Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 90410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
He startled me when he reached over and swiped a teardrop from my cheek with his thumb, prompting me to close my eyes. His touch felt so good.
“I think we’ve talked enough for tonight,” he said.
Nodding, I said, “Okay.”
He lifted himself off the couch and turned off the television. “Come on. Let’s get some air.”
I followed his lead out the front door and down to the beach. We walked in silence for what seemed like an eternity. The night was still except for the sound of the waves crashing. The ocean breeze was calming, and as strange as it was, the silence between us seemed like a therapeutic exercise of some kind. It felt as though a huge weight had been lifted because I’d gotten to say what I wanted to. Even though there wasn’t really a clear conclusion to our conflict, it was more closure than I’d ever had with him.
The sound of Justin’s phone interrupted the quiet of our walk. He picked it up.
“Hey, babe.”
“Everything is good.”
“That’s great. Wow. It’s really happening.”
“Just taking a walk.”
I found it interesting that he didn’t mention he was with me.
“Me too. Can’t wait.”
“I love you, too.”
“Alright. Bye.”
After he hung up, I looked at him. “How’s Jade?”
“She’s good. She’s going to get to perform tomorrow night because the lead’s grandfather died.”
“Wow. That’s amazing. Well, not that the grandfather died…”
“Yeah. I got that.”
Not another word was spoken until we started to approach the house.
Justin pointed to something in the distance. “Do you see that?”
“Where?”
The next thing I knew I felt weightless. Justin had lifted me off my feet and was running toward the shore. Judging from his laughter, there was nothing to point out; he’d just been trying to distract me long enough to snatch me up.
Jerk.
He dumped my fully clothed body into the ocean. Salty water ran down my throat and up my nose. Justin immediately ran back to the sand, leaving me to wade through the water after him. He’d planted himself on the sand and was still laughing. He’d taken off his shirt which had gotten wet, and his pants were soaked.
“Do you feel better now?” I huffed.
“A little.” He chuckled. “Actually…a lot.”
“Well…good. I’m glad for you,” I said, wringing out my dress.
He stood up. “Let me.” Justin surprised me when he stood behind me and twisted my long hair to help get the water out. His hands lingered for a few seconds, causing my nipples to tingle. I turned around to distract from it and was met by his blue eyes staring into mine. They were glowing in the reflection of the light coming from our house. He looked heartbreakingly handsome.
Fumbling my words a bit, I said, “Um…thank you. Well, I suppose I shouldn’t be thanking you, because you caused it.”
“It was a long time coming. I’d wanted to throw you in the water since the first day I got here.”
“Oh really…”
“Yeah. Really.” He smiled mischievously.
“By the way, why are you still here?”
He squinted. “What do you mean?”
“You could have easily gone back to New York with Jade. You know that.”
“Are you implying something?”
“I’m not implying anything. I just know that you’ve been using the Sandy’s gig as the reason, and I find that hard to believe.”
“What do you want to hear, Amelia…that I’m here because of you?”
“No…I don’t know. I—”
“I don’t know why I’m here. Alright? That’s the truth. It just didn’t feel like it was time to leave.”
“Fair enough.”
“Are you done interrogating me for one night…pain in my ass?”
“Yes.” I smiled. “Payne in my ass” was another name he used to call me. It was a play on my last name—Payne.
“Good.”
“For the record, I’m really glad you stayed.”
He shook his head and rubbed his eyes then said, “Trying to hate you is exhausting.”
“So, stop trying.”
My teeth started to chatter; it was getting chilly out.
“We’d better go inside,” he said.
Following him to the house, I couldn’t help thinking that the cold air outside had nothing on the warm feeling inside of me from having reconnected with him tonight.
“You hungry?” he asked.
“Starving, actually.”
“Go change. I’ll make dinner.”
“Really?”
“Well, we gotta eat, don’t we?”
“Yeah. I guess we do. I’ll be back.” I smiled all the way to my room, giddy from the idea of him cooking for me.
When I returned with a dry outfit, my heart fluttered at the sight of Justin standing at the stove. He was still shirtless and wearing his gray beanie while frying some vegetables in a pan.
I cleared my throat. “Smells good. What are you making?”
“Just a teriyaki stir fry with rice…seeing as though you have a limited palette. When the hell did you stop eating red meat anyway? You used to be a carnivore.”
He must have remembered how much we enjoyed Burger Barn together in the old days.
“One day, I just woke up and thought about how bizarre it was to be eating a cow. It made no sense. And I just stopped cold turkey.”
“Seriously? That’s kind of ridiculous.”
“Yes.”
“You’ve always been a little bizarre, Amelia. I can’t say that surprises me.”
I winked. “That’s why you love me.” I’d meant it to come out facetiously but immediately regretted using the word love given his prior admission. When he didn’t respond, I panicked and diarrhea of the mouth developed. “I didn’t mean that you still love me. I was just joking. I—”
He held out his palm. “Stop while you’re ahead. I knew what you meant.”
I pursed my lips, trying to think of a quick change of subject. “Do you think you’ll go back to playing at Sandy’s tomorrow night?”
“Probably.”
“Good. I’m really looking forward to hearing you perform again.”
He grabbed two plates and emptied the contents of the pan onto each of them then slid mine across the counter. “Here.”
“Thank you. This smells delicious.”
The dish he’d made was actually very tasty. He’d added sesame seeds and water chestnuts. “Where did you learn to cook like this?”
“Self-taught. I’ve been cooking for myself for years.”
“Where are your parents now?”
“I thought we were done talking about this stuff.”
“Sorry. You’re right.”
Despite his having said that, he looked up from his plate and answered my question anyway. “My mother moved back to Cincinnati when I was in college. They sold the house. My father lives in a condo in Providence now.”