Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 79670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
I sit up. “You are not!” My hand trembles with rage. I search her face to see if she is lying or not, and only when she bursts out laughing do I calm down just a touch.
“I am not,” she admits to me, “even though it would serve you right.”
“For the record,” I share, leaning back down on the couch, “leaving you was very hard.” She rolls her eyes and I laugh. “I wanted you to see I don’t just want you for that.” Her eyes stare at me and I’m waiting for her to say something, but she doesn’t. “I want everything between.”
“I kind of got that part,” she replies. Her eyes are free of the makeup she had on before. “The whole, ‘we are in a relationship’ part.”
I nod at her. “Just making sure everyone is on the same page,” I say to her smirking face.
“Duly noted. What hotel are you at?” she asks, not saying anything about what I just said.
“The Ritz,” I answer, looking around and turning on the side lamp on the table. “It’s a basic suite.” I get up and give her a tour. “This is the dining room and living room. This is the bedroom.” I wink at her. “The closet and then the bathroom.” I walk to the bed instead of going to the couch and lying down on it. “Do you want to come over and order room service with me?”
She laughs. “No.” I wiggle my eyebrows at her. “You hate hotels.” She repeats something I used to always tell her.
I shrug. “It’s not that bad,” I say, lying through my teeth. I fucking hate staying in hotels. I hate it because it’s so impersonal. “I just miss cooking and being in my own space, but apart from that, it’s fine. I can have anything I want with a press of a button.”
“Sounds like so much fun.” She laughs, and then she looks at me. “Are you really staying here for me?” Her voice comes out softly.
“Yes,” I confirm without thinking twice. “Well, not just for you, for me also.”
“Well,” she says, and all I can do is just watch her. I thought I missed her before, but now that we are talking again, I realize I miss her so much it hurts being away from her. “If we are going to work on things.”
I smile and nod at her. “Yes, that is what you said, and we kissed, so it sealed the deal.”
She throws her head back and laughs. “Anyway, why don’t you move in here?”
I smirk at her. “Really?”
“Not in my room,” she corrects herself, “but there is a spare bedroom you can stay in.”
“Really?” I ask again, not sure about it either. Is it too fast? “Are you sure?”
She shakes her head right away. “No,” she admits to me. “I’m not sure about anything anymore, but I’m living on the edge these days.”
I can’t help but chuckle. “Well, why don’t we see where we are in a week from now, and we can discuss this again,” I tease. I see her trying not to yawn as her eyes fight not to close. “Go to bed, and I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Okay.” She doesn’t fight me. “Good night, Romeo.”
“Good night, beautiful,” I say softly. “Sweet dreams.” I smile, watching her hang up. Still holding the phone in my hand, I say the three words she didn’t let me say, “I love you.”
I put the phone on the side table before I get up and undress. I opt for taking a shower before slipping into bed, and it’s a matter of seconds before I fall asleep.
The phone ringing makes my eyes flutter open the next day. I look around the room, trying to see if the ringing was in my dream or if it is actually ringing. I blink a couple of times, getting the sleep out of them before reaching over and grabbing my phone. I see I got a text from my father, and then I see that my mother just FaceTimed me.
I turn over and call her back. She answers right away, and I see that she is sitting outside somewhere sunny. “Good morning,” I mumble when we connect.
“Good morning, honey,” she replies, and I can hear the waves crashing in the background. “Your sister and I were just talking about you.”
“Oh, God,” I mumble. “Why?”
“Well, she was asking me how shooting was going, and then I found out you are in Dallas.” She looks over and smiles big, and then two seconds later, I see my father lean down to kiss her.
“Good morning,” he greets, sitting in the chair next to her. He puts his arm around her chair and pulls her closer to him. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing much,” I say, “just lying low.”
“Why are you in Dallas?” my mother asks, and I let out a huge sigh. “Of all places—Dallas.”