Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
“You think he was hitting on me?”
He shot me a look. “Obviously. A guy like that is probably exactly your type, too.”
“A guy like what?”
“Hal’s a former model, and one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen.”
A grin spread across my face. “Are you jealous?”
“Bite me.”
“You are! But you’re also wrong. He’s not my type.”
“Gorgeous ex-models are everyone’s type. He’s nice too, not to mention smart, talented, and ambitious. He’s studying fashion design and—”
“Are you trying to talk me into him?”
“No, but saying you’re not into him makes no sense. Why wouldn’t you be?”
“Because I’m interested in someone else.”
“Who?”
I brushed his hair back and asked, “Isn’t it obvious?”
Tracy seemed flustered. “I thought… I thought maybe, but you’ve never done anything about it.”
“So, let’s change that.”
The parakeet on Tracy’s shoulder didn’t like it when I started to lean in. He shrieked, “What the fuck,” and flew straight up before flying toward the kitchen. This stirred up the cat and dog in turn. They tumbled off Tracy’s lap, and the dog shook himself before the two of them trotted off in the same direction.
This time though, I wasn’t going to let anything distract me. I gently took hold of Tracy’s chin, and he tilted his head as our lips met.
I’d planned to keep it light, but instead, the kiss instantly ignited. He grabbed the front of my jacket with both hands and pulled me closer, and I ended up straddling his lap as he parted his lips for me.
The way Tracy kissed me was electrifying. There was an urgency to it, as if he needed me desperately, which was a huge turn-on. I completely gave myself over to the moment, reveling in the taste of his mouth, his familiar scent, the softness of his hair as I slid my fingers into it.
My entire body responded to him. He was right there with me, grinding his hard cock against mine through our jeans. By the time I finally sat up, both of us were flushed and breathing heavily. “I don’t want to stop, but considering where we are…” My voice sounded rough to me.
“Yeah.”
I sat down beside him again, and once we caught our breath and calmed down a little, Tracy said, “We should go back to the party. Our friends are probably wondering what happened to us.”
We both got up, and as I followed him to the living room, I found myself grinning. I had no idea what was going to happen next, but I couldn’t wait to find out.
11
Tracy
Even though we’d come close to kissing twice that week, I was still surprised when it finally happened. It was scorching hot and all-consuming, and it left me reeling.
Afterwards, my thoughts were scrambled. I mumbled something about getting back to the party to buy myself some time to get it together, and Ever followed me to the living room. When he asked where the bathroom was, I directed him to the second floor and looked around for a quiet corner to wait for his return.
Suddenly, Vee appeared and herded me out to the front porch. As soon as the front door closed behind us, he exclaimed, “Tell me everything!”
“What do you mean?”
“I went to the kitchen to get seconds of those amazing little pies you brought.” After a beat, he admitted, “Okay, it was actually thirds, but whatever. I happened to glance down the hall in the direction of JoJo and Yolanda’s bedroom, and what did I spot? Why, it was you and your hunky roommate, practicing for the world tongue wrestling championship! How long have you two been involved?”
“We’re not. That was our first kiss since our disastrous hookup earlier this year.”
“Oh, wow. Are you going to start dating?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“Lots of reasons.”
“Such as?”
“For one thing, we live together. How awkward would it be if we tried to date and it totally bombed?”
Vee looked skeptical. “Are you really afraid it might fail, or are you afraid it might succeed?”
“What does that mean?”
“You’ve always insisted you don’t want to be in a relationship. A lot of guys say the same thing, because they want to play the field. But in your case, I think the idea of getting close to someone scares you. It’d be a shame if you were letting fear get in the way of something great.”
“I’m not afraid of relationships,” I muttered. “I just would never want to hurt Ever, the way I hurt—”
I cut myself off before the conversation got too emotional, but Vee finished my sentence for me. “Sawyer.” I nodded and shifted my gaze to the sidewalk, where a couple was walking a tiny chihuahua.
“You’re not that guy anymore, Tracy. I don’t know the whole story with you and Sawyer, but I do know it was a lifetime ago. I see so much pain and regret when you mention him. I know you think you screwed up—”