Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
As they watched the fireworks burst into a shower of sparkles, Eloise looked up at him with eyes that twinkled brighter than any star in the sky. He felt his heart beat faster as he saw her lips curve into a smile filled with warmth and affection.
Kiel reached out his hand—his fingers trembled slightly from excitement—and brushed away an errant lock of hair that had fallen on Eloise’s face. His fingers skimmed down her cheek, bringing her closer to him, until their noses were almost touching each other’s. Kiel couldn’t resist any longer and pressed his lips to hers. The feeling was electrifying—it felt like the firework display had set off sparks between them that ran through every fiber of his being.
Their embrace was fierce yet gentle as Kiel placed both hands on Eloise's cheeks and explored her mouth hungrily with an intense longing merged with pleasure. Every bit of this kiss felt right between them.
“Hey man, this is a family event,” a voice yelled from behind them.
“Shit,” Kiel muttered as they pulled away. “Sorry,” he said over his shoulder, and then leaned toward Eloise. “I’m not sorry at all.”
“Me neither,” she whispered back.
Kiel kept his arm around her until the last pop of the finale lit the night sky. He helped her up and then folded the blanket and slipped it under one of his arms, and then reached for her hand. Eloise turned the flashlight of her phone on to give them some light. Kiel reached for her hand, locking their fingers together.
He didn’t let go until they stood at her door. “I had an amazing time,” he told her as he pushed her hair behind her ear. With no young eyes around, he leaned down and kissed her again. Only this time, he took his time exploring her mouth with his tongue and welcomed the anticipation building within for when he’d see her again.
Eloise clenched his shirt in her fist and made it seem like she didn’t ever want to let go. He felt the same and wished he’d known her longer than the few hours they’d spent together. Those previous five-minute meetings weren’t enough for him to suggest they go into her apartment and undress each other. He didn’t want this to be a one-night stand or for her to think he only wanted sex from her.
He wanted more and needed to pump the brakes on his wandering mind.
The next morning, Kiel came downstairs to the smell of eggs and bacon. His father sat at the large dining room table reading the paper and his mother stood at the island, humming a show tune. The song was familiar to him, but he couldn’t recall which musical it belonged to. They had seen so many over the years but he wasn’t a fan of Broadway. His mom was, and she loved to go every year. Kiel went because he didn’t want to disappoint her.
“Morning sleepyhead,” Leona said as Kiel kissed her cheek.
“Morning,” he mumbled. He made his way to the coffee pot and filled a cup before heading over to the table. He sat, greeted his dad, and reached for the front page. Kiel couldn’t remember the last time he read a newspaper. His news came from alerts he had set on his phone, and most were sports related. While he was aware of the most current affairs of the world, he hadn’t read any reports.
Now that he had, he was disgusted. Not only with himself for not keeping abreast, but also with the world and how utterly fucked up everything was. “Jeez.”
“The war?” his father asked without taking his eyes off the paper.
“Yep. I feel like if I’m going to be an adult, I need to know this stuff.”
Emmett snickered. “How adult are we talking?”
Kiel groaned. “No idea.” He leaned back in his chair. “School or work?”
“But not both?” Emmett closed the paper and set it on the table. He smiled as Leona approached with two plates of food.
“You could always become a teacher,” Leona said.
“Possibly,” Kiel said even though he had zero desire to teach. He loved his mother enough to not knock her profession. She loved being in education even though she was often exhausted at the end of the day. Leona always said nothing beats education because you had the entire summer off.
Leona laughed lightly as she went to the stairs and yelled for the twins to come down for breakfast. Thundering footsteps sounded overhead followed by a slammed door.
“They’re so loud,” Kiel muttered.
“This is why we can’t have an old house,” Emmett told Leona as he pointed to the ceiling. “We’d have to have a reinforced ceiling, sound proofing and who knows what else.”
Leona rolled her eyes and put two more plates down. “They’re not that loud,” she said.
“A herd of elephants,” Kiel said when the twins entered the kitchen. Skyla flipped him off. His eyes widened and was about to say something to their father when he spoke up.