Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 151044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
I laughed. I certainly was that.
“I bet you’re a firecracker in bed.”
“Stop.”
“Too far?”
“Way too far.”
“Fair enough.”
He led us through a detour where some of the trees had started to bud. The finicky weather was definitely causing nature to gamble with survival. Leaves were blooming and casually shifting the world from grey to soft shades of green.
Just when I was convinced that nothing could shake Barrett from his calm, he flew into a fit in the midst of a busy crosswalk. “Look out!” He took a quick step backward, his arms swatting spastically as people jumped out of his way. “Bee!” He ducked, berserk with fear, as if the thing was about to kill him.
His panicked response set me on full alert. “Are you allergic?”
It was just a fuzzy little bumble bee, but Barrett acted like he was being terrorized by a killer hornet.
“No, I just don’t like bees.”
“Don’t hurt it!” I caught his arms and rolled my eyes, gently waving it away from his face. “Poor thing’s probably all confused from global warming.”
He made a sheepish sound and covered his face. “Is it gone?”
“Relax, Thomas Jay, your acrobat days aren’t over yet.” I swept the little guy toward a tree.
Barrett peeked through his fingers, then looked around, relieved as the bee flew away. “That was close.”
“Yeah, you almost overreacted.” The crowd had crossed the street and a new mob of pedestrians appeared.
“Bees leave marks. I can’t have a swollen face while I’m still shooting.”
I supposed blemishes were an occupational hazard in his industry. Another reason I was glad I decided not to be a model.
“I never knew you possessed such dramatic depth. Maybe you should’ve been an actor.”
Back to casually walking with his hands in his pockets, he admitted, “I’ve thought about it.”
I glanced at him and smirked. “Your performance back there was like a dramatization of Katniss Everdeen trying to escape the jabberjays in the Hunger Games.”
“All right. You’ve made your point.
I snickered, enjoying the ball-breaking banter we shared. I never had siblings and this felt nice. Easy. When we got to the Plaza I thanked him for such an enjoyable afternoon. “This was actually fun.”
“Yeah. You’re not so bad, Meyers. Call me if you want to do it again.”
When I reached the penthouse, I was relieved to have nothing on my schedule until tomorrow morning. I was well overdue for a pants-off weeknight, but then I thought about Percy. The man hid in corners like a stealthy little shadow. I dreaded him catching a glimpse of my hoo-ha or hiney, so I opted for keeping pants on but settled for my coziest leggings and a hoodie I snatched from Hale’s hamper. Not quite as liberating as no pants, but comforting for other reasons.
I put in a call to Elara, who didn’t have much interest in seeing me through a screen, but I still made Andrew hold the phone up to her for a good five minutes. I missed my bed and I missed my peanut. And I really missed Hale.
In for the night, I debated what to eat. While many people crossed state lines to dine at Manhattan restaurants, I really wasn’t much for fuss, so I settled for soft pretzels.
I rang for Percy and he was happy to see to my needs. “How many, madam?”
“Six should be good.”
“I’m sorry, did you say six?”
“I had a light lunch and I like to have leftovers.”
He made no further comment and returned a while later with my food. I couldn’t figure out the hotel remote, so I took my pretzels and iPad to the master bedroom and climbed into bed.
Glancing out at the glowing skyline as lights flicked on across the city, I noted how romantic everything looked from a distance. But without Hale to share such a view the reality just seemed covered in slush and pigeon shit. New York definitely hit differently with a buddy system. At the moment I was in a buddy recession.
I was also in need of sleep, because even I was getting on my nerves. Setting the iPad on what would have been Hale’s side of the bed, I shut my eyes and let Phoebe, Monica, and Chandler talk me to sleep.
Poor Chandler…
When I next opened my eyes, the screen was asking if I wanted to continue watching and the sky had faded from sapphire to pitch black. Realizing I was still in New York and estranged from my people, I flopped onto my back and groaned. Napping had not improved my mood. I knew then, I wanted to go home.
Reaching for my phone, I dug out another pretzel and called Hale. He answered on the second ring and, for once, we had a decent connection with no echo.
“Hey, beautiful.” He seemed to be handling this long-distance crap way better than me. “How’s it going?”