Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 80197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
She shuts her books and stacks them in a pile. I lower the drink, wondering if she's hinting that I should leave. "How's your mom, Aiden?"
Marie answers for her husband. "She's definitely turned a corner. She had some color in her cheeks."
"That's good." Celine nods, then fixes me with her pretty eyes. "Want to hang out while your underwear dries?"
"It's not just underwear." I feel my cheeks heat. It's stupid to feel embarrassed that my personal items are going round and round in this dude's dryer. It's not like he caught me fucking his wife.
"Sure."
"I'll put out some snacks." Marie opens a huge cupboard door and begins pulling out bags of healthy chips and popcorn. She empties them into bowls and then chops apples, strawberries, and plums, placing them alongside.
Celine takes the tray into the seating area and places it on a low coffee table. I drift behind her, unsure of where to put myself. She flops onto the sofa and grabs the remote. "You can take the weight off." Pointing at the space next to her, she smiles at my uncertainty. I take a seat, sinking against the plush throw pillows. Damn, this couch is comfortable.
Aiden and Marie carry some glasses and a jug of what looks like fresh iced tea into the den and flop onto the couch next to ours. Celine finds a standup comedy special and grasps a handful of popcorn, tossing it into her mouth.
I don't know how it happened, but I've slipped into a scene of domesticity with a girl I'm not even dating.
"This one's fucking hilarious," Aiden says. "Have you seen it, Elias?"
"Nah, man."
"Watch this. His jokes are off the charts."
The comedian is funny as fuck, and I find myself munching on sweet apple, and spicy lentil chips, laughing along with Celine and her family. It's kind of cozy and easy, and I forget why I'm here. I don't notice the beeps of the dryer coming to the end of its cycle, and neither does Celine. We laugh so much that my belly aches, and Celine's freckled cheeks are pink.
In the end, Lonie's cries on the baby monitor prompt me to look at the time on my phone. It's eleven pm and way past the time I should be hanging out at two strangers' house on a weeknight.
"I should get going," I say as Marie jogs up the stairs.
"Yeah. Me, too." Celine rises as I do, so much smaller than me when we're standing close. The red in her hair is just growing through at the root and my fingers itch to touch it. She's the same girl, but different since she covered it with brown.
"I need to grab my stuff."
She leads me into the laundry room, and we quickly share the folding responsibility. Everything smells fresh, and I'm relieved to have something clean to throw on for tomorrow's classes.
"I had fun." She places my last pair of boxers into my bag.
"Me, too." I lift the bag onto my shoulder and watch her hesitate with what to say next. It's on the tip of my tongue to say something crass, like 'it would have been more fun if we were naked,' but surprisingly, I keep my mouth shut.
Celine does, too. Her eyes drift from me to the door and I take the hint. In the kitchen, Aiden is clearing up the dirty glasses and loading them into the dishwasher. Celine gathers her books, shoving them into a black tote. She kisses Aiden's cheek and tells him to say bye to Marie for her.
"Thanks, man," I say.
Aiden wipes his hands on a cloth and shakes mine again. "It was good to meet you, Elias."
He's not much older than me, but the gulf between us is wide.
Travis would probably feel totally at home hanging out with Celine's family. And most likely, Dornan would as well.
"Yeah. You, too."
At the front door, I hold it open for Celine and follow her to her car. "Thanks for helping me," she says. On tiptoes, she presses a kiss to the corner of my mouth like she's not sure where we stand. I cup the side of her face and pull her into a deep and searing kiss that I've been craving for hours. She makes a sweet squeak of shock but rests her hands on my chest and goes with it.
I don't know what the fuck I'm doing.
This thing is messy. Celine is rebounding hard. Dornan and Travis lurk around every corner. She's using me for my dick and my brain. That's it.
I don't fit into this world of happy families.
Nothing about this thing between us works, but I still have this craving that I squash, leaving her wet-mouthed and wanting in her sister's driveway as I toss my bag into the trunk and drive off into the night.
18
DORNAN
"Fuck. My ankle hurts like…" Nathaniel's words are replaced by a wince as he tugs his sock down over his ankle and inspects his blooming bruise in all its glory.