Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 146548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Don’t let Farrow go (I won’t).
Marry him.
Put a ring on it.
What if he’s not into marriage?
What if that’s why he rejected his ex’s proposal?
But we talked about kids. Twice.
Jokingly?
No, it was fucking serious.
I think.
You can have kids without being married.
Don’t name your son Batman.
I squeeze my eyes shut. Alright, my mind can shut the fuck up now.
I think I’m the only one awake until the clock hits 2:30 a.m. And I hear whispering. From the right side of the room.
It’s not Farrow.
He’s dead asleep turned towards me, barely stirring beneath the comforter. I try my best not to wake him. Farrow needs shuteye more than anyone.
His inked arm splays over my lower abs. I didn’t realize how badly I’d want to lie on my side until tonight.
I crave to just turn into his hard chest.
But here I am, stuck on my back. If anything, it makes me want to speed through physical therapy that much faster.
“You can’t go on Sunday anymore?” Sulli mutters more loudly than she realizes. As much as I wished for bionic hearing as a kid, I don’t have that superpower.
I strain my ears to catch the reply.
“Sorry,” Jack whispers, sounding really apologetic.
My mind swerves onto one track: Jack Highland is awake while my little cousin is awake and everyone else is asleep.
I have no clue what that means. So I prop myself on my usable elbow and peer over Farrow to see…
My brows scrunch. Akara is awake too. Both guys lounge on the same air mattress, leaning on the brick wall. Right in between them, Sullivan slumps on a donut-shaped pillow and twists her frayed string anklet.
“Oh hey, you don’t need to fucking apologize,” my cousin whispers not as softly. “It’s alright.” Even in the dark attic, she looks noticeably bummed.
“Rain check?” Jack whispers. “I should be free next Sunday. We can go swimming then.”
“Yeah,” she nods, scooting up more against the wall. “That’d work.”
Akara is playing with her chocolate brown hair, and he coils a long strand over his upper lip in a fake mustache.
Sulli cracks a smile and shoves his chest.
I used to overthink their dynamic because in my personal experience with Farrow, teasing equals affection. But that can’t always be the case.
Right?
Now I’m being paranoid, but for Sulli’s sake, I can’t Hulk-Smash anything that makes her happy. I won’t. And her friendship with her bodyguard is pretty much centerfold.
Akara laughs lightly and whispers to Jack, “She thinks she’s a mermaid. You know, no swimming for one week means her legs grow back.”
“Hey, there is some fucking logic in the mermaid debate,” Sulli tells Akara. “I love water. Mermaids love water. Therefore I am a fucking mermaid.”
Akara ties a piece of her hair in a slipknot. “Sharks also love water.”
“They do,” Jack agrees. “And eels. Stingrays. Manatees.”
“Salmon,” Akara whispers. “Walruses—”
“Hey, maybe I’m a fucking walrus then,” Sulli jokes in another loud whisper. “I could also be a mermaid too.”
Akara loosens the knot in her hair and gives her a look. “You’re not a walrus, Sul.”
My elbow already aches from the crash, and being propped up this long isn’t that easy. But I strain my muscles for another second.
Sulli smiles softly. “Want to go swimming this Sunday, Kits? Just at the Hale pool.”
Akara winces a bit and scratches the back of his head. “I, um…” He glances at Jack.
Jack is staring at the Omega lead like they’re in on something that she’s not a part of. I can’t help but fucking glare. They haven’t noticed me yet. Probably not able to see me well since it’s dark and Farrow conceals most of my build.
“What?” Sulli frowns, looking between them. “Cum, shit, that’s your day off work, Kits. Fuck, I’m sorry. You can do whatever…”
This isn’t going well, and I can tell my cousin is scrambling for the right thing to say. She does this, and then she’ll just go quiet.
“It’s not that,” Akara says. “Well, it…kind of is, but Jack and I have this thing that day.”
What thing?
Sulli nods slowly. “Like a production-security thing?”
Exactly what I’m thinking.
“No.” Akara pauses. “Jack is friends with two girls from Penn that we’re going out with,” he whispers. “It’s a double date thing.”
Huh. That’s good that they’re finding time to date. I know it’s been hard for most of security. But the more I scrutinize them, the more I can’t read Sulli’s expression.
Maybe because she’s not sure what she’s feeling.
“Oh yeah,” Sulli frowns, fingers to her full lips in deep thought. “Yeah…” She shakes the cobwebs out of her head. “That sounds fucking fun. You deserve some P-in-the-V action. We can do whatever…swimming or you know, any time. And Moffy will swim with me—or not since his injury.” She winces at herself and then slumps down.
“Sul,” Akara whispers.
“EAT THAT ASS!!”
Greaaat.
The drunken street heckling wakes a quarter of the room. As Philly bars close, the jeers will escalate. And you know what?