Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37824 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
“Hey.” Winter comes bouncing into my bathroom. “Dang, girl. Showing them off.”
I shrug. “Why not?” Before brushing out my hair, I also applied some lip gloss and mascara. It feels so strange to be able to get dolled up but also very empowering.
“Here.” Winter clips part of my hair to one side with a white bow clip that matches my sweater.
I stare at myself in the mirror. As sad as I am about Ace, I can’t help but smile.
“He picked really good for you.”
“He was really good to me all around.” No matter what happens in the future, I will always be grateful to Ace for his kindness toward me and for showing me that all men aren’t bad.
“He was. I can even tell the difference with your leg.” I’m not receiving my usual massages, but I continue to perform the stretches and a few exercises Ace and I had been doing every day.
That familiar tingle, which only he could have brought to life, begins to form in my body. I miss his touches so much. I miss having him in bed with me every night. I’ve tried to touch myself there, recalling Ace asking me if I ever had. I closed my eyes and thought of him while I did it, but it got me nowhere. It only made my chest ache to be with him again.
“Come on.” Winter leads me out of the house, her arm linked with mine. It doesn’t take too long to make it back to the bar. At night, with the lights on, it appears so different. The parking lot is full of vehicles. There are people lined up outside too, smoking.
Winter keeps her arm linked with mine as we make our way inside. The music hums through the whole bar. A group of girls is dancing on one side of the bar, while many others are watching them. Most of them are men. Garrett leads us over to one end of the bar that has a few empty seats.
“Well, isn’t it my lucky night?" Joe says. “What can I get you lovely ladies to drink?” She winks at me. I want to dislike her, but Joe is both nice and incredibly charming.
“Water?” I shrug. When we went to the diner, we got milkshakes, which were delicious, but I'm guessing bars don't have them.
“I think we can do better than that.”
“Get them a couple white wine spritzers,” Garrett answers for us.
“You want a beer?”
“Not tonight.”
“Is Ace here?” I ask right before she can slip away to get the drinks.
“Nope.”
“Oh.”
“Hey.” Joe reaches out and grabs my hand. “If he was, he’d have been on you by now.” She squeezes my hand, then lets it go. She’s off before I can ask her what she means.
“She’s lucky Ace isn’t here. He wouldn’t have liked that shit,” Garrett mutters from behind me.
“Why?” Winter asks.
“He just wouldn’t.” He kisses the top of Winter's head.
Joe drops off our drinks a few minutes later. I take a small sip of it. "Not bad." I nod in agreement with Winter, then return to observing people.
Everyone is so free to do as they please. We really had been sheltered from the rest of the world. It makes me wonder what might be going on back at Heaven's Temple right now.
"Do you want to dance?" Winter asks. She has always been more courageous than me.
"I don't know," I say, feeling shy and a little self-conscious. The two of us have danced together but always alone. I would sing, often making up the songs as I went along.
“Come on.” I take another sip of the drink before I let her lead me out onto the floor. “All that matters is that we have fun,” Winter says over the music. It’s louder on the dance floor.
I notice that Garrett has followed us over but stands on the edge of the dance floor. A lot of the men are doing that, but Garrett has his arms folded over his chest, that stoic, hard expression on his face. The other guys are more laidback.
A new song comes on. “I know this one!” I shout. I’ve heard it a million times on TikTok. Winter and I dance together. I forget about all the other people. That is until I feel a hand come to my hip, making me jump.
“Hey, back up!” Winter shouts as I turn to see a man I don’t recognize.
“She can speak for herself. Can’t you, baby?" the man responds. His eyes are trained on my boobs, so I'm not sure if he's talking to me or to them specifically. Right now, I’m gonna say my boobs.
“I’m dancing with my sister.” I step forward, away from him. I catch Garrett out of the corner of my eye watching, but his expression has changed. I swear he might be fighting a laugh. What’s so funny all of a sudden?