Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76242 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
I was too smart to admit it but stupid enough to actually wonder what had given him that expression.
“We…we do a good job of budgeting.” Grasping at straws made me feel ridiculous, but I knew I didn’t want to hear what he’d been planning. “And…and I’ve got some time in my schedule to pick up a few more small jobs.”
It was a wonder what could be accomplished when half my brain wasn’t being used for worrying. Just getting it down to twenty percent panic had freed up a lot of my day and work was going much faster.
“Less worrying lately or less weird internet searches?”
He knew me too well.
“So…burgers?” We could walk to a really good place and no strangers meant we could relax. Leif might even have a beer.
That’d make it even more of a date, right?
Chapter 24
Leif
He was an adorable drunk…but tipsy was just as cute, especially because it didn’t take much to get him to that point.
“You know, I’m not worrying about our budget or what you want or how much it’s going to cost.” Shaking his head, he picked up the drink he swore tasted like chocolate cake and took another sip. “I trust you and you’re a wonderful partner.”
Was he trying to guilt me into something or was it just the alcohol talking? The way our waiter had giggled at Ender said he’d thought my boy was cute, but I was starting to think Ender’s cuteness had ended up with him having one hell of a drink.
“Thank you, pet.” The room was so loud I didn’t worry about anyone overhearing us. But I still leaned closer around the small, square, four-seater table we’d been put at. “I’m glad you trust me to give you what you want and what you need.”
Just in case he was trying to use guilt, I decided to fight fire with fire.
He looked confused and took another sip before pausing to grab a fry. I was glad he was putting food in his stomach but letting him start on the alcohol before he’d eaten hadn’t been a good idea. “That wasn’t how it was supposed to go.”
“Huh?” I could’ve guessed what he was talking about but I needed to look innocent for the reverse guilting to work. “I’m not sure what you mean, pup.”
That just had his brows pulling together more and he looked down at his drink like he was wondering if the booze was the problem. It probably was but he didn’t let that stop him from taking another sip.
When he sat straighter and tried to look sober, I realized it’d probably been a liquid courage moment. “I do trust you to give me what I need. But that doesn’t mean you have to do something you’re not comfortable with.”
With his little speech out of the way, he leaned back in his seat and watched me expectantly. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking but asking probably wouldn’t have helped it to make sense. “I won’t. I promise.”
His frown said he wasn’t pleased with that answer.
“But we both know you would.” Slowly cocking his head like he was being very careful not to move too quickly, he studied me. “Yes, you would.”
Since that seemed to have taken a lot of effort to get out, I took the accusation very seriously. “Okay, I might do something I was on the fence about if I thought it was something you wanted, but I’m not going to do something that’s on my hard limits list or something that I’m not ready for.”
We might be at that point with my idea, but I wasn’t going to rush so we had time for me to figure out my stance on it.
A BDSM club couldn’t be too overwhelming, could it?
“As long as you’re not doing red things, I guess that’s okay.” Nodding mostly to himself, Ender seemed to mentally brush the conversation away as he picked up another fry. “I’ll worry about that later.”
Did that mean he was trying to relax tonight or was he actually scheduling his worries?
“I’m glad you’re not going to be nervous about it now.” I reached over and stole one of his fries since mine were already gone. “Just let me know when you decide to worry later so I have it in my schedule.”
Yep.
He frowned and glared at me. “I was going to worry about it tomorrow afternoon while you were working. That’s not very nice of you.”
He’d been scheduling it.
“How about you worry about it after dinner tomorrow and I’ll make you kneel for me. Instead of worrying alone, we can do it together.” I wasn’t sure if it was a stupid plan or made me a genius, but Ender was back to nodding.
“I think that’s reasonable as long as I don’t have to talk about it.” Before I could decide if I was going to agree to that stipulation or not, he continued. “I don’t know what I’m worrying about yet, so I can’t really articulate it.”