Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 155798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 779(@200wpm)___ 623(@250wpm)___ 519(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 779(@200wpm)___ 623(@250wpm)___ 519(@300wpm)
I was happy and curled my hands, scratching under their jaws.
They loved that, stretching out their necks and heads, their mouths moving and their tongues started coming out. Oh my word. My heart flipped over. That was so cute. Their little pink tongues.
Brett coughed, clearing his throat.
My gaze lifted to his, and my body warmed, as if I’d been caught doing something wrong.
His eyes were laughing as he knelt in front of me. He reached over, his hand circling one of my ankles. “You, uh, have some drool.” He motioned to the side of his mouth. “Right there, if you want to wipe it away.”
Shit.
I jerked my shoulder up, ducking down to erase that.
My face flooded again. “I told you I like animals.”
“Yes, you did,” he noted, softly, his face growing somber, studying me quietly. “I need to remember this for future dates. If I want your attention, don’t take you near animals. There’s no competition.”
Well, that was embarrassing.
He caught my train of thought and tugged on my ankle, scooting me closer to him. His head lowered even more, his eyes so dark and intense, taking in everything about me. “Don’t be embarrassed about that. I like that about you.” He cleared his throat again and readjusted on his feet. “I really like that about you. It’s you. It’s genuine.” And his gaze fell to my lips. “While I’m glad we didn’t skip, I’m remembering a certain promise I made you before we came here.”
“Hey, man.” A guy came over, standing. He’d been one of the guys eyeing up all the women, or most of the women. He and his friends. He wasn’t adhering to the unspoken dynamics going on between Brett and me, that this was a Brett and me moment, with Ruby and Joy.
I’d just named the Nubian mama until I knew her real name.
I checked. She wasn’t wearing a cute little necklace with her name on it.
Brett stood back up, towering over the guy, who wasn’t fazed and was still interrupting our moment. He was big and muscly, looking like he spent lots of hours in the gym. He smirked. “Don’t know if you two have plans, but there’s a little pub and eatery not far from here. Called Rinascita. They’re known for their organic food and they brew their own beer. All of it’s grown and made by the owners. A group of us is going to go over for a drink. Would you like to join?”
I was reluctant to move away from Joy and Ruby, but I stood, brushing some straw that’d gotten on me. Brett curved an arm around me as I went to his side, resting against him.
The guy didn’t move back, looking down at me, and his smirk grew. “What do you say? A quick brew?”
I tilted my head backwards, looking up at Brett without moving away from him. I was looking at him upside down.
His eyes flashed, and his mouth curved as his hand pressed flat on my hip, hugging me closer. “What do you say?”
I studied him.
There was a second part of our date, but he wasn’t saying it was something we’d miss if we didn’t leave now, like this class.
I confessed, “I didn’t know this place existed and a little pub and eatery that uses their own organic products? I’m kinda curious about them, and why I haven’t heard of them before now.”
“Okay.” Brett jerked up his chin to the guy. “What’s the name of the place again?”
I exchanged numbers with the owner, wanting, no—needing to go back another time for our tour. I wanted all the time I could get with those alpacas, and the horses, and the mini-donkey, and the ducks—all of the animals. Every single one.
I was going to bring Miss Sylvia Rivera with me, but she’d stay in my arms so she wouldn’t be scared. We used to go on more adventures, but it’d been a long time since our last one.
The rest of the yogis went straight to Rinascita so we didn’t change outfits. We were parked there, and this wasn’t what I expected.
Brett’s eyebrows were furrowed together, also taking note of the place. He grunted. “Fuck. What do you want to do?”
I expected something small. Quaint. A few people here and there. A low murmur of conversation and maybe coffee shop music in the background. The building was small, seeming where it was only big enough for the kitchen and bathrooms. People went to the counter to order, and the food was brought to them.
That was the only thing that aligned with my expectation.
Techno music blared from their speakers. There was a dance floor among a group of picnic tables where a bunch of people were dancing. There were college students. It looked like a family reunion was in attendance, all wearing the same pink and purple T-shirts. There were a couple grandmas dancing, their grandbabies being held up in the air by younger people. In the back corner was a group of tables pulled together, board games spread out, and there were young people, middle aged, older adults all there. A few elderly.