Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 141255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 706(@200wpm)___ 565(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 706(@200wpm)___ 565(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
He got up and fried up our leftover spaghetti and meatballs and brought it in. We ate it in his bed while watching a hockey game. Damn. Fried spaghetti was the best spaghetti ever. It was buttery and crispy in spots and I ate a massive plate of it. I ate so much of it I think I slipped into a carb coma.
He loved hockey and really seemed happy with the idea that I liked it, too. I didn’t bother telling him that I played hockey on a girls’ team back in high school. I fell asleep with my head on his belly and his fingers in my hair sometime during the third period.
It woke me when he flicked the TV off. He shifted me off his stomach and then curled me up against him, his hand on my bare bottom. He gave it a squeeze.
“Hey Angel?” he called out.
“Yes?” I opened my eyes.
“How do you feel about kids?”
“Kids?”
“Yeah.”
“I went to school to be a teacher. Love kids,” I said sleepily.
He squeezed me tight, kind of too tight. “Yeah?”
“Uh huh. I taught grade one in Thailand at an English school before… before you know. You like kids?”
He let out a long breath. “You wanna talk about how you went from being a teacher to being at Kruna?” he asked softly.
“No,” I answered. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah,” he kissed my hand. “you tell me that story later.”
“Thank you,”
“What’s your name, baby?”
“It’s Angel, Master.”
“How about when you tell me that story you tell me your name.”
“You know my name,” I said softly.
“Baby…”
“Dare, if I ever say that other name out loud again something really bad’ll happen.”
“No, it won’t because I won’t let it,” he said into my ear and kissed my neck.
He didn’t answer me about him wanting kids.
“Can’t I just be Angel?” I asked.
He sighed. “For now, all right. Goodnight my Angel. Sweet dreams.”
“Thanks to you they will be,” I said, fingering my collar and curled into him. His Angel. Swoon. I hoped I could be his angel forever.
He gave me a squeeze.
“Dare?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“Do you call all girls angel?”
“Hm?”
“Some guys call all women a pet name: baby, sweetheart, sugar, you know?”
“Ah.”
“Do you, uh… do you call anyone else Angel?”
“Never. Why?”
“Never?”
“Nope. Why?”
“Maybe it’s not the awesome name I thought it was if it’s not just mine.”
“It’s just yours. You have the face of an angel. You’re trying to be a perfect one.” I felt him shrug.
“Thank you for saving me. And for giving me that name. Now that I know that, it feels even more like it’s mine.”
He gave me a squeeze.
“Please keep me,” I whispered before thinking, pouring everything I had into the plea. After a too-long pause I wished I could snatch it back. So much for my long logical speech.
But then he said, “I’m thinkin’ about it. I’m beating myself up for it but gotta say, I’m tempted.”
“Then I have to keep being your angel.” I snuggled in closer. “So you won’t wanna give me up.”
He sighed. “No promises, yet, angelbaby, but you’re playing your cards right so far.”
“Okay.” I smiled.
“But I’d rather you be you,” he whispered. “Don’t be an angel just because you’re afraid. Be you.” He caressed my face.
“I’ll try,” I said.
“That’s all I can ask for,” he replied.
“Hey Dare?” I asked a minute later.
“Hm?”
“Who won the hockey game?”
“They did.”
“Shit,” I grumbled.
I felt his body shake with laughter.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“You actually gave a shit about the game?”
“Uh, yeah,” I said sarcastically.
He gave me a squeeze and then he gave me a sweet kiss on the forehead.
I fell asleep in his arms feeling amazing, feeling like I was done with the A to B, I was at C and now I was working on getting to point D. Dare. Getting Dare to keep me. That was my next goal and if I managed that, there would be nothing else I had to sweat and toil over. I could just live my life. Maybe he wouldn’t make me sweat for it. Maybe this was it. Could it be? Maybe I could somehow find me or something close to that again.
I could justify it the same way she had. We had to look like we were together, why not give it a go? Lisa insinuated it was dangerous if I didn’t. So why not, right? Yeah, right. I was a fucking dog looking for permission to be a fucking dog. No better than the scumbags that took her. A dirty scumbag taking what shouldn’t be mine.
Pop was probably looking up at me from hell with a smirk on his face. What the hell was wrong with me? Barely a few days after I get her out of a hellhole where she’s been brainwashed to be a perfect sex slave and I’m fucking her brains out, watching the game with her in bed, asking her about babies for fuck’s sake.