Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 67665 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67665 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
She dropped her book reluctantly, sensing my attention. Her lips curled up into a questioning smile, her voice friendly and unassuming when she said, “What?”
“How would you feel about a double date with Dillon and Macy?” I asked.
She took her time answering, allowing the words to sink in. “You want to go on a date?” she finally asked.
I nodded.
“With me?” she asked again.
I laughed. “Yes.”
“But I thought…” she began, sitting up so she could participate in the conversation better.
“We don’t have to,” I said quickly. “I just thought that… maybe you felt the same way that I feel.” I didn’t want to lay all my cards on the table, but a quick peek at my hand couldn’t hurt. “This soup is really good.”
“Thanks.” She allowed herself to be distracted. “It’s my grandmother’s recipe.”
I nodded. She didn’t answer for so long that I was afraid I had misread the situation. Maybe she wasn’t interested in me that way; maybe the sex had been just sex to her, and I was only her landlord. My heart warmed when she finally agreed.
“Yeah,” she said. “I would love to go out with you.”
There was so much distance between us, not to mention a couch and a kitchen island. I stood, feeling stupidly optimistic, finishing my soup before heading to bed. I was suddenly very tired, and even though my cock tried in vain to entice me to seduce Lindsey, I didn’t have it in me to respond. There would be plenty of time to recreate the magic of last week. We lived together; we shared the same bathroom.
Lindsey got tired of waiting for me to come to her and stood up. She crossed the room in a few excited hops and fell into my arms. I set the bowl down with a laugh. She planted her palms against my cheeks and pulled me in for a kiss. It was deep and luxurious, almost awakening the sleeping beast in my pants. I let myself enjoy it now that my panic over being misinterpreted had passed. We had given up the charade about being just friends or roommates and admitted to ourselves that we were interested in more. Wherever this path led, we would walk it together.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered when we came up for air. “I’m tired. Can we pick this back up tomorrow?”
“Oh.” She stepped back, disappointed. “Sure.”
I thrust one arm behind her back and pulled her against me, diving into a second kiss with more passion than I had spared for the first. With this final kiss, I planned to prove that I was invested in our happiness, that she turned me on, and I would fight even the monster of sleep for her. I submerged myself in the cavern of her mouth, sharing the taste of the soup I had so recently devoured. She sealed the kiss with a little breath. I searched her eyes for any sign of the disappointment I had seen moments ago. Instead, I found tranquility and a blossoming affection.
“Go,” she said.
I smiled. “Thank you.”
As I headed for the hallway, I thought I saw her lean into the island, as if she had lost her balance. I grinned. Just one kiss had affected her so much that she swooned. I looked forward to the next time I could cause her knees to buckle. We would be doing so much more than kissing. I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow, without crawling under the covers, still dressed in my work clothes.
18
LINDSEY
Itried to focus on the mane of golden hair I was shaping. My customer was a high school cheerleader who was having her hair styled and trimmed for the next game. I looked over at Ava, hard at work behind the head of the town librarian. I was itching to talk to her. I had feelings about my upcoming double date, and I needed a good friend to help me sort them out. It was agony to wait until our customers were done and then to work on two more heads of hair before getting a break.
As soon as the salon was clear, I pounced. “Do you want to get lunch?”
Ava looked up from sweeping the floor. “Sure. Where?”
“I don’t care,” I said. “You pick.”
She picked the Lucky Lady as if the options were so vast. In addition to providing a hangout spot for locals at night, they also had delicious pub food so I didn’t complain. We got in my car and drove over, found a booth, and placed our orders. I didn’t want to make it seem like I had an agenda, so we chatted about hairstyling and the librarian’s cat for a moment.
“I can tell you’re dying to tell me something,” Ava interrupted me.
“God yes,” I sighed. “Jason and I are going on a date.”