Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 123435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 617(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 617(@200wpm)___ 494(@250wpm)___ 411(@300wpm)
God, I just want to lick him.
Annnd the second vodka lemonade has officially gone to my head.
In fact, my knees are a bit wobbly as I stand up and head for the drinks table. I rummage around in one of the mini coolers in search of water. I need to hydrate. My mind is too foggy with thoughts of Tate’s abs.
“Hey, neighbor.”
I jump at the sound of his deep voice. I didn’t even notice him come up beside me, but here he is, less than two feet away, a hint of a smile on his face.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” he says. He brings his beer to his lips, taking a long swig. “You having a good time?”
Before I can answer, Steph shouts, “There she is!”
“Finally! Bitch, where’ve you been?” Heidi now.
I turn to check out the newcomer, faltering when I realize it’s Alana. She saunters up to the group, bright red hair loose around her shoulders, eyes gleaming from the light of the fire that Cooper lit about an hour ago. I don’t miss the way her gaze flicks toward me and Tate before focusing on her friends.
Gulping down some water, I move away from the table. Tate follows along beside me.
“Should I go introduce myself?” I ask, giving a discreet nod in Alana’s direction. I feel like I should, but she’s chatting with her friends and, what, I’m going to interrupt them just to say, Hello, my name is Cassandra, what’s your name, like some awkward fool?
“Nah,” Tate says to my relief. “She’ll make her way over here eventually.”
“Or she’ll avoid you because she thinks you’re pining over her.”
He rolls his eyes. “I’m not pining. And she knows me better than that.”
“So you’re over it?”
“I’m over it,” he confirms.
“Come on, you must still be a little into it,” I push, sneaking another peek at Alana. “She’s gorgeous.”
“The view’s not bad,” he agrees, nodding. “But neither is this view.” He slowly rakes his gaze down my body. Not even trying to hide the fact that he’s checking me out.
A part of me is now like, fuck, because I’d debated this crop top earlier and now I’m doing it again. Not only does it cling to my boobs, but it shows a lot more skin than I’m used to.
But another part of me really, really enjoys having those appreciative blue eyes on me.
“You’re staring,” I accuse.
“Yes.” He takes another sip of his beer. I wonder if he’s drunk. His eyes have a hazy shine to them that tells me he might be. But he’s not slurring or stumbling.
Still, I say, “You’re drunk.”
“No. Just buzzed.” He shrugs, a lazy smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. “I feel good. You look good. Life’s good right now, Cass.”
I laugh. And then, because they’ve gone dry all of a sudden, I lick my lips.
He doesn’t miss that. “Fuck.” He groans softly.
My forehead creases. “What?”
“You licked your lips.”
“Yeah, and? They were dry. So I licked them and now they’re moist—oh my God, what a horrible word. Moist. Isn’t it horrible?” I shake my head in dismay. “I’m sorry I said the word moist.”
Tate chokes out a noise. A cross between a laugh and a sigh. “Man, I swear, it’s like you go out of your way to kill a mood.”
“What mood?” I ask, and my lips are suddenly bone-dry again. “Was there a mood?”
His shoulders quake with laughter. “Yes, Cassie, there was a mood. We were having a moment.”
I blink. “We were?”
“Well, I thought so.” Now he sounds exasperated. “In case you didn’t notice, I was about to kiss you.”
CHAPTER 8
TATE
“Seriously?” Cassie stares at me with narrowed eyes, as if she can’t possibly fathom why I would be interested in kissing her.
“Seriously,” I say, fighting a laugh. This chick is such a confusing puzzle to me. She must know she’s gorgeous, right? Unless she’s lived her entire life without looking in a mirror or seeing herself naked, I can’t imagine she’s unaware of her appeal.
“You said you were about to … Does that mean now you’re not going to?” The groove in her forehead deepens.
“That’s up to you.” I lift a brow. “Do you want me to?”
She hesitates, and once again I’m thrown for a loop. Her friend Joy seemed real confident last weekend when she cornered me on the street and informed me that Cassie was down for a summer hookup. If I hadn’t been swamped at work, I would’ve called Cassie earlier in the week. Tonight was my first opportunity to be social. In fact, I was planning on asking her to hang out this weekend, but that was before she hesitated at the thought of kissing me.
Maybe her friend was just fucking with me.
My gaze rests on her lips. Goddamn, she’s licking them again. She has no idea what that does to me.