Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95173 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95173 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
I walk to him, my legs shaking just a touch. “I was looking in the shops and stopped here,” I tell him, and he kisses me for the first time this afternoon. “Look at how pretty this is.” I show him the bracelet that I put on.
“It matches your dress,” he says, smiling, and I laugh.
“It does match, doesn’t it?” I say and then go to the counter to pay for it. “How much?” I ask the woman. Looking up at her, I see her eyes are now brown, and I take a step back.
“Accept the gift in front of you,” she says, smiling, and then walks through the beads and disappears.
“That was so freaky,” I tell him when we walk out. “I swear her eyes were blue when we met almost like mine.”
“Are you done?” he asks me. “I would like to get out of here and take off this suit.”
“I’m ready when you are,” I tell him, and he grabs my hand and walks toward the truck that brought us here. He opens the door for me and helps me in. “Don’t you have to go and say goodbye?” I ask him when he closes the door.
“No,” he says and reaches for me, pulling me to him. “Stay near me,” he says, his voice soft, and just like that, I nestle next to him perfectly. His hand hangs on my shoulder, and I fold my arm up and hold his hand in mine, and I kiss it softly. The whole time, I’m trying to forget the words she just told me.
Chapter Twenty
Mark
“I’m flying back home tomorrow,” I tell her while we FaceTime. It’s been a week since New Orleans, and I’ve been on the road for the past two days. The preseason has kicked off, and I am not going to admit it, but Matthew was right.
Sitting in the box watching the game is nothing like I’ve ever experienced before. Knowing that I have to sit back and watch my team lose is the worst feeling.
“Well, I’m sure Elsa will be happy,” she says, smiling at me, her face filling the phone. New Orleans was a dream. Then we got back, and I had to leave. I already hated the traveling part, but now it was even worse.
“I should arrive in the morning. Do you want to come to my place, or I come there?” I ask her, and she laughs.
“What if I had plans?” she says, turning on her side.
“You do have plans.” I wink at her. “With me.”
“Smooth, Markos,” she says, laughing. Besides my parents, she is the only one who calls me that. “Why don’t you come here? I can cook.”
“That sounds good,” I tell her, and she tells me about what she wants to do this weekend, and we make plans to have dinner after the game on Saturday. I’ll be in the box with Matthew that weekend. It’ll be interesting to see how we act.
“Okay, baby,” I say, using the little nickname I call her sometimes and wondering if she likes it. “I’m going to bed.”
“D’accord,” she says in French. “Je te verrai demain.”
“I have no idea what you just said, but it was sexy as fuck,” I tell her.
“I said I’ll see you tomorrow.” She laughs. “Go to bed.”
“A demain,” I say in the French she taught me in New Orleans.
She smiles at me “A demain.” And then she hangs up. I put the phone down on the side table and turn off the light. I turn on my side, and it takes me a while to fall asleep, yet I still get up before my alarm.
“Excited to get home?” Matthew asks me when he sees me in the lobby.
“I guess so. I’m the first one here,” I tell him, looking around. “Where is everybody?”
“You’re ten minutes early,” Matthew says, looking at his watch. “It’s travel day. You know everyone drags their feet.” He laughs. “Plus, it’s the beginning of the season, so the newness of being away is still there.”
“I hate it,” I tell him. “If we could play home games year-round, I would not complain.”
“You aren’t the only one,” he says, and then I hear some of the guys as they walk toward us.
“The bus just got here,” Oliver, the PR for the team, says.
“Let’s go home, boys,” Matthew says, and I follow him out to the bus. The plane ride isn’t that bad, and when we land, I get in my truck and make my way to Vivienne’s. The bell guy knows me now, and I toss him my keys and walk in. I wonder if I should call her and tell her that we landed early. Too late now.
I press the elevator button and knock on her door and then I hear her footsteps coming to the door. She swings open the door, and I know she’s surprised right away when her mouth opens. Then her eyes go big, and it lasts two seconds before she lunges at me, and I catch her in my arms. “Good catch,” she says, wrapping her arms around my neck and then bending her head down to mine and kissing me. I slip my tongue into her mouth, and I feel like I just won the lottery.