Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 25958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 87(@300wpm)
I grabbed all the toppings I wanted for the ice cream and put them on the counter. After grabbing the biggest bowl I could find, I told myself to screw any guilt for all the junk I was about to consume tonight.
A flush stole over me, and I knew it was thanks to the scotch.
I didn’t know how long I stood there, but it was long enough that the pizza was done and I felt nice and warm and a little tingly from the alcohol.
Twenty minutes later and I was sitting on the couch, a rom-com playing on the TV that I’d seen a hundred times before, but still I couldn’t focus. The alcohol made a steady way through my veins, and I was feeling nice and loose, really relaxed but not drunk.
I took my plate to the sink, rinsed it off, and grabbed a big glass of water. After guzzling two glasses, I was about to get the ice cream going when I saw a flash of headlights come through the kitchen window. Maybe Aiden decided to come home early?
But I wasn’t so sure about that. My brother liked to party and drink, especially when he was hanging out with his friends at a frat party. I supposed that’s where the two of us differed the most. He was an extrovert, and I was… not.
And then before I could pull the curtain aside and see if it was him, there were two hard knocks at the front door. My heart jumped in my throat, and I turned to face the entryway that led to the foyer. I couldn’t see the front door, but a hundred scenarios moved through my mind. I thought back to all those horror movies I watched, all the serial killer shows and documentaries, even the suspense book I read just last week.
And then I told myself I was being ridiculous. It wasn’t even ten at night. And I was sure a serial killer wouldn’t knock on my front door.
I dried my hands off and headed in that direction just as there was another hard rap on the wood. I rose up on my toes, bracing my palms on the smooth, cold wood, and looked out the little peephole. The air left me in relief and a whole lot of excitement when I saw Mal standing on the other side.
He held a couple of books in his hand, and I stepped back and unlocked the door, pulling it open. My cheeks felt hot, and it had nothing to do with the shot I’d taken and everything to do with the larger-than-life guy who stood on my doorstep.
He was so tall and big, muscular, with wide shoulders, defined, bulging biceps, and every other masculine attribute that turned me on in only the way he could. I didn’t know what it was about him. There was an abundance of guys at school who were attractive, but they never made my heart race, never had me even feeling a smidgen of arousal.
Mal was the only one who ever had those feelings inside me rising up violently.
“Hey,” he said in a deep, husky voice.
I swallowed and licked my lips, suddenly feeling the burn of that alcohol take place in my throat again. “Hi,” I responded shakily.
He held up the two books in his hand. They were thick college textbooks. “I was in the neighborhood and had these for Aiden. Figured I could drop them off.”
It took me just a second to let his words sink in. He was in the neighborhood? Mal’s place was in the opposite direction, and I couldn’t think of anywhere he’d be at this hour that would have him remotely close to my house. But I wasn’t going to think too hard on it. It didn’t matter one way or the other. I liked that he was standing on the doorstep, probably a little too much.
“Thanks. He’s not home, but I’ll make sure he gets them tomorrow when I see him." I reached out, and he handed me the books. They were thick and hefty and felt substantial in my hand. And then we stood there and didn’t speak, both of us staring at the other, my face feeling hotter the longer I stared at him. “Okay," I said softly, mainly to break up the silence that seemed to grow between us. “I...." He tightened his jaw, and I stopped what I was about to say. That simple act shouldn’t have turned me on the way it just had.
And the truth was, I felt a little bolder, a little more easygoing with how I felt for Mal and being around him, all thanks to that shot.
And I had a feeling that what I was about to do might very well be a bad idea, but I was going to go through with it anyway.