Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 95107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95107 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
I mean, I can’t argue with that. Dean is quite dazzling.
“What happened?” Seraphina rises from her spot, moving away from Malcolm’s bouncing legs to sit beside me.
“He tried to set up a whole romantic proposal, and I wouldn’t let him go through with it,” I confess.
Then I swallow a groan, because saying it out loud sounds ludicrous.
Their expression confirms my suspicion. I ignore Malcolm’s, because he would look just as horrified if I turned down Dean’s offer to buy me a Subway sandwich. But Trevor and Seraphina are both eyeing me like I’d gone insane.
“Aren’t you madly in love with him?” Trevor asks blankly.
“Yes.”
“Then why wouldn’t you let him propose?” demands Sera.
After failing to successfully explain it to Dean, I attempt to do a better job at laying out my feelings to my costars. “I’ve always been a planner,” I tell them. “And I’m definitely a relationship girl. But I see relationships as…I don’t know, picture a ladder. The relationship is a ladder and the rungs are all the steps.” My tone turns a bit grumbly. “First comes love. Then comes engagement. Then comes marriage, and then the stupid baby in the dumb baby carriage.”
Trevor bursts out laughing. “Your opinion of children is inspiring.”
“Sorry. I’m just cranky because Dean’s not speaking to me. But you know what I mean.”
Sera’s answering smile is kind. “Well, sure. But here’s the thing. Yes, those are natural steps in most relationships—”
“Not in mine. I’m polyamorous,” Trevor interjects. “Our steps are wild.”
She ignores him. “But you get to decide how big the ladder is. How much space there is between the rungs.”
“That would be a poorly constructed ladder if the rungs weren’t equally spaced,” I point out, furrowing my brow. “How would you be able to climb it properly?”
“Oh my God, it’s just an analogy,” she says, laughing. “All I’m saying is, you don’t have to look at it as rung one equals engagement and rung two equals marriage. Maybe the first rung is the engagement, but then you climb for a bit and marriage comes on rung five. It’s not set in stone. And just because you had this plan for yourself…” Her gaze softens, while her tone becomes firm but still compassionate. “You’re not the only person on the ladder, Allie. Clearly, he doesn’t view the rungs the same way you do. You’re on the same ladder, climbing to the same place, but Dean’s rungs are in different positions and he’s on shaky ground. You feel secure on the ladder, but he doesn’t. He needs you guys to be on the same rung.”
Malcolm, who’s seated again, stares at her in awe. “Whoa. That is deep.”
“Like the ocean.” Trevor nods.
Oh God, is she right? Is this about more than Dean being his usual impulsive self? I assumed he was proposing because he’s spontaneous and was simply jumping on the wedding bandwagon. But what if this is about Dean needing a stronger commitment, needing to know we’re moving forward together?
“Gang!”
Jarred from my thoughts, I glance over at Elijah’s approach. He’s a friend of Malcolm’s who tagged along with us tonight and has spent most of the night bragging how his father owns a chain of upscale hotels up and down the Atlantic seaboard. For fifteen full minutes after we’d been introduced, he’d talked my ear off about the Azure Hotel Group until Trevor finally rescued me.
Luckily, Elijah is incapable of sitting still for long. The guy keeps darting off to the bathroom to do lines of cocaine. I’m not just guessing either. Every time he’d left the booth, he winked and said, “Gonna powder my nose. Literally!”
“Why sssso sssserious?” Elijah says in a bad impression of the Joker. “We’re at the club!”
Trevor fills him in. “We’re giving Allie relationship advice.”
Elijah pushes past the guys to plant himself on my other side. When his jean-clad thigh presses against my bare one, I very obviously shift closer to Sera. He’s been flirting with me all night and doesn’t seem to notice I’m not transmitting a single come-hither vibe.
“Here’s my advice: dump the loser and go home with me tonight.” He flashes a slimy smile.
“No, but thank you for the offer,” I answer politely.
“Aw come on, don’t be like that.” His hand creeps toward my knee.
Malcolm does me a solid by leaning over and smacking it away. “Elijah,” he chastises. “Behave!”
“Do I ever?” he drawls before giving me another lewd smile, this one involving his tongue poking out the side of his mouth.
And that’s when I realize something.
What if I was sharing a ladder with this guy?
What if, in some horrible alternate universe, there’s an Allie Hayes dating a creepy cokehead who’s more likely to sell the ladder for drugs than want to climb it together?
Meanwhile, this Allie Hayes is moping because her boyfriend isn’t following the specific steps of her plan?