Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 17558 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 88(@200wpm)___ 70(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17558 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 88(@200wpm)___ 70(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
“Hey, Dougie,” I say slowly. “Did you and Lucy ever talk about her wanting to stay home and pursue her art?”
Dougie sighs and takes a sip of his drink. Without him even saying a thing, I can already tell where this is headed.
“I want her to go to college, Titus. She can paint while she’s there.”
“Not as much,” I interject. “Couldn’t do shows. Or at least not as many.”
“She needs a backup plan.”
While I do admire Dougie’s philosophy and the way he wants his daughter to be safe and secure, sometimes he can sound like a broken record.
“And I was thinking too,” I say. “If Lucy stayed here, she’d have us to look after her. If she’s away at school, she’s just gonna be around a bunch of college guys, ya know?”
Dougie sighs again. His fists go tight. It’s as though I’m touching on something he’s already thought of. He nods his head and turns to me.
“Yeah, no shit, right?” He chuckles and downs the rest of his drink. My job may be private security, but I would make it my life’s work to protect this man’s daughter. “Speaking of which, Titus. I’ve got a favor to ask you.”
8
Lucy
Never in my life have I felt this way. Sitting at school and going to class feels almost like a dream. Everything I do seems so superficial. All I can think about is Titus and getting back to him.
It’s probably all in my head, but I can still feel the warmth of the seed he left inside me after the beautiful moment we had in the woods together in his truck. The way his body covered mine, the way his body wrapped mine in his, how he made me feel so small…it was nothing short of magic.
I definitely still am sore, and I’m thankful for that. Thankful for a physical reminder and invisible little secret of my own to remind me of what we did together. And all I know is that I can’t wait to do it again.
“Lucy? Hello?” I hear a voice above me and look up to Mr. Tarrington’s face looking down at me and realize I’m sitting at my desk in math class, completely zoned out, while he’s holding out the math quiz we’re taking today. “Are you with us?”
“Sorry!” I blurt out. “Yes, I am.”
I reach out, take it from him, and quickly write my name on it. A few obnoxious girls in the back laugh, but I ignore them. Just a few days ago, they would have annoyed me, but today they don’t bother me. Today it’s like they don’t even exist.
“You all have half an hour,” Mr. Tarrington announces from the head of the class. “Starting…now!”
I begin with confidence. This should be easy. I’ve studied, and math is one of my best subjects.
“No problem,” I mutter to myself as I get to work.
If only Titus could be here to see me. If he could stand outside the classroom and watch through the little window in the door, or if he could somehow see through the actual windows leading to the outside. Of course that would be hard considering we’re on the second story.
Maybe there’s some way I could actually get him into the school by claiming he’s my uncle like he did outside when Eric was trying to give me a ride home the other day. That would be amazing.
Get Titus into the school as my “uncle,” and then find some secret spot to sneak off to with him. Wouldn’t that be amazing…
I wonder what he’s up to now. Working that security job, I suppose. A normal girl might get worried about her man working a job like that, but not me. I know what he can handle. After all, he has seen real combat and come back alive.
Is it wrong that I’m turned on by that? I’m not sure, but my body starts to tingle just at the thought, so there’s very little I can do about it anyway. And when I think about how commanding and masculine he was back there in the woods—how he took me and wasn’t even soft or gentle when he thrust into me for my first time, waves of excitement wash through me that are so intense, I have to do everything I can to block him out of my mind.
Before I know it, I hear Mr. Tarrington’s voice calling out that the half-hour is up.
“Pencils down. Everyone, pass your quizzes around to Angela, please.”
I pass my quiz up to Jason, who puckers his lips at me like he always does. But rather than roll my eyes and sigh like I normally do, today I have the confidence to flip him the bird. I can see this surprises him, and he doesn’t know what to do about it. But I don’t care. I’m already on my feet and leaving the classroom.