Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
We were quiet while we ate, the rushing water our soundtrack, and then Jaxson pulled a book from his bag and leaned against a tree. He was wearing his wire-framed glasses, and it was the hottest contradiction — this ripped, inked motherfucker leaning against a tree with a book in his hands and his brows furrowing over the top of those frames.
I would never pretend to be an expert on straight female sexuality, but there was just something about a man reading that made my brain short circuit every fucking time.
I studied the cover.
Healing the Masculine Soul by Gordon Dalbey.
Well, tits. He’s even hotter now.
Carefully, I pulled my phone out and snuck a photo of him before tucking it away. If I was the social media kind of gal, I’d submit that shit to one of those accounts that posted hot guys reading. As it was, I saved it purely out of selfish greed.
“I saw that,” he said without looking at me, licking his thumb before he turned a page.
I feigned innocence. “Saw what?”
“You being a creeper and adding a picture of me to your spank bank.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, hopping up from where I was seated on the one blanket we had with us on this trip.
The corner of Jaxson’s lips curved up, his eyes skirting to me before he shook his head and went back to reading.
I strolled back down to the river, exploring a bit before I retrieved my slack line from my bag. Two large trees separated the clearing where we had our picnic, the perfect distance to set up. I attached one end of the line to each tree, pulling it taut enough to hold while leaving enough slack to play on.
Then, I stepped up, walking a few steps on the line with my bare feet, arms spread wide to help balance.
I took each step carefully, body leaning left and right to correct my stability when needed before I took the next one. I was relatively new at slacklining, which meant I didn’t have any cool tricks unlocked yet.
That didn’t stop me from trying, though.
Slowly, I started bouncing, making the line bend and warp until I had a little momentum. Then, I dropped down to my butt, sitting on the line like a trampoline for just a second before it pitched me into the air. I squealed with joy, stomach flipping from the drop before I landed on my feet. I threw my hands up in the air, turning to find Jaxson halfway up, book tossed aside like he’d been prepared to risk it all to save me from colliding with the hard clay.
I chuckled. “Ye of little faith!”
“What the hell are you doing, besides trying to give me premature gray hairs,” he grumbled, climbing to his feet and walking over to the line.
“The salt and pepper look is hot. You should actually thank me.”
He ignored the comment, and I hopped back onto the line, proud when I steadied myself and stayed on. That was a beginner trick, too, but it was getting easier.
“I picked this up in college,” I explained. “I had some friends who would hang out on the mall, playing Frisbee or whatever. And one day this kid brought a line. I’m not very good at it,” I added, stumbling off when I tried to turn around as if my body was keen to illustrate that point. I hopped back on just as quickly, though. “But it’s fun, and challenging — which I love.”
Jaxson folded his arms, watching me mess around for a bit. He nearly lost his shit when I did a front flip off the line, but I stuck the landing once again, winking at him when I saw his panicked attempt to catch me.
“What did you major in?” he asked when I climbed back on.
I snorted. “Does it matter?”
“I mean, for most people, yes.”
“Philosophy.”
“Philosophy?” he echoed on a laugh. “Good God, why?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, I just picked something that sounded halfway interesting.”
“So, what do you want to do?”
“Right now? Land a flip on the line,” I said before going for another attempt. My left foot caught the line, but the right slipped, and I tumbled off, rolling to the ground with a laugh.
Jaxson pinched the bridge of his nose as I dusted myself off and hopped up again.
“I meant, you graduated,” he said. “So, what now? Do you want to… teach?” he guessed, but the way his voice raised, I knew he couldn’t see me doing that any more than I could.
“I want to travel,” I said. “I want to experience life through the eyes of a thousand different people. I want to watch the sun rise on the other side of the world. I want to eat foods I’ve never heard of and drink wine with the men who grow the grapes that make it.” I bounced on the line, smiling, but then blew out a long exhale. “As for a job? Well, your guess is as good as mine.”