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)
I’ve been standing here like an idiot, and I don’t know what she thinks been going on – whether I’ve been spaced out over how gorgeous she is (let’s hope not) or just have been thinking about that prick Eric.
“Sure, no problem,” I reply, forcing a smile. “But I should get out of here and let you get back to class.”
“Actually,” Lucy says quickly, “school’s over. That’s why Eric was here, he…he wanted to give me a ride home. I was trying to tell him I would wait for my dad, even if he was going to be kind of late.”
The way Lucy says that—the way she lowers her chin and looks up at me…
Is she saying something?
There’s something so innocent about her, but I can’t believe a girl who looks like her hasn’t had male attention in her life. She’s got to know what she’s doing right now.
But then again, there’s still that whole thing about her being Dougie’s daughter…
If I give in to my most base desires, I’ll be putting my greatest friendship at risk. Maybe not even at risk, but just destroying it outright.
But just like any man, my dick is talking to me, and the things it’s saying are impossible to ignore…
“So what are you saying, Lucy?” I ask. “That you could use a ride home?”
She could just nod, or say yes. But she doesn’t do either of those things. The little minx bites her lips, shifts her weight to one hip, and replies, “Mmm-hmm.”
And I cave completely.
“All right, Lucy. Get in the truck.”
5
Lucy
I’ve never been high, but I feel like I’m on something sitting beside Titus as we drive home.
My eyes don’t seem to focus on anything specific, the world seems to just sort of float by in a haze, and I’m almost dumbfounded…as if I’m detached from my body somehow. And I know why too.
It was that whole run-in with Eric and the way Titus handled it.
Eric is two years older than I am and has always come off that way, but when Titus stood before him and talked down to him, he looked like a little boy in comparison. And I have to admit…I liked it.
It wasn’t just his how large and intimidating he was. It was the way Titus held himself. You could just tell that Titus was a man who had been out and seen the world and Eric wasn’t.
And when he made up that lie about him being my uncle…
I mean, sure, I’ve called him Uncle Titus from time to time, but it’s always just been a silly nickname that never really meant anything. But he said it to Eric as though we were actually related or something, and that…well, that did something inside me.
And then he put his arm around me…
I shouldn’t be having these thoughts.
He’s almost twice my age, and on top of that, he and my father have been best-friends since way back. Something happening between us would be a major no-no. And he must understand that too.
But still, he’s insanely good-looking. Having him around me, and not one of the boys who goes to my school, is like some sexy, private little secret that has me buzzing in my tummy, and I just don’t know what to do with myself as we drive.
I’m trying not to fidget, but I’m also trying not to just sit there silent, still and awkward either, because that would make it seem like I was trying to hide something. So every few seconds, I sort of shift in my seat or just tap my finger on the arm rest—something to make everything seem natural. But maybe I’m making everything worse. I don’t even know at this point.
“What were you even doing with that guy, Lucy?” Titus asks suddenly out of the blue. His voice shattering the silence nearly shakes me out of my skin.
“What?” I stammer. “I…um…I don’t know.”
And that’s the truth.
“Guys like that are no good,” he says. “You stay away from him from now on. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
Yes, sir? The words just slipped out of my mouth without any warning whatsoever as naturally as taking a deep breath of air or running my hands through my hair after a shower.
Titus doesn’t comment, but I notice the way the corners of his lips curl slightly.
“You know I put in a good word with your dad for you like I said.”
My jaw drops. “You did? About me staying home to pursue my art?”
He nods. “That’s right.”
Joy springs from my heart like water gushing from a fountain. A giddy smile comes over my face that I can’t hold back. I must look so silly, but Titus smiles back too.
“Thank you!” I say, suppressing my desire to throw my arms around him in a massive hug. “Now I guess all we have to do is hope that my dad starts seeing things my way.”