Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 186(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
She helps herself to a good amount of food, but I wanna see her eat more than that. She’s had a big couple of days, and I remind her of that before leading her out onto the patio. “Bit of a path here,” I caution her, glancing back to make sure she’s right behind me.
She gasps once we round the edge of the terrace. The pool area and general oasis are looking better than I’d hoped. All those candles weren’t such a dumb idea after all. Although with the kitchen converted into a carvery, I can’t help noticing how the whole pool area looks like some resort. I can see Melissa approves, and that’s all I care about.
“You eat like this all the time?” Melissa asks me.
“Only when I have guests,” I answer her swiftly, struggling to remember the last time I saw anyone. Most of my business is emails and video calls.
We share a shy smile as we sit down, both of us suddenly uninterested in the food. Something about candlelight, dark nights, and pool sides that just have a certain vibe to them, especially when someone as amazing as Melissa is within arm’s reach.
“If it gets cold, we can eat inside,” I tell her, compelled to get her talking. I end up babbling while I try to stop by shoveling food into my mouth.
It isn’t long until we get talking about everything that probably feels so far away to her now. I ask her about the States, her home life, and her college time. With a growing feeling that although we’re having a conversation, we’re deliberately avoiding the only one we need to have right now.
It’s no accident that I don’t mention her dad or his business deal or that I have her phone in my pocket, conveniently switched off for now.
I don’t wanna force the point. She’s so damned young and innocent. She’s probably just as worried that I might say no.
That’s if she is interested, champ. Twenty-one, remember? You’re not exactly in her age group.
At some point, when I reach for her plate and insist she has more to eat, our fingers touch, and I know in a second that she feels it. It’s undeniable. It’s… it’s incredible.
“Melissa…” I say, feeling my mouth running before my brain can stop it.
Her mouth hangs open a little until she gnaws at her lip in a final moment of indecision. I lean over, my face getting closer to hers, knowing that I’m gonna make or break my future in one second. Dammit, I need to know if she wants all this, all of me. Then all she has to do is kiss me back. The rest is already waiting for her.
Her eyes flutter for a moment, and she makes a little mewing sound. My lips are so close to hers that I can feel the heat of her breath. The wetness of her lips draws me in deeper, already drowning in her, wanting all of her to stop this tortured feeling inside.
I feel a strong jolt in my pants. Then a buzzing. Finally, a loud, static pop song blares out from inside my pants.
“My phone!” Melissa shrieks. “Oh, my god! Where is it, Mark? It must be Dad.”
The shift in her is like the snap of unexpected thunder, shattering the moment and my ego. That pulsing ache I have for her in my pants has been muted by her phone, which I begrudgingly fish out and pass to her, knowing it’ll be Steve.
I know I’ve blown my one big chance at learning if she feels the same way. It’s all been for nothing now. I know her dad’s gonna freak once he hears Melissa is staying with me alone.
That alone should spell the end of any feelings Melissa might have developed for me. It’ll most likely put a dent in his business plans if he even remotely suspects I have any ulterior motives with her. I’m already bracing for the fallout that might never happen.
Melissa cheerfully answers the call, sounding like an excited daughter checking in with her dad. What surprises me, though, is the pleading look I catch in her eyes, as if she’s trying to tell me a different story than the one I can hear from her conversation with her dad.
She does what most people do when they get a private call. She gets up and moves a distance away, hurting me inside, but I have to be an adult about this. I suck in a resigned breath and clear up our plates, heading back to the kitchen and leaving Melissa to talk to her dad.
I kick myself for trying too hard and scream at myself in my mind that I could ever be so stupid as to think I’d have a chance with someone as amazing as her.