Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 99949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Just like I could taste the salt of his tears.
“Please, Lincoln,” Theo whispered, his mouth just millimeters from mine.
I nodded because I knew I had no choice. I wanted to give him what he needed, and for whatever reason, he needed to not hear that word in relation to himself and who he was.
Theo reached up to turn off all the showerheads except the rain shower one, which made it easier to hear each other. His hand came back down to clasp my cheek so that he was once again holding my face.
“I think you are the most amazing, beautiful, sweet, kind, intelligent man I’ve ever met,” Theo began. His right finger ran back and forth over my cheekbone. He was staring at it like he was lost in thought. I remained silent because I instinctively knew this would be a pivotal moment in our relationship.
“What you did for your brother was the most selfless act and I wish I could have been there with you… for you. Please don’t think for one second that the way I acted when I ran had anything to do with what you told me. It breaks my heart to know what you and especially Rabbit went through, but I think it’s like he said—he’ll always be with you.”
I hadn’t been expecting his words to be about me, so it was hard for me to hang on to my composure. Theo seemed to know what I was going through because he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. “He’d be so proud of you, Lincoln. He is proud of you.”
I could feel the backs of my eyes stinging again but I knew I didn’t have any tears left in me, so I just wrapped myself around Theo and held on to him. I had my head pressed against his chest, which left him slightly taller than me. He used that fact to his advantage and ran his fingers through my hair repeatedly, stopping only long enough to press the occasional kiss to my forehead.
When the water temperature began to slowly drop, I straightened, putting Theo and myself back at eye level. “Tell me what you need,” I said again.
I could see in his eyes that he knew I’d accepted his request to not call him strong again, but I had to give him something.
He held my gaze for a long time before saying, “I’m leaving in a couple of weeks. I haven’t told Ford yet and I don’t plan to until it’s closer to that day because I know he’ll try to stop me.”
I fully expected him to ask me to help him keep that secret and keep a low profile until he left, but he surprised me again when he said, “I know you won’t tell him I’m leaving just like I know you won’t try to stop me. What I need is for you to help me remember the two weeks so I can take them with me. I don’t want to hide in this house that whole time. I’ve lived in the city for so long, I just want to…”
Since he seemed at a loss for words, I supplied them for him. “Breathe again.”
Theo’s smile helped dull the knowledge that I only had fourteen more days with him. Even though my plan had always been to move on after making sure Walter’s family was equipped to take care of him themselves, the idea of Theo not staying in Pelican Bay just felt wrong.
“Yeah, breathe again,” he repeated. “I’d like to go see my old house and I want to go to the library to see if I can get a temporary library card. I… I miss reading.”
“I have a card,” I said. “I prefer books to television.”
Theo smiled yet again and it felt like I’d won the fucking lottery. “And more of this… I want more of this,” he murmured as his eyes softened.
“What? Sitting fully clothed in the shower?” I asked.
He laughed and gave me a light shove.
Yeah, he fucking laughed. I was in heaven.
“I mean more of this, the talking… about the little stuff.” Theo fell silent for a moment, once again lost in thought. His eyes finally lifted to meet mine again. “I want us to be friends, Lincoln. I… I haven’t had any of those in a really long time.”
“Done.” I nodded without hesitation.
Theo bit into his lower lip briefly. “But you can’t touch me again. Not like last night, not like—”
“Friends without benefits,” I interrupted.
“It’s not about you, Lincoln. You make me feel things that I’ve never…” He fell silent for a moment. “That I’ve never felt before, not even with Ford when we were kids. But I’m not like other guys. I thought with you it might be different, but last night…”
He was becoming so flustered that I feared he’d back out of the whole being friends thing.