Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 114368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
“I’ll book the two hotel rooms,” I offered.
“Are you sure you don’t want to be cuddle buddies?” he teased.
“Shut up.”
He smirked. That sarcastic, crude, annoying smirk that tossed my stomach into a frenzy of butterflies was back from the somewhat timid smile he accidentally shared. I hated it.
Sigh.
I loved it. I hated that I loved it.
The truth was, I loved every kind of smile and every kind of grimace that he shared with me.
“You’re never going to stop bringing up the night we hooked up, are you?”
“No, probably not. I like the way it makes you bashful.”
“I hate you.”
“Good,” he said, shoving his stuff into his backpack. “It means you still know how to feel.”
I rolled my eyes at him repeating the words I said back to me. How did he even recall that when he was wasted out of his mind?
“What will you tell your dad about being gone for the weekend?” I questioned as I stood and collected my things.
“Trust me. He won’t notice.”
That made me sad for him.
I already knew my father would ask me a million questions about the trip, and I didn’t even live under his roof.
“Have a good night, Milo,” I told him as I walked past him to leave the study room.
“What’s the answer?” he said.
“The answer to what?”
“Your favorite flower?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“But what if it did?”
“Milo—”
He stepped closer to me, the points of his shoes brushing against mine. His head bent down, and his mouth grew wickedly close to my ear. He moved in slow motion, or perhaps his mere existence seemed to slow down time. His breath tickled alongside my neck as he whispered to me. “What if it did matter, Teach?” His words, the cadence, and the timbre of his tone caused goose bumps to erupt along my spine. His nearness, heat, and intentions all combined to make my heartbeats intensify. My breaths grew choppier as he held his proximity to me.
I stood tall even though I wanted to melt into a puddle of nothingness. I wanted to behave badly with the bad boy who turned my world upside down solely with his presence. My tongue lapped over my thirsty lips before they parted, and I murmured, “Peonies. I love peonies.”
CHAPTER 14
Milo
The past two weeks moved at turtle speed. I felt like a toddler right before Christmas as I anticipated the journey with Starlet. I couldn’t wait to escape my current reality and be locked away with Starlet for the weekend.
When Saturday came, I was beyond ready to be alone with her. I wasn’t used to this feeling of excitement. I’d spent so much time not feeling anything, yet now with Starlet, it felt as if every single emotion in the world was creeping back into my spirit. Fear. Joy. Happiness. Anxiety. I felt it all, and I wasn’t sure how to comb through said emotions. They just lingered within me. Plus, a part of me couldn’t stop thinking about the dirty possibilities of this trip. What if we somehow ended up lost in the woods, and the only way to stay warm was by pressing her skin against mine? What if she came to drop something off at my hotel room, and I invited her in to have her test out the bed?
I tried my best not to reveal my thoughts through my exterior, though it was hard not to react when she pulled up to my house in her Jeep, looking as beautiful as ever.
“You think you packed enough?” I joked. It was pitch-black out still, seeing how we were leaving early Saturday morning.
The sun hadn’t even begun to rise yet and wouldn’t for about another hour or two. Her trunk was filled with suitcases, winter gear, and hiking equipment. It appeared we were going away for a month’s time instead of two days based on how much she’d packed.
“Better safe than sorry,” she stated. For a split second, she paused and looked at me. She searched deeper than most people did when they studied me. She did that often as if she were seeking secrets to my soul that I’d never shared with others.
Her lips turned up into a smile. “You’re a morning person,” she stated as if she’d collected that data point from my eyes.
“I am with you,” I replied.
A wave of shyness washed over her eyes, but her gentle smile remained. “Well, good morning, sunshine.”
Her soft words shot straight through my hard exterior and landed against my soul. “Good morning, beautiful.”
There was a slight tremble to her as my words found her.
Do I make you nervous, Starlet?
Her lips parted, and she combed her hair behind her ears. “Let’s get on the road.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” I asked even though my night driving was shitty. Everything mostly blurred together when I had to drive at night.