Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
And my arms also felt like jelly.
I collapsed onto the bench under the awning, watching as Red and Mitch tossed their shovels into the back of Red’s truck.
“Just in time,” Mitch said as he walked over toward me. “I have to head home and check on Zach before I go over to Melody Mayhew’s for our first personal training session.”
“You think she’s ready for those aerobics?”
“I hope so. It’ll be all I can handle, anyway. Shoveling snow is one of the best workouts there in the world.”
Mitch looked behind him, seeing that Grace and Red were over on the other side of the lot still. He closed the distance between us, pressing a small kiss to my lips.
Fuck. It still made electricity zing through my body, even when I was exhausted and hungry and sick of the snow.
Mitch still wanted to kiss me, even in the morning. Even now that we were firmly back in reality.
“I’ll see you this weekend,” he said, running his thumb over my cheek.
I nodded. “Okay,” I said.
“God, I can’t wait,” he added before giving me a rakish smile and walking off toward his Jeep.
Red approached me a minute later, and we both waved as Mitch drove away.
“He’s definitely cute,” Red said.
I pulled in a long breath. “He’s the sexiest human being on planet Earth, and he’s going to fucking kill me. What else is new?”
“Oh, you’ve got it bad, dude.”
“Worse than you think,” I said with a groan.
“What’s the problem?” Red asked, turning to me, genuine curiosity on his face.
“Well, that depends. How long do you have?” I joked.
He just shrugged, though. “I’m going to be inside doing boring inventory shit until tonight. I’ve got all day.”
“Challenge accepted,” I said, following him back inside.
Over the course of the next couple hours, I helped Red do some simple cleaning and inventory tasks around the bar as I unloaded everything I’d been thinking. I told him more about my history with Mitch, though he already knew the basics. I told him about prom night, and also about how much I’d secretly missed Mitch the whole time he’d been in Chicago.
I left out the explicit details from last night, but I told Red about how being around Mitch again felt like my heart was being broken and put back together, all at the same time.
“You’re in love with the man,” Red said. “I knew you’d told me that, but I didn’t know it was quite this serious.”
“I am in love with him. Very real love. Too much.”
“I’ve been there,” Red said. “You can’t control that kind of thing, so don’t be too hard on yourself for it, all right?”
“Easy for you to say.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I shrugged. “Nothing bothers you,” I said. “Meanwhile, I worry about growing old alone every single day. I want a family so fucking badly, Red.”
“Buddy,” Red said, coming over and giving me a hug. “It’s going to be okay, you know that, right?”
I took a deep breath. “I don’t know it. But I sure hope so.”
He let go, looking me in the eye with a piercing stare. “It’s so easy to think of all the ways something can go badly in your life. But what if things actually went well?”
I bit the inside of my cheek, looking over at the pool tables. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Sure, there are a million ways Mitch could hurt you. But I’ve met the man now, and he doesn’t seem like the type to just ghost you and walk away. His circumstances were very specific back in high school.”
“They were,” I said, turning Red’s words over in my mind.
“There’s a reason he isn’t with Jess anymore,” Red said. “And frankly, I see the way he looks at you.”
I perked up. “What do you mean?”
“The man worships you, Ev,” Red said. “I’ve never seen you so comfortable around somebody, either.”
“There’s nobody else I am that comfortable with,” I agreed. “But he still drives me absolutely crazy.”
“Straight guys are notorious for doing that kind of thing. Especially when they’re your best friend.”
I scrubbed my palms over my face. “I know. I just hope I’m not being stupid.”
Red laughed. “You’re being human,” he said. “Mitch is attractive, and he loves spending time with you, too. Of course you’re going to respond to that.”
“So what am I supposed to do if he suddenly decides he doesn’t want to experiment with me anymore?”
“Evan, listen up,” Red said, fixing me with a stare. “Nobody moves back to Amberfield, Kansas unless they’ve got a damn good reason to. I don’t know what’s going on in Mitch’s world, but I can tell you that I’ve got a lot of friends who love me, but definitely wouldn’t move to the middle of nowhere for me.”
I gave Red a look. “Please. I’m sure you’ve broken some hearts in your day.”