Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
“I worried you got sucked down the drain you were taking so long,” she said.
He tugged her inside with him, and she let out a little squeak as he closed them into the steamy space.
“You’re supposed to put on that shirt.” Her eyes were fixed on the ceiling, very pointedly not on his bare torso.
He pulled her closer, drawing her hands up to rest on his chest. Touch me, his mind screamed.
“What are we doing in here?” she whispered with a smile, looking to her fingertips as they traced the line of his collarbone. She was getting the flush he’d seen a couple times now, whenever her thoughts seemed to drift to everything they could do when they were this close.
“Well, I did want to kiss you,” he whispered back, bending just shy of resting his lips on hers. “But also, I had something very important to say.”
She blinked up, meeting his gaze. “What’s that?”
“That you look amazing. Nobody’s even going to notice the fireworks tonight with you there.”
She bit down on her bottom lip, and he reached up, freeing it with his thumb, staring. She kissed it and then pulled away, smoothing the front of her dress. “You really like it?”
He pretended to consider her, but in reality, he was afraid of the sound that would come out if he opened his mouth. He was sure he’d never seen anyone so beautiful before. “It’s not an oversize T-shirt and cutoff shorts, but it’s pretty good.”
She grinned and turned toward the mirror. He reluctantly let her go, watching as she examined her reflection. He liked the way they looked together. “My shorts would at least have somewhere to put my room key.”
“I’ll carry the key.” He came up behind her, bending to kiss the nape of her neck.
She put her hands over her mouth to hide her smile. “I’ve never worn anything this pretty before.” Turning away from the mirror, she sent her arms around his waist. “Thank you for doing this with me. And for letting me come along on your road trip.”
“I didn’t let you,” he reminded her, kissing the crown of her head. “You forced me.”
She rested her cheek against his bare chest. “This has been the best week of my entire life.”
For a moment he wasn’t sure what to do with his hands. Something inside him wanted to shy away from the weight of her confession, from the tender clench of his heart that felt a little like an exposed nerve. Being soft and open with people had never given him anything good. But with a deep breath he pushed all that down and leaned in to hug her back.
If Ren had had access to Google her entire life, she’d probably be president by now. By the time they made their way to Public Square Park, where the festival was being held, she’d already learned the names and significance of the surrounding buildings, what bands were performing on which stage and when, located the food booths she wanted to visit, and read enough reviews of last year’s festival to know where each and every portable toilet could be found.
Thank God she used her powers for good.
Nashville reminded Fitz of Vegas, with less neon and a lot more cowboy hats. The sidewalks were packed, the streets blocked off now as the sun began to set, and the sound of tuning guitars could be heard through the cacophony of crowd noise.
They exchanged their tickets for VIP lanyards and a stack of free food and drink coupons, which they used right away at a food truck called Fire-N-Smoke. When they were done eating, Ren tugged him toward the main stage, where a band he’d actually heard of was in the middle of a song that had been on every playlist already that year. And yet he barely noticed any of it, his thoughts full only of Ren dancing and jumping and singing along to the handful of words she’d managed to pick up in the chorus.
When the set ended, they wandered around the festival. It was fully dark now, and strings of glowing Edison bulbs shone overhead, illuminating the crowded park. Fitz held her hand as they wound their way from one vendor booth to the next and she told him about the fairs back home, and how she’d wanted to stay late and join in the festivities, but they always packed up as soon as they were done. Fitz promised himself then and there that he would stay as late as she wanted.
Ren never moved from his side, silently drinking in every sight: A couple kissing enthusiastically. Two kids playing with a puppy. A group in Dolly Parton cosplay. Ren pointed to a man making rainbows and giant flowers out of colored clouds of cotton candy, but then their attention was drawn to a news crew and a crowd of protestors with megaphones and signs just outside the park, their shouting drowned out by one of the bands.