Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 153268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 766(@200wpm)___ 613(@250wpm)___ 511(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 153268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 766(@200wpm)___ 613(@250wpm)___ 511(@300wpm)
I got out and looked up at the moon. It glowed like a shiny pearl, round and full, achingly perfect against the dusky night. I swallowed hard, took my phone out, and put Row’s favorite song on. “You Really Got Me” by The Kinks.
The song flooded out of my phone. I raised my arm and held it toward the windows, waiting for Row’s face to appear.
It did appear.
But it did not appear happy.
He wore a white tee that clung to his tan, tatted arms as he slid the window up. “Christ, Dot, it’s two in the morning!”
“Time is an abstract concept!” I yelled back, grinning.
“Jail isn’t, and Gertie lives down the hall and is very trigger-happy. Turn that shit off.”
I did so dutifully, swallowing my mortification. Oops. Hadn’t thought that one through. “Sorry,” I winced.
“Is this retaliation for punching your little boyfriend?” His scowl deepened as he watched me from above.
“What? No!”
“Why are you here, then?” His eyes swept over me suspiciously.
“I couldn’t sleep.” I let out a huff, hugging myself. “You said if I can’t sleep, I could talk to you.”
He blinked, surprised but not completely thawed. “I take it Kieran was busy.”
“Kieran…” I trailed off, exhausted from pretending Row was just a friend. “Kieran is not in the race.”
His throat moved with a swallow. “Is that right?”
“Honest to God truth.” Then, because it was time to fess up, I added, “Look, I’m tired of running away from this.”
“From what?”
“From us.”
That seemed to smooth out his frown. He parked his elbows on the windowsill. “Allison ambushed me to turn on those stupid lights this afternoon. I told her to take a hike, but then she said it might be good to show people I still care about this town—”
I shook my head. “I should’ve cleared the air before I got mad.”
“No,” he insisted. “I should’ve…I don’t know. Called. Texted. Explained.” He worked his jaw back and forth. “As soon as I showed up, she dragged me there in a panic. I wasn’t doing her a favor, Dot. I was trying to show people in this town I’m not a villain because…” He sighed. “Because I know it is important to you.”
“Row,” I croaked, hanging my head down shamefully.
“I’m sorry you saw us together, but our entire conversation was her sucking up to me, and me telling her I’m fucking crazy about you and complaining you keep turning me down. I wasn’t above wounding her ego to make you happy.” Pause. “I’m not above doing anything if it makes you happy, if I’m honest.”
I nodded, wishing he were next to me. That I could touch him. “I’m sorry too.”
“What for?”
I shrugged. “Being so irresistible you had to punch Kieran in front of a full audience.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “I’d have taken any excuse to punch Kieran.”
“You dislocated his nose, you know.” I toed the frosty ground with the tip of my shoe.
“Dylan brought me up to speed.” He kept his gaze locked on mine. “Anything else you want to tell me?” Row quirked an eyebrow, one hand propped against his window.
Yes. No. Just come downstairs so we can talk.
“Jeffrey Dahmer gave his neighbors meat sandwiches, which some believe contained his victim’s human flesh,” I blurted out.
Nice one, Cal. Super seductive.
Row’s lips twitched. “I know someone who ate their own knee cartilage. Said it tasted like pig.”
“Really?” I rubbed my palms together to gain heat. “I heard it tastes like chicken or tuna.”
Row shook his head seriously, and I suppressed a laugh. No one rivaled Row’s ability to handle my quirkiness. “Straight-up pork. She cooked it too. Minimal seasoning.”
“Huh,” I said.
He raised his eyebrows in question. “Anything else?”
“Nope.” I gulped. “Glad we straightened it all out.”
“Great. Thanks for that before-bed tidbit.”
“So…” I walked back, jerking my finger behind my shoulder, to the car. Cal, you coward. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then. For the run.”
“I’ll be there.”
“And work.”
“I’ll be there too.”
I forced myself to turn around and cross the street to my car.
Do not look back. He sent you on your way. You couldn’t have been clearer.
Couldn’t I, though? I had spoken to him about cannibal sandwiches. Maybe this wasn’t how one usually expressed their longing toward another.
With a sigh, I fumbled for the car key in my sweatpants, unlocked the Subaru, and reached for the driver’s door handle. I pulled it an inch before a hand slammed it shut behind me, grabbing my waist and whipping me around.
It was Row. And he looked raw.
“Moonlight. Music. Chin tilt. You came here because you wanted me to kiss you, didn’t you?” His tiger eyes gleamed like a thousand fireflies in the dark. My knee-jerk reaction was to deny, deny, deny through my teeth. Damn anxiety. I plowed through that instinct like swimming against a heavy stream.
I gulped. “Yeah.”
“Fuck.” His shoulders sagged with relief. “I’m so glad I’m just slow, not completely dumb.”