Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 100060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Both of them are staring at the lanyard wrapped around my fist, the ID card hidden in my hand. They want to look at Elise’s picture, but I want it all to myself. That selfish reaction makes me feel guilty, though, so I finally sigh and open my fist. And we all stare down at the picture of her glaring at the camera. Hell, I miss that glare and it’s been less than an hour.
What is going on here?
Under normal circumstances, I never would have spoken to these guys.
They’re not my people.
One is polished and permanently agitated, drinking some kind of Belgian wheat beer, instead of Budweiser or Coors Light, like a regular dude. He’s built like someone who trains like a motherfucker at the gym, instead of lifting shit and getting dirty, like me. And the other one—the porn actor? Forget about it. He’s like some kind of strange, alien species with his accent and expensive sweater. Cashmere, isn’t it? He checked his reflection in a spoon when we sat down. He talks about his penis in front of a girl. No, a woman. Bottom line, I’ve never spent actual time with anyone like him. We have nothing in common.
Except Elise.
She’s why us three very different men are sharing a drink together.
We all want her and it’s not a mystery as to why. I’m not the sharpest crayon in the box, but I’ve never been struck dumb by the sight of someone. Never gotten hard so fast in my life.
The way she snuggled into me, her breath on my throat…
A groan tries to leave my mouth, but I drown it with a sip of beer at the last second.
She’s gorgeous. Smart. Smells so good. Didn’t freak out when the tram stalled. And she seemed to like me. Let me put my arms around her. So I might have overreacted in the genitals department. Technically, I’m still overreacting a little because I haven’t had any alone time since it happened. Deep breath, man.
Why didn’t I just keep my mouth shut about the ID card?
I could be home by now. Could have used the ID card to find her before the others. But no. I had to open my big, dumb yapper. Now I’m in competition with super-fit sports guy and a man who has sex for a living. I couldn’t even compete with my lazy brother. Do I stand a chance against these two?
Maybe. She asked me out, didn’t she?
Looked at me with softer eyes than the other two, unless I completely imagined that.
It’s possible. What could she want from me?
What would any women want from me, let alone Elise who is so full of life and secrets and curiosity, it made my throat burn just to look at her?
My failed marriage was all about providing. I was pretty comfortable with my ex, because I’d known her for so long. But I never felt like she was one hundred percent present with me. Not like I did when Elise tipped her chin up and seemed to stare right into my soul.
“I think I’ll just take this and go,” I say, pushing aside my beer—and attempting to leave with the ID card. “Nice meeting you both.”
They stand simultaneously, shoving me back down into the wooden booth.
Sex guy is stronger than I thought.
“Not so fast,” Banks says, visibly trying to hold on to his patience. “Let’s just finish our drinks and figure this out.”
“Figure what out?” I question him, warily.
“What happened up there,” Banks explains, taking the orange peel garnish out of his beer and tossing it onto the napkin. First, he looks at Tobias. “This sort of thing might be typical for you, but I’ve never shared a woman like that.”
“Me neither,” I say, trying not to think too hard about the curve of her butt in my lap. The way she pushed it up against me and grinded, slowly, wiping my brain clean. “I don’t really want to start now, either.”
Their eyes snap to mine. I’ve put them on guard.
That’s fine. I don’t have a lot of friends. Not like my brother does. I’ve gotten used to being the odd man out. I just really don’t want that to happen with Elise. Something really deep in my stomach tells me she’s important. How this situation is handled is important.
“And there’s the elephant in the room,” Tobias drawls, rapping his knuckles on the table. “We were all…affected by this woman. We all want to sleep with her.”
“If you don’t think it was more than that, you weren’t there,” Banks states.
Tobias becomes fascinated by his martini. A martini. Who is this dude? I have no business hanging out with him. But I’m more interested in what Banks said. Until now, I swear I had some kind of instant, cosmic connection with Elise.
What if it wasn’t only me, though?