Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 47200 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47200 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
“May?”
“May,” I finally say, firmly, grabbing her attention.
“C’mere,” I murmur, holding my hand out.
Glad when she takes it, and I pull her close again.
“I’d rather stay here all day and talk to you,” I tell her in a soft tone, stroking her hair back.
“But I do have something else to do on the way. Otherwise, I’d take you with me no matter what your Dad says.”
“What do you have to do?” May asks. Her eyes, wide and innocent, like the rest of her.
I smile before clamping my mouth shut and shaking my head.
“That would be telling,” I caution her playfully. “I told you already, I have a surprise. But it has to wait until tonight. And I have to go do something first. But it’ll only take a half hour or so.”
“This wasn’t your surprise?” she asks me, making me groan loudly when she runs the flat of her hand up my still stiff shaft.
She’s returning my playful mood with one of her own that I like way better.
“It’ll do more than surprise you,” I growl, and May blushes, looking embarrassed for a second before giggling and tickling my ribs.
“I guess we can’t do this sort of thing around my Dad, huh?” she finally asks once I’m holding her close again.
Her head rests on my chest as I stroke her hair.
I’m still pinching myself that this has happened so easily. So perfectly.
I didn’t need to spell out how I felt about her because she already knew.
She felt the same way I did that day at her graduation… If only I’d known sooner.
“Probably not a good idea. Not yet,” I tell her, and feeling her nod in agreement, I can’t help thinking how hard that’s gonna be.
And that’s if Steve doesn’t read me like a book over lunch anyway.
May’s fine with me borrowing her car, and after assuring me she’ll be fine on her own for a few hours, I can’t help feeling a knot in my stomach as I pull out of her driveway.
Catching a glimpse of myself in the rearview as I watch May go back inside, I may as well have what I’m thinking about May written all over my face.
Not touching her in front of Steve’s gonna be one thing.
But I’m going to work on my poker face and fast if I don’t want Steve to know about me and May before I put my real surprise on them both tonight.
CHAPTER NINE
May
I didn’t think I was being so obvious about being hurt that dad wanted to have lunch with just Brandon and him.
I try to remind myself about that third wheel scenario I already thought about. But after Brandon just kissed me and made it crystal clear that he wanted me but needed to know I wanted him just as much, it’s hard for me to feel great about him going out.
I mean, we just connected, and now he’s having lunch with my dad.
I guess this is the part of ‘adult’ where I have to act my age a little more, but Brandon’s quick to comfort me.
He also confuses me with more talk about his ‘big surprise.’
I thought we’d just done that part, playing tonsil hockey and having my hands all over what really is a big surprise in his pants.
I suggest he takes my car, but dad’s already offered it.
“What are you gonna do?” Brandon asks. “For the next few hours, I mean,” he adds, keeping his arm hooked around my waist for as long as he can before he goes.
I can tell Brandon feels just as weird about taking off for lunch with my dad as I do sitting at home without him, but if we’re gonna keep our little secret an actual secret, we can’t be with each other every second of every day.
Not yet.
“I dunno. I’ve got a ton of tutoring papers to go over,” I sigh, knowing already that’s the last thing I’ll be able to focus on right now.
“Tutoring?” Brandon asks. “I thought you were done with college.”
“I am, I mean…it’s tutoring for students who struggle with a subject. I work part-time at the college,” I explain, noting his frown.
“You need the money?” he asks, and I feel a little embarrassed.
“Well, yeah, I guess. I pay my way here, and the tutoring’s only until I can find a permanent job.”
Suddenly, I feel like I’ve said too much about how dad’s auto business might not be doing so well after all, without even having to say it.
Still, there’s more to me living at home than just my dad looking out for me.
It’s not Los Angeles out here, and only so many people need their cars tuned in a week.
“I thought Dad would have mentioned it,” I probe Brandon, but he shakes his head, looking serious.
“How is the mechanical business?” he asks gravely, and I think he’s kidding around for a second until I remind myself that this is my dad’s lifelong and best friend.