Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30161 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30161 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 151(@200wpm)___ 121(@250wpm)___ 101(@300wpm)
10
Bunny
“Should we call you Charlotte now?” Pink asks as she sets a drink down in front of me that she made.
She’s not working behind the bar tonight, but she did go get our drinks herself. She made me some green martini while she, Vee, and Ollie had Cokes with a bunch of cherries piled into them.
“If you want.” I shrug. “I kind of like Snow, though.” I’ve grown used to everyone calling me that. I also really love the new life I have here.
I’m sure some therapist would tell me it’s not okay to forget everything from my old life and jump into another, but I don’t care. All I can go on is how I feel. I’m pretty sure that they’d frown on my obsession and attachment to Ben as well. I’m sure they’d consider it all kinds of unhealthy.
Ben doesn’t seem to mind. He’s packing up all my crap for me so I don’t have to go back. The more I remember about my old life, the more I feel good about my decision to stay here. There is nothing or no one waiting for me back there. All I had was my job, which I didn’t enjoy much.
I only kept it because it paid well, considering I only have a high school diploma and some extra courses I’d taken at the suggestion of the law firm. I hated those classes too, but again, whenever I completed them, I’d always get a small raise of some kind, so I did it to help make ends meet. My old life was all about going through the motions. Nothing more. I was lonely. It’s sad really.
“Snow it is,” Vee says. She’s as sweet as Pink and Ollie said she would be. It’s nice how easily I fit in with all of them. Each of us seem to have our own little quirks. “We all have nicknames too, so it works.”
True. Pink’s real name is Addilyn, Vee is short for Savannah, and then you have Ollie, whose real name is Olivia. She told me her brothers called her Ollie because they never wanted to admit she had a vagina.
While I adore all the girls, I gravitate toward Pink. We’ve spent a lot of time together at Hart Bonds, but it’s more than that. We offset each other well.
I tentatively lift the martini and take a sip. It’s sweet and tangy but also strong. “You like?” Pink asks.
“I do.” I take another sip and end up downing the whole thing.
“Oh!” Pink grabs the empty glass, and they all burst into laughter. “You’re supposed to sip it,” she says through laughter. The back of my throat burns, but it was good. My face starts to grow warm but not from a blush this time. “Have some of this for a bit.” She places a glass of water in front of me.
“It was good, but it was tiny. I can’t help that I drank it so fast,” I respond, only making them all laugh harder.
“After we have these babies, we are having a girls’ night, and Pink is making me one of those apple martinis,” Ollie declares.
Vee, who is the quietest, nods along with her. I sense Vee and I might actually be the most alike and probably why we connect with stronger personalities like Pink and Ollie.
“I adore seeing my brothers so happy with you guys, but I do not want to think about them having sex.” Ollie cringes.
“Ben won’t have sex with me,” I blurt out. My eyes widen right along with everyone else's in surprise that I just said that to them. “I mean, we do other things but I’m still a virgin.” I sigh, not wanting to be one anymore. “I feel a little tingly,” I admit. “Not the same kind of tingly I get when Ben is touching me, but a different kind.” A hum has fallen over my body. Does alcohol kick in that quickly?
“Ahh! I’m dying!” Pink laughs harder.
“I’m sure there’s a reason Ben hasn’t gone all the way with you. I mean, you share a bed and act like a married couple.” Ollie tries to reassure me even though she hates talking about her brother and sex. Her need to make me feel better comes first. I've noticed that with Ollie. She always wants to take care of everyone around her. She’s a mother hen.
“A married couple?” I repeat, latching on to those words.
Ollie responds, but I miss what she says because I’m peeking over my shoulder to where all the men are playing pool across the warehouse. I duck my head and turn back to the girls when I see Ben staring right at me. He looks so damn handsome, standing with a pool stick in his hand. I don’t think he’s paying much attention to his game, though, since all of his attention is on me. The same way it always is.