Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 15021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 75(@200wpm)___ 60(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
When he calls me Princess, I want to kill him.
I’ve been hiding out in my room ever since I saw what I saw, dreading dinner when I’m going to have to go downstairs and make polite conversation with the family and try to put all these jumbled and dirty thoughts out of my mind.
As if Harrison’s mom, Lacey, can hear my daydreaming, I hear her yelling that the food is ready. I close my laptop, stand up from my desk and run my hands over my hot cheeks, trying to gather some composure. Fuck. I can’t do this. Harrison and I sit next to each other at the table, close enough for our arms to brush if we’re cutting into a steak or something that needs a bit of extra effort. I think if our skin touched tonight, I might combust. I use my bathroom to run my wrists under the cold water, hoping it will take the heat out of my blood, and I blot my face with a tissue to get rid of the shine. In the mirror, my eyes look alive, and my skin is glowing. Sex thoughts seem to have a positive effect on my appearance.
I hear the thump of Harrison as he makes his way downstairs and the rumble of his deep voice as he talks to his mom. My dad is away on business, so it’s just going to be the three of us for dinner. More pressure to make conversation. More risk that someone will notice my face and the fact it’s likely to turn beet-red as soon as I enter the kitchen. I’m just praying that we’re not having jumbo hot-dogs for dinner or I might pass out.
With dad out of town, I decide at the last minute to switch to his seat. It’s opposite Harrison instead of next to him, and when I sit, he looks at me surprised, then sniffs his armpit. “Do I smell?”
“No,” I blurt out, flustered. “You just had a shower.” Oh god, it’s the most stupid thing I could have said, and he looks slightly intrigued at my obvious embarrassment. I definitely make everything worse by telling him I heard the water in the pipes.
“So why are you sitting over there, then?” he asks.
“I just felt like a change.” I shrug in a pathetic attempt to appear nonchalant, reaching for the water jug, so I have something to do with my hands.
He looks so damn good in the t-shirt he’s wearing. It’s nothing special, just an old grey thing that’s probably been through the washer a hundred times, but it fits him like a second skin. And I think he’s a little cold because his nipples are hard. Fuck. I’m noticing his nipples and here comes the blush. When I look up with a start, Harrison’s looking at me, bemused.
“Are you okay, Jenna? You’re acting strange, and your face has gone all red.”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say, swallowing down a whole glass of iced water. “Just feeling hot.”
Lacey picks precisely that moment to bustle in with a steaming pot of something. “We’re having chili tonight. Your dad hates it, so I thought we could indulge while he’s away.” She smiles at the thought of dad, and his picky eating, and I groan internally. They are still so loved up. It’s nauseating, and kind of sweet, too. Dad had been on his own for too long, and I’m glad he found someone as lovely as Lacey to care for him.
“That’s great. Thanks, Lace,” I say.
“Are you sure, Jenna?” Harrison asks. “You know, with your hot flush and all.”
Lacey looks at me, then rests a cool hand on my flaming forehead. “Aren’t you feeling good?” she asks with concern.
“I’m fine,” I say, shooting daggers at Harrison. Lacey glances between us, perplexed, then nods and retreats to the kitchen for the rest of the food. I continue to glare at Harrison, who laughs and shrugs as if he wasn’t trying to be funny. I look around the room, struggling to think of anything else to say that won’t provoke another of his attempts at humor. And I’m desperate to find something to take my mind away from where it wants to go.
“I overheard you talking about a Halloween party,” Lacey says as she comes back with another large pot.
“Yeah.” Harrison holds his plate out for the first helping of dinner. “Jacob’s parents are out of town, and they’ve said he could have a party.”
Lacey’s eyebrows practically hit her hairline. “They’re braver than I am. I don’t think I’d ever feel comfortable leaving this house in your hands.” She shakes her head and chuckles. “I remember some of the house parties I went to.”
“Oh yeah,” Harrison says, shoveling a forkful of chili and rice into his mouth and chewing.
“Yeah. You guys didn’t invent having a good time, you know?” She laughs. “So, is it a dress-up party?”