Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 85154 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85154 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“Okay,” he says, putting away his phone before turning to me. “Now let’s break it to your cousin”—I tilt my head to the side—“and my best friend.”
“Don’t worry,” I reassure him, “I’ve got your back.” I smile at him as he just rolls his eyes, so I lean over and kiss his cheek. “I always have your back.”
Chapter Eight
Levi
I listen to her tell me she has my back and something in my stomach is unsettled. “Okay, can we go back to the dating question again?” I look at her, her back is to the plane wall. Her hair is pulled back again and tied at the base of her neck.
“I’m pretty sure I left that wide open for you.” She chuckles and I put my ankle from my right foot on my left knee, folding my hands together on my stomach. “You can bang anyone you want until your heart’s content.” She smiles and scrunches her nose. “Until you have drained all the liquids from your body if you need to. Especially if it makes you less this.” She picks up her hand and does a circle in the air toward me. The sleeves from her silky top move back and forth while she does it. The silver Tiffany bracelet I bought her for her birthday with the little blue heart on her left wrist jangles.
“No one is talking about me. We already got that settled.” I ignore what she just said. “I was talking about you.”
“What about me?” Her eyebrows pinch together as she just stares at me. Her blue eyes go to a light yellow with the sun coming in from the window beside her.
“What if you want to date?” I ask, my foot moving up and down now with nerves. I’m not sure why my foot is even moving up and down. It suddenly gets hot in the plane and I reach up to turn the gray nozzle over my head, hoping to relieve it.
“Levi,” she says my name. “I’m going to be raising a nine-month-old child. When do you think I’m going to have time to date?” She tilts her head to the side. “Let alone the energy to date.”
I lean into her and whisper as quietly as I can, “So you aren’t going to have sex for a year?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “Maybe I’ll get a friend with benefits if I have to. I have a whole treasure chest of delights at home.” My eyes go big. “Oh, please, like you’ve never ordered yourself one of those silicone vaginas.” She snaps her fingers. “What are they called again?” She looks up trying to think of the name of it. “Flashlight.” She shakes her head. “No, that’s not right.” I just stare at her as she tries to remember what it’s called.
“It’s called a flesh something,” I tell her and her eyes go big that I even know this. I hold up my hands. “Not that I ever ordered it, but someone ordered it for Daniel as a gag gift for his bachelor party.” She looks at me and nods as she gives me a face that says she doesn’t believe a word I just said. “This may be shocking to you, but I’ve never had to order myself one.” She rolls her eyes at me. “I have no problem getting it or not getting it.”
“Really?” She crosses her legs and puts one hand on her knee before leaning in. “What’s the longest that you’ve ever gone without?”
“Sixteen years,” I counter her and she rolls her eyes. “I don’t know, I have never counted.”
“Think about it,” she asks me, “a week?”
“I’ve gone longer than a week, even a month,” I reply, proud of myself.
“Wow, a whole month,” she says and claps her hands. “You should get a sticker for that.” I glare at her. “Anyway, as much fun as this conversation is about the fact you can’t go long without sex—"
“The conversation was about you and dating.” My foot moves again up and down as I repeat my question, “Are you going to just bring the guy home?”
“Are you insane?” She gasps. “I don’t even bring the guys home now and no one lives with me.”
This declaration shocks me.
“What are you talking about? I’ve been at your place and—”
She holds up her finger. “You’ve been at my apartment and, yes, I had my friends over.”
I can’t help but laugh at the “friends” word. “Is that what you are calling them?”
“Yes.” She nods. “Anyway, my apartment wasn’t my home. This is my home and I’m not going to bring anyone who I’m not serious about into said home. I’m not going to have my home defaced for a quick wham, bam, thank you, ma’am.”
“If it’s a wham, bam, thank you, ma’am…” I lean into her. “…he’s doing it wrong.”