Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 140742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
“I saw you when you walked in,” I admit.
“Oh, really?” He brings his hand up and bites the tip of my pinky before he sucks it into his mouth. My gasp stays stuck in my throat. His eyes twinkle with mischief as he sets my hand down again, but he lets go when some of our food comes.
“What did you think when you saw me?” he asks.
I roll my eyes. “What do you think I thought?”
“That I was the sexiest, most alluring man you’d ever laid eyes on?”
“Oh. Wow.” I laugh, serving myself some lobster mash. “You are way too full of yourself. Please continue the story.”
“You caught my eye right away. The hot pink dress you were wearing, which was fucking sinful by the way,” he says, dropping his voice. “I lost count of how many times I jerked off to the image of fucking you in that dress, remembering the sounds you made and the look on your face when you came.”
“Finn!” I whisper-shout, looking around quickly.
He leans forward, eyes burning with desire, as he reaches out and sets his hand on my forearm. His long fingers cover it as his thumbs brush over my pulse point, which is racing.
“If we were sitting in a booth,” he says, his eyes briefly dropping to my parted lips. “I’d take care of you right now.”
“Please stop,” I whisper shakily, shifting again.
He lets me go and sits back a little, a smug look on his face. My heart is still racing and my hands are shaking, as I reach for my water.
“So you thought I looked hot,” I say when I set down the glass.
“Obviously, but it was more than that. It was your mannerisms, your smile, that fucking laugh that lights me up inside, the way you looked at people when you spoke to them, like they mattered, and…” He frowns. “I wanted you to look at me like that.”
“People always look at you like that,” I point out, serving myself another spoonful of food.
“Not like that. Not the way you do,” he says quietly. I look up from my food, my heart skipping for the millionth time. “People have conversations, but they don’t listen. You listen.”
“And … you wanted to fuck me because I listen?”
“No.” He laughs once, like it’s ridiculous, and shakes his head the way he does when he’s genuinely at a loss for words. “I couldn’t stop looking at you. I think I was unknowingly trying to lure you over with my eyes, but you never looked. Then Gracie came over with her usual Gracie bullshit—”
My stomach tightens. “Which is?”
“Does it matter?”
“No, but tell me anyway,” I say.
“She tried talking shit about you and got mad when I defended you even though I had no idea who you were,” he says. “I mean, Mal had mentioned you, but I, like most people, don’t listen.” He pauses. “Except when you talk to me.”
I smile. “You don’t have to sweet talk me, Finneas. I’m going home with you no matter what.”
His eyes darken. “Do you want to box this up so we can go?”
I laugh. “No! Finish the story!”
“I finally went up to you, which was nerve-wracking, by the way—”
“No way!”
“Do you know how long it’s been since I approached a woman?” he asks, frowning. “Fuck, I can’t even think of a time when I did that.”
I roll my eyes. “Okay, Finn Barlow, God’s gift to women. Please continue the story.”
He chuckles. “You were so fucking beautiful and hot as fuck, of course, but your energy is magnetic.” He pauses. “I wanted you and I justified why I could break my rule for you.”
I sit back and look at him. “What about the night of my birthday?”
“I was watching you from the second story.”
My eyes widen. “That’s not creepy at all.”
He glances away briefly and eats some food and chews it before he looks at me again.
“My friends kept talking about you, which pissed me off since I was already having a hard time staying away,” he says. “And as you know, I broke another rule for you.”
“By hooking up with me a second time.”
“Yeah. I told myself we hadn’t had sex yet,” he says. “Ella kept telling me you were single. The other two idiots kept saying how hot you were. I didn’t even tell them about our time at Onyx, but just from our interaction at Mallory’s party, they said they knew.”
I blink. “Because you spoke to me?”
“Because I approached you, and because you made me laugh.” He tilts his head slightly. “That’s the story. Can we go home so I can fuck you now?”
I laugh. We package our food, pay, and head out hand in hand. A few people take not-so-sneaky pictures, others take obvious ones that I smile for, and I’m amazed at how right it all feels.