Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 217988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1090(@200wpm)___ 872(@250wpm)___ 727(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217988 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1090(@200wpm)___ 872(@250wpm)___ 727(@300wpm)
She tightened her hold on him, the only sign that she was listening.
He let out a humorless bark of laughter. “She said she thought I was gay. That she’d never thought of me that way. More fool me, huh? I didn’t even try to explain that I was interested in both guys and girls. Truth is, I was in a bit of denial about being attracted to men. It was confusing to me that I could be interested in both sexes. After that, I retreated into myself. Pulled out of any clubs I’d been in, drew away from my friends. I was already a weirdo in her eyes. The nerd who thought he was good enough for the cheerleader.”
She drew her face back from his chest, glaring up at him. Her face was blotchy, she looked terrible. Pale, with red marks on her cheeks.
She really wasn’t a pretty crier. Not that he’d tell her that. He wasn’t trying to get the idiot of the year trophy. “Don’t call yourself that.”
“What? A weirdo? Or a nerd?”
“Both.”
“That’s sweet. But I am a nerd.”
“A sexy, gorgeous nerd,” she told him. Then she bit her lip as though she seemed to realize what she’d said. Did she mean it?
“You find me sexy?”
She nodded.
“Maybe you need glasses,” he said with a laugh.
“Brody,” she scolded. “Don’t do that. Don’t laugh off a compliment. Not when I was telling the truth.”
Fuck. She was right.
And he’d made her feel bad again.
He let out a deep breath. “I’m really on a winning streak today, aren’t I? I’m sorry, sweetie. I like that you see me as sexy. I don’t know why you do, but I like it. And I like you. A lot.”
She stared up at him.
And he had to work hard not to fidget or keep rambling on. He was worried he might mess up and say the wrong thing again.
“I like you too.”
He froze. Even though he’d been hoping she’d say that, he hadn’t dared to think about what might happen if she did.
“You do?”
“Yes. Ever since we met, I’ve felt this pull toward you. And I feel so happy around you. Relaxed. You know I don’t deal well with people. But with you . . . it’s different. I like your silly T-shirts, your terrible jokes. That you don’t tell me I’m stupid when I can’t cope with things that come easily to other people, like going to the grocery store. And that you don’t push me. Although . . .”
“Although what?”
“I was starting to wonder if you felt the same. You’ve never made a move on me.”
“Because I was scared of losing you. And I nearly did by lying to you just now. I was jealous. Because I like you and want to be in your life. As your friend, your boyfriend, maybe your playmate.”
She blushed, looking shy. “Playmate?”
Autumn couldn’t believe she was sitting on Brody’s lap. This was something she’d been dreaming about for the past couple of months. That he might reciprocate her feelings. Even if in the beginning, she’d been scared of those feelings.
To open up.
To trust again.
And not really because of the kidnapping. But because of Brad.
“You know I’m a Little?”
He pushed his glasses up his nose. “I didn’t mean to pry or anything. I just, well, we’re good friends and I’ve been here a number of times, and one day I used the bathroom and I saw . . .”
He trailed off.
Horror filled her. What? What had he seen?
Oh God.
A number of different scenarios ran through her mind. Each more embarrassing than the other.
“What? What did you see?”
“Your pacifier.” He stared down at her in surprise. “Why? What did you think I meant?”
“Oh, whew.” She placed her hand over her chest, trying to calm herself. She really needed a drink.
Yep, a huge iced coffee was definitely called for.
His gaze narrowed. “Okay, now I need to know what you thought I’d seen.”
Uh-oh.
What was she going to tell him?
“That was it. Just my pacifier. Uh-huh.”
“I know when you’re lying to me, Tutu. Tell me. We need to be honest with each other. I don’t think we’ve done that very well up until now.” He ran his fingers through his hair, making it stick up on end.
Damn, he was so adorable.
How had he ever thought she wouldn’t want him? That he wasn’t gorgeous?
“I guess you’re right. But this is . . . it’s private.”
He gave her a confused look.
Please, don’t ask me anymore.
Red filled his cheeks. “Oh. Oh, right, I, um, right. Sure.”
And now her cheeks probably matched his. She placed her palms on them, trying to cool them down.
“Sorry,” he whispered.
“You don’t have anything to be sorry about. I . . . I can’t believe I’m embarrassed at the possibility of you seeing one of my sex toys. That’s silly, right?”
“Right, silly.”
“It’s just a sex toy, lots of people have them. Although mine might be defective. I thought about asking for my money back, but apparently, you can’t return sex toys once you’ve already used them. Who knew? Maybe I should open up a website for used sex toys. I mean, you get bored of only the same ones after a while, right? Seems a shame to just throw them out. Do you think there’d be a market for that?”