Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 72060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
And damn, that gruff voice that made my skin tingle.
“You’re so beautiful like this, Aus.”
Dex is such a caring and giving person with so much light and love and passion, but he still doesn’t think he’s got enough of that inside him to offer to someone else.
My eyes open when I feel Dex’s fingers gently brushing the top of my hair. I sigh because it feels so good. “Whatcha doing?”
“Sorry if I woke you,” he whispers. “Your hair is like the shade of a copper penny but richer.”
“You make it sound so poetic. It’s red and fluffy, like the rest of me.”
“You obviously don’t see what others do.” His fingers drift down to my shoulders. “I like it all. Your freckles too.”
My heart is beating unsteadily. “It makes me look young, like a prepubescent teen.”
“So not true, you goofball.” He pecks my head. “You’re striking and hot and all man.”
“Cringe. Stop it.” My face flames, and I rub a hand over it. “I can’t take it.”
“Compliments are hard for you.” He snickers. “We need to work on that next.”
“Maybe,” I mutter. He’s right, but I’m not sure how much more pretending and practicing I can take. “How long have you been awake?”
He stifles a yawn. “Not long.”
My gut churns as I ask, “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Just…’’ Dex swipes the sleep out of his eyes. “Been thinking about our night.”
I can’t exactly read him, but his tone is more reflective than regretful.
“Wanna talk about it?” I ask hesitantly. No chance I want to ruin this moment by rehashing things or bringing up the stuff he tries to play off about sex and relationships. But I also want him to let me in and tell me his every thought.
“Not sure if I can put it into words.” I can’t tell if he’s trying to skirt the question or if our night is just as hard for him to wrap his head around.
I shift to face him. “Try anyway?”
“I was thinking about us…and our friendship.” I hold my breath, waiting for the fallout. “All the times we’ve been there for each other. And then the stuff we’ve been doing lately. The dating and, um, sex…it’s just making my thoughts go haywire.”
“Me too.” I draw back. “It’s confusing, but not in a bad way.”
“Right,” he replies, and I blow out a breath. “It makes me think of things in a new way.”
My hand closes the distance to his wrist. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve been a constant in my life.” His voice is soft, tentative. “We spend all kinds of time together, and it never gets old or boring.”
“Gee, thanks,” I respond dryly, and he chuckles.
“Throw in the blowjobs, kissing, and sex, and I still want to hang around you instead of running away.”
I feel little electric shocks across the surface of my skin. “Thank you…for staying the night.” I knot our fingers together. “Maybe you’re discovering new stuff about yourself.”
“Suppose I am. For one, hanging around after sex with someone you like as a person isn’t that scary after all.”
“See?” My stomach warms. “Maybe our dates have rubbed off on you too.”
“Oh, they’ve definitely rubbed off,” he teases.
“You jackass.” I snicker. “What I mean is, you have a lot to offer somebody, and you don’t even realize it.”
His hand stills in mine as if I’ve tapped a nerve.
“I’ve always believed relationships don’t last, so why put yourself in the path of heartache, you know?”
It dawns on me that his dad abandoning him and his mom never being able to find anything meaningful has affected him on an even deeper level than I thought.
“Logically, I know that’s not true for everyone. But it seems rare. Mom wants it so bad that she sacrifices parts of herself. That doesn’t seem like a fulfilling way to live.”
I blink as if seeing Dex in a new light. My parents have always been there for me. Dex too, and now Kael. I’ve always kept my social circle small, and it’s suited me well. On the other hand, Dex has so many friends and activities that I figured he could never run out of things to do.
But maybe there’s more to his keeping such a busy schedule.
“And you fill your time with classes, organizations, and charity events so you’re too busy to think about much else.”
“Maybe. You forgot to add my best friend to that list. I took him on four awesome dates—or wait, does last night count as five?”
“What best friend? I thought we were just getting to know each other?” I respond coyly.
“Well, the guy I’ve gotten to know would make a great best friend.”
I huff a laugh as my heart soars. We grow quiet as his eyes meet mine, and the tension is so thick, you could cut it with a knife.
“Thank you for always being there for me,” I blurt out. “Mixing our friendship with the fake dating probably had you worried and confused. Me too, but I still wouldn’t change anything. I hope you know that no matter what happens, I’ll still be your constant. I’ll always have your back and be your person—if you need me.”