and she moans into my mouth, telling me everything with this kiss that she won’t let herself say out loud. This girl is like a drug to me, seeping into my bloodstream, making me more addicted with each taste of her tongue. Too soon, she pulls back, breathless.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” I say, breaking the silence.
She slides down my body, and I reluctantly let her go. “We can’t do this here,” she says.
As much as I hate to admit it, she’s right. Shayne and Thayer are probably already looking for us. I pull my phone out of my pocket, and as I suspected, there’s a text from Thayer asking where I went.
Valen reaches for the doorknob, bathing the room in light. I squint against it and go to follow her out, but she whirls around on me. “Get back in there!” she whisper-yells, shoving me back. “I’ll go first. Wait two minutes and then you can leave.”
“You’re starting to give me a complex, you know that?”
“It’s good for your ego,” she quips, right before she slams the door in my face.
Valen is drunk.
I don’t know how it happened, but what I thought was going to be a quick stop turned into hanging out for two hours. At first, it was all fun and games as Thayer and I watched from the perimeter of the room with amusement as Valen and Shayne danced, together. If you can call it that. Valen’s hands were on Shayne’s shoulders, her long hair bouncing behind her as they laughed and screamed the words to every song at the top of their lungs.