Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he said over and over again.
I lost track of time as I stood there clinging to him. When my sobs subsided, I pulled away and let out an embarrassed laugh.
“You probably won’t believe this, but this is not something I do often,” I said with a laugh.
He chuckled. “That makes two of us. Here is your bag.” He handed it to me the way officials at the Olympics handed out medals, draping it over my head.
“I don’t know how I can ever thank you,” I said with feeling, while I stroked the rough material of my bag.
“You could start by telling me your name,” he said, his stunning cobalt blue eyes twinkling.
I stuck out my hand feeling a little foolish for offering to shake his hand when I’d been clinging to him like a limpet only minutes earlier. “Charlotte Evans.”
He enclosed my hand in his massive one. Heat enveloped my body from that simple point of contact.
“Alex Turner.”
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am.” I held my bag tighter. “This bag has my whole life in it.”
He grinned. “I guessed that much.” There was something playful and fun about Alex. Like nothing fazed him.
“Can I buy you a drink?” I asked on a whim. I was only asking him out for a drink to thank him, nothing else.
My life was carefully mapped out and having a boyfriend was not part of my plans. The only way I’d made it this far in my life was by making plans and sticking to them. That was not to say that I hadn’t ever had a boyfriend. I had, but I always ensured that my relationships, if you could call them that, remained casual.
“I’d love that, but I’ll do the buying,” he said.
Grantsville was a small college town in Ohio but one thing that was plentiful was a choice of bars and restaurants. As we walked downtown, I stole looks at Alex. There was something terribly upmarket about him. Perhaps it was his posture or the way he walked. Like he had known wealth all his life.
Other than that, he was easily the sexiest man I’d ever gone on a date with, even though technically, it was not a date. Still, I couldn’t help wonder how it would feel to be wrapped up in his arms… without clothes between us.
A familiar ache grew between my legs. For a variety of reasons, it had been months since I’d had sex. One of which was my crazy schedule, another was a scarcity of men that I found attractive enough to go to bed with. Other reasons included immaturity, selfishness... come to think of it the list was quite long.
I stopped in front of one of my favorite joints, a cocktail bar where the crowd was less student-like and the décor was upbeat and modern.
“I’ll get the drinks,” he said. “What would you like?”
“A Clover Club would be awesome,” I said, citing my favorite cocktail, which I treated myself to once every three weeks, or when I’d had an unexpected big tip at work. “I’ll grab us a table.”
It was six in the evening and the bar was almost full but my favorite table at the corner had just become vacant and I made a beeline for it. I shrugged out of my coat and sat down.
Alex made his way through the crowd to the table carrying our drinks. It gave me a chance to covertly study him. He was definitely over six feet and he worked out, or did some form of exercise. That was a seriously ripped body he had under his clothes.
“Here you go,” he murmured, sliding a frothy drink towards me.
“Thank you,” I said and waited until he sat down with his beer before I took a sip of my drink. I closed my eyes as I took a sip. Gin, raspberry syrup, and lemon juice, made for a heady combination and I moaned as the taste exploded in my mouth.
Alex’s chuckle roused me from my state of pleasure. “I’d be happy to buy you a drink everyday just to see that look on your face.”
I laughed. “Could you tell it’s my favorite drink?”
“Even a blind man couldn’t miss it.”
I tried to look sophisticated and worldly as I took another delicate sip. “I’ve been super busy and haven’t been here in a while so this is nice.”
“Are you a student here?”
“Yes, at the culinary college. What about yourself? Wait, let me guess. You’re in law school.”
He slumped his shoulders dramatically and made a disappointed face. “Is it that obvious? And all this time, I thought I carried an aura of mystery.”
I giggled. “The jacket gave you away, and the walk. All law students walk fast.”
“We’re used to rushing from the library to class,” he said with a laugh.