Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Will winks at Mia. “I promise to take good care of her. Don’t worry. We’ll have fun for you.”
Mia waves her hand at Will and Clarke before turning to me. “You, too, Ethan. I have things to do.”
Will shoots me a look that says, Stay with her. I have no problem following Mia around for the night. Without Will hovering over her, I can give Mia a proper apology. She deserves more than one. I owe her a lot more than I’m sorry for being an ass.
Will waves to us and then leads Clarke by the hand through the throng. She seems down for whatever and right up his alley. Hopefully, Clarke can keep Will entertained long enough for me to get Mia alone.
“You don’t have to follow me around just because Will is afraid to leave me alone,” Mia says after they disappear into the crowd.
I thread my fingers between hers and give her hand a good squeeze. “Someone has to look out for the lamb when all the wolves are around.”
She tilts her head back and laughs. “Why do you call me that? It’s a stupid nickname, you know.”
“No, it’s not.” I lead Mia over to a two-person table in the far corner, on the left side of the bar, and pull out a chair for her. “The first time I saw you, I admired you for your innocence. You weren’t tainted by life or the hard choices you had to make. There was something about you, something good and fragile. Back then, lamb was the first thing that came to my mind.”
She sits and allows me to scoot her chair into the table. “The name doesn’t make sense for who I am now. Maybe that’s how you saw me when I was a teenager, but I’m nothing like that now.”
“You’ll always be my little lamb,” I confess.
“Whatever.” She hugs herself, pushing her tits up in the process. Once she realizes where my eyes have drifted, she snorts, annoyed with me. “The last time I checked, you owe me an apology. Where have you been for the past two weeks?”
“I’m staying at the Ritz. I needed to get away for a little bit.”
“Why do you think it’s okay to keep disappearing on me? I texted and called you. You didn’t bother to answer a single message. One minute, you were kissing me on my living room floor, and the next morning you were gone. Has anyone ever told you that you’re not good for a girl’s ego?”
“I’m not good for you,” I admit. No matter how many years pass, I’ll never feel worthy of Mia. “A bastard like me doesn’t end up with a woman like you.”
She uncrosses her arms and leans forward, pinning me down with her intense gaze. “Why don’t you let me make my own decision instead of doing it for me? You and my brother think you know what’s best for me. For once, I’d like to have a choice.”
I reach across the table to touch her hand, feeling her soft, delicate skin. “You know it’s not that simple, Mia.”
“How about I go find Will? If he’s the reason you’re being a dick, then let’s get it out of the way. You promised to tell him after the playoffs were over. He should know the truth, anyway.”
“There’s nothing to tell.”
She rolls her eyes. “Well, I guess I must’ve imagined your head between my legs. And that must’ve been another guy bending me over my kitchen counter… or sneaking into my bed late at night.”
I scan the room for Will and spot him entering a private room on the other side of the club accompanied by Clarke and a few girls.
“Oh, I see,” she grunts. “God forbid Will overhears us. I’m sick of lying to my brother. Either grow a pair and tell him, or I will.”
“I want you, Mia. But I can’t…”
She crosses her arms over her chest, nostrils flared. “Why the hell not?”
“Because you’re like a drug to me. I can’t kick one addiction to find another.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “What are you talking about? What addiction did you have before me?”
I wave off her question. “I’ll make a deal with you. Why don’t we see what happens between us before we tell Will?”
“I love how you assume our relationship won’t work before it even begins.”
“I don’t do relationships, Mia. When was the last time you saw me with a girlfriend?”
She bites her lip, mulling it over. “Never, I guess. I’d assumed you kept that part of your life hidden from me on purpose.”
“No, because there wasn’t anything for me to hide. To date, you’re the longest relationship I’ve ever had, and we’re not even together.”
“If you say so.” She looks away from me but not for long. As soon as a cocktail waitress wearing nothing but a gold thong strolls over to our table, Mia turns to look at me and her cheeks redden.