Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 147021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 735(@200wpm)___ 588(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 735(@200wpm)___ 588(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
I start to interject, to explain, but he cuts me off. “You don’t have a daughter, so you can’t possibly comprehend how awful it is to see her go through this. The only thing I can do is be someone she can lean on. She’s my first priority, which is a hell of a lot more than she is for you.”
Everything I did was meant to protect her from pain, but I failed miserably. At least I didn’t ruin her relationship with Roman. That’s something.
His phone rings. “That’s Aurora. I’d like some privacy while I speak with her, so if you could see yourself out, that would be great. One of the guys will text you when I’m done.” He crosses the room and opens the door, motioning for me to leave. “Hey, sweetie. How was your first exam? Did you feel good going into it?”
I grab my jacket and my phone and step into the hall. What else can I do? Roman doesn’t want to hear my side, and I don’t want to upset Aurora more than I already have.
The door slams in my face. I can still hear his voice, but the words are too muffled to make out.
I knock on Flip and Tristan’s door. Tristan opens it. He’s dressed in his usual uniform of jogging pants and a T-shirt. “You sleeping on my couch tonight?”
“Maybe.”
“I’ve been there more times than I can count, but mostly because Flip has a problem keeping his dick in his pants.” He steps aside and lets me in.
“Where is he now?”
“He went to grab some snacks. I already warned him that if he brings a human back with him, he can rent his own freaking room.”
“He’s been a lot better over the past few months,” Ash offers.
“He has, but my couch-sleeping days are over. Yours, however, have probably just started.” His expression reflects both empathy and disappointment.
Ash and Dallas are already on the couch. Dallas brought his gaming console, so the two of them are playing. “So, you and Hammer, huh?” Dallas says.
“Shilps called it months ago,” Ash says.
“Did one of the girls say something?” I’m aware Rix has known for some time, and Tristan walked in on us once...
Ashish rolls his eyes. “It’s the way you look at her.”
“Which is how?”
“With longing.”
Well, that’s not inaccurate.
“I can’t believe you’ve been boning your best friend’s daughter. That’s ballsy. Pun intended,” Dallas says. “And stupid.”
“I’m not a douchebag. I was not boning Aurora.”
“Fine. Having sex.” He pauses the game, and his eyebrows pop. “Or making sweet, sweet love to your best friend’s daughter.”
“I’m going to punch you in your fucking face if you keep talking about Aurora like that.”
“Oh, shit.” Dallas sets his controller down. “You’re in love with her.”
“Seriously, can we change the subject?”
“Dude. You’re in love with Hammer. Like, Hammer, who basically grew up with the entire team as big brothers-slash-bodyguards.” Dallas keeps talking. “Damn. Well, now what happened with Willy yesterday makes sense.”
“What happened with Hemi?” Ash asks.
“She signed me up for this photo shoot with a python before we flew out yesterday, probably because she knows I hate snakes, but then she said something came up, and she rescheduled it. She didn’t even call me a name or tell me she hates me. She always tells me she hates me. But I guess she was preoccupied with whatever’s going on with you and Hammer. I thought maybe you wanted a bite of the forbidden fruit. You know, taste that fresh, forbidden apple.”
“Seriously, I’m going to strangle you in your sleep,” I tell him.
“Similar to how you’d like to bite Hemi’s apple,” Ashish says.
“Oh no. I don’t want to bite Hemi’s apple. I want to make a fucking pie out of it.”
I look to Tristan for some actual advice, which clearly puts me in the highly desperate category. “You’ve been through this before, and you and Flip figured things out and Rix took you back.”
“Uh, yeah, but only because Bea is the most understanding woman in the universe. I don’t think it hurts that I provide multiple orgasms every single time.”
“It’s a good thing Flip isn’t here for this conversation,” Dallas says.
Tristan shrugs. “He’s aware of my ability to provide multiples, which is another reason Bea should not be interested in being my girlfriend, but here we are. She’s the first person I want to talk to every morning and the last face I want to see before I go to bed. I would do anything to be the lucky bastard who gets to love her. Take your own advice, man. If you really love Hammer, why aren’t you doing something about it?”
“I don’t want to come between her and Roman,” I say. “Maybe in a few years, when she’s older, we’ll be able to make better decisions together.”
“She’s gonna spend the rest of her life living with her daddy? Being his little girl?” Tristan shakes his head. “Sounds like a bullshit excuse to me. Maybe you need to ask yourself what you’re really afraid of, and why you’re allowing yourself to be sidelined.”