Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 156392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 782(@200wpm)___ 626(@250wpm)___ 521(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 782(@200wpm)___ 626(@250wpm)___ 521(@300wpm)
And then she waltzes out of the room, swaying her hips and flipping her hair.
And I know—I just know I’ll fuck up everything for this woman.
Her lifeline included.
30
AVA
“Spill, Cecy. How do you seduce that man of yours?”
My friend chokes on her juice, droplets scattering all over the table and the camera and running out of her nose.
“Gee, thanks for the lemonade shower, Ava.” She wipes her nose with a napkin.
“What? Everyone knows Jeremy is physically unable to look away from you. Pretty sure he’d fuck you in public if you let him. So help a girl out and give me pointers on how you keep him coming back for more.”
A blush creeps up her cheeks and she rubs her nose. “I don’t really do anything. He kind of jumps me the moment he sees me.”
I look up. “God, I’ve seen what you’ve done for other people and I want some.”
“Stop being dramatic. Besides, the way Jeremy looks at me is heavily rivaled by the intense way Eli looks at you.”
“Bitch, please. No need to lie just to make me feel better.”
“I mean it. You’re my best friend and I love you, but you can be so blind sometimes. Also, why do you need seduction pointers? You’ve been complaining about being sore and achy for a while now. Though you stopped over the last week.”
“Ten days.” I sigh as I flop back on the floor of my music room and lift the phone up.
Cecy leans over on the table and abandons the manga book she was reading, or pretending to. We have days where we put each other on the camera while we do our things. I’ll practice or read and she’ll do the same. It’s comforting to know that she’s always there even if a whole ocean separates us.
“What happened ten days ago?” she asks.
“I kinda, sort of, made a stupid suggestion.”
“What type of suggestion?”
“A condition, actually.”
“And? You’re leaving me in suspense here.”
“I told Eli he can’t touch me unless he moves into the same room with me and he also has to look at my face while being inside me. You know, very logical things a wife can ask of her husband. The result? The bastard completely shut me out.”
I try not to sound hurt. Jeez, I’d be so embarrassed if I were talking to anyone else other than Cecy.
“Was I wrong?” I ask with a wince.
She smiles softly. “Absolutely not. I’m surprised you allowed him to get away with it in the first place.”
“He made it seem as if I demanded he love me or something. Besides, even if I was hungry for affection, I kept it in. There’s no way in hell I would’ve made myself look desperate.”
“And now?”
“If I’m stuck in this relationship, I don’t want to compromise on my needs.”
“Gosh. I’m so proud of you.”
“Yeah, well. It didn’t work. And I’ve tried everything, you know.” I count on my free hand. “I walked around the house in the most erotic nightgowns ever and he simply didn’t look at me, as if I were thin air. I barged into his study in the skimpiest clothes ever, sucking on a lollipop and making my lips all glossy and shit and read a book on the sofa across from his desk while offering him a front-row seat of my cleavage, but he proceeded to kick me out and lock the door. I spammed his inbox with teasing pictures and he completely ignored me. He doesn’t even come home at reasonable hours anymore. We used to spend some time together before, but it’s like he doesn’t want to see my face now.”
In or outside of sex.
And that hurts more than I’m willing to admit.
“Hey.” Cecy softens her voice, effortlessly turning on her motherly instincts. “I know it sucks, but you’re doing nothing wrong, Ava. It’s his loss for not appreciating you.”
“Text him that.”
“Will do.”
“Don’t. He’ll know I care about this enough to talk about it with you.”
“We come as a set. He can deal with it.”
I grin. “Hell yeah.”
“Let me ask you something.” She pauses as if weighing her words. “Didn’t you always say you don’t like sharing a room with anyone, me included, because you don’t want anyone to witness your state during a nightmare? Why is Eli the exception?”
“He knows, Cecy. Everything. More than he’s willing to discuss with me, apparently. Maybe it’s my wishful thinking in attempting to test him further and see if he’s truly accepting.” In reality, I think I just don’t want to sleep alone anymore.
My insistence on always having my own room isn’t because I like solitude, it’s because I’ve been terrified of anyone seeing me at my worst.
I’d be lying if I said my fear has completely disappeared, but my yearning for company outshines it.
And inexplicably, Eli is the one whose company I’m irrevocably desperate for.