Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 98134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
He finally caves, chuckling and shaking his head. “Honestly, I was hoping the guys would come back because this kind of thing doesn’t feel casual. That’s the truth.”
“Oh,” I say. “Well… If quietly decorating is too intimate, maybe we need some dance music in here?”
“What? I’m not seeing how that would help.”
“Because silly dancing would make this way less intimate. It’d just be fun. The kind of things super casual chill girls do with their not-boyfriends.”
He grins. “I don’t see how–”
I cut him off by starting a song on my phone. I crank the volume up. The song is Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.
Jesse sighs, but he’s smiling as he watches me stand there while I give him a silly stink eye and start dancing with just one shoulder and hand. I’m snapping and tapping my toe, daring him to get into it.
“Do you want me to put it on the house speakers?”
I blink. “You have house speakers and I’m just learning about it?”
“Here.” He holds his hand out for my phone.
I do a little dance to close the distance between us, hand him the phone, and start doing a little boogie in place while I wait.
He taps a few times, waits, and then the crummy sound from my phone flickers and is replaced by booming, full sound coming from everywhere all at once.
“Oh shit,” I laugh, having to raise my voice. “This is awesome!”
He’s barely holding back a smile as he stands. “It’s not bad.”
“Do you dance, Mr. Prince?” Yes, he does. I know because I have secret intel from his sister.
He looks hesitant.
“Oh, come on.” I turn around, put my hands on my knees, and start booty popping my way back toward him until my ass collides with him. He laughs, putting his hands on my hips to stop himself from falling over.
Before long, we’re both having a blast. Jesse is smiling wider than I think I’ve ever seen as he dances with surprising grace around the living room in his socks. I’m operating on pure enthusiasm and absolutely zero talent, but having a great time.
The playlist clicks over to a slower song. I wiggle my eyebrows at him. “May I have this dance, Mr. Prince?”
He looks like he wants to say no, but he nods, stepping closer to me.
We’re both breathing hard as we come together, his fingers threading with mine. He puts his other hand on the small of my back and it drifts down, touching the top of my ass. I step inside his space, resting my chest against his stomach and my cheek on him.
We sway like that as my mind wanders. The moment feels so painfully perfect, except for the underlying unknown. I thought that was what I wanted. Leaping into the unknown and letting my life be an adventure again. I thought I wanted to have no idea what comes next.
Right now, though, I just want to know that this doesn’t have to end in flames. I want to know what I’m supposed to do to keep from screwing this up. “I really like you,” I say into his chest.
He doesn’t answer right away. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“I think Jake wouldn’t be that mad,” I try.
“Andi… we can’t. I need you to promise we can still keep this a secret.”
“For now.”
He pulls back, eyes on the floor. “Maybe we should finish decorating. The guys could be back any time.”
“Cool, cool,” I say, pretending I don’t feel like I’m about to cry like a baby from the tiniest hint of rejection I just felt. God. If this is how I am going to act, he’s going to call the whole thing off before it even starts. Be cool, Andi. “I get it.”
He opens his mouth to say more, then bites his lip and reaches for my phone. “Here, let me turn that down some.”
“Okay.”
He turns the music down until it’s just quiet background noise, then gives me my phone and heads back to the box of lights.
I blow out a breath once his back is turned, wipe at my eyes, and kneel in front of the box of decorations.
One step forward, two steps back. Some might call it a set back. Not me. I’d say if you take one step forward and two steps back enough times, it’ll just look like dancing.
18
ANDI
Caroline has her back to us as she fiddles with the coffee machine in her kitchen. It’s sputtering and spraying bits of coffee everywhere. One of her elderly guests is bending over and trying to offer suggestions, but neither of them seem to know what they’re doing.
I’m on the couch in the lobby with her laptop, firing off email after email to confirm various orders and people’s availability for upcoming Frostival events Caroline has planned. Jesse is out front with Jake helping one of Caroline’s guests with their car.