Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Neither of them expected for their world to be flipped upside down when Noel is forced to move to away.
Titus waits, just like he’d always planned. But, when years go by and Noel’s 18th birthday passes without a word from her he has to accept the fact that she isn’t coming back. He tries to move on and on most days, he can lie to himself and say he’s succeeded.
Until six years later when a phone call in the middle of the night changes everything.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Prologue
Titus
I wasn’t sure how long we’d been sitting on the floor of the library, tucked between the romance and fantasy sections, but in the back of my mind, the ticking of each second passing was like a bomb waiting to go off. We’d spent the first fifteen minutes in the little alcove just past the bathrooms but before the emergency exit, a spot that for some reason no one had done anything with and fit the two of us perfectly. I knew from experience that the taste of her wouldn’t be gone until I brushed my teeth that night and the palms of my hands still tingled with the memory of all the silky skin under her shirt.
“I just want to be a mom,” Noel said with a shrug, her lips tipping up at the edges. “Maybe volunteer to help old people fill out paperwork or something when I have extra time.”
“That’s your big dream?” I teased, leaning forward as I grinned at her. “To be a mom and help old people with paperwork?”
“I like paperwork,” she replied, raising her chin in defiance. “It’s like solving a puzzle. And I like the idea of taking care of my babies and our home. I know it’s not cool or popular.”
“Who gives a shit?” I shot back, making her laugh quietly. “I mean, you’re a weirdo with the paperwork thing but I’m guessin’ you’ll make some confused little old lady very happy.”
“What about you?” she asked, tilting her head as she played with a strand of hair that was brushing her cheek. “What do you want to do when you grow up?”
“Rocket scientist,” I replied instantly. “No, physicist. No, I’m going to be an actor.”
“Be serious.”
“I dunno,” I mumbled, chastised. “Maybe somethin’ to do with writin’. I’ve always been pretty good at that, or maybe somethin’ with computers.”
“Like write books?”
“Or maybe journalism. I don’t know. There’s a pretty good computer engineering program down in Klamath Falls. That might be cool.”
“You’d be good at that,” she said with a firm nod. “I think you should do it.”
“Which one?”
“Both,” she said easily.
“I’ll probably end up workin’ at the garage.” I reached up to scratch my cheek. “You know, family business and all.”
“You have three brothers.” She waved me off. “Let them do it.”
“You’re right.” I nodded with a laugh. “Let them take over. I’ll get a track scholarship, go to some big school, and live the dream.”
“What about a family?” she asked, still smiling at me. “A wife? Want one of those?”
“You applyin’ for the job?”
Noel snorted and her hand shot up to cover her face in embarrassment.
“You can just say it,” I joked, sighing in mock desolation. “Sure, I’ll finance that lavish lifestyle you want.”
“Lavish?”
“Takes money to raise all those kids you’re gonna have.”
“How do you know I want a bunch of kids?”
“You said babies. Not baby. Babies.”
“I could’ve meant two,” she shot back.
“You didn’t.” I reached out and ran a finger down her jaw, dropping my hand when her face tilted, just barely, in my direction.
It was all we had. Stolen moments in the library. Quiet conversation about our dream lives. That first fifteen minutes of bliss before anyone came looking for the teenagers who’d disappeared into a hidden corner. Brief hidden touches.
None of that seemed to matter much. I was drawn to Noel Allen like a moth to a fucking flame. Ignoring her crazy ass parents and the fact that she couldn’t even be seen with me in public was something that had become almost normal.
“I want at least four,” she murmured, her eyes steady on mine. “You okay with that?”
I wobbled my head from side to side like I was considering it. “Only if I get you to myself for a couple of years first.”
“Deal,” she whispered happily, her eyes shining.
“Someday it’s not gonna be like this,” I promised, wrapping my hand around her ankle under the cover of her long skirt. “You and me are gonna walk down the street, holdin’ hands and kissin’ and doin’ whatever the hell we want.”
“Three more years.” Her smile fell.
“Three years is nothin’.”
“Anything can happen in three years.”
“Not to us, sugar,” I murmured, pulling my hand away as someone walked past.
“Don’t you want to be out doing stuff?” she asked. It wasn’t the first time. “You should be going to dances and dates and all that.”
“I’ve done that. Wasn’t as great as everyone says.”
“You’re going to get bored,” she argued in frustration, looking past me at the clock on the wall. “You’re seventeen. Don’t you want to—”
“I’m happy right where I’m at,” I cut her off, glaring.
“Fine,” she grumbled. “But you’ll tell me, right? You won’t just stop coming?”
“Noel.” I cleared my throat, taking in her long blond hair, the round cheeks with not two, but three dimples, the long dark lashes that framed her dark brown eyes. “I’ll always show up, yeah? In three years when you turn eighteen, I’m gonna get you the fuck outta there.”