Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106806 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
“I’m not a great sleeper.” Understatement of the century.
I settle back to study her. I was right. She looks a hell of a lot more sober now. Her hazel eyes are clearer, and she rubs them as she looks around the diner, leaving smudges of eye makeup behind.
“Feeling a little better?”
She huffs then bites her bottom lip. “I’m not a great drinker.”
“I noticed.”
“Two coffees,” Cindy says, sliding the mugs on the table. “Any cream?”
“Yes, please,” Savvy says.
Cindy scoops a handful of individual creamers from her apron and dumps them on the table between our mugs before turning her full attention on Savvy. “We don’t have a cook back there this time of night, so we’re on a limited menu while I pull double duty, but I’ll whip up some pancakes for a friend of Oliver.”
“That’s so sweet,” Savvy says, “but you don’t have to.”
“Pancakes sound great, Cindy,” I say. Savvy might be on her way to sobriety, but she should eat something if she wants a better chance at not hating life in the morning.
“Got it.” Cindy studies Savvy for a beat, smiling. “Well, you’re certainly pretty enough to explain the sudden change in his behavior.”
Savvy’s brow wrinkles. “I’m sorry?”
“I usually come here alone,” I say before Cindy can launch into her favorite speech about how I need a “good girl” in my life.
“We’re just friends,” Savvy offers.
“Mm-hmm,” Cindy says before walking away.
I bite back a smile.
Savvy snatches a creamer off the table and dumps it into her coffee. “Are you laughing at me?”
“What? I would never. I’m glad to know I’ve made a new friend.”
She squeezes her eyes shut. “I said something to you, didn’t I? Something incriminating?”
“Not unless being the sex-deprived girlfriend of an asshole and wanting me to help make him think you cheated on him would be considered incriminating.”
She drags a hand over her face. “Why do people like getting drunk? I enjoy drinking, don’t get me wrong, but drunk is just stupid.”
I nod. “Usually.”
She chews on her bottom lip. “I’m sorry about earlier. Your girlfriend probably—”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
She arches a brow. “Right. What a stud. Am I supposed to be impressed that you can get head anywhere you go?”
I cough out a laugh. “I didn’t say that, but I’m flattered that you think so.”
She scrapes her gaze down my chest and slowly back up to my face. My shirt is buttoned now, but it’s all too easy to remember how she looked at me when it wasn’t. “Yeah, well, I’m drunk, not blind.”
Not completely sober, then. Or maybe she’s always this forward.
“Does your boyfriend know you talk about your sex life with complete strangers?”
She wrinkles her nose, and—Christ. I can handle the tight jeans and great ass. But she’s not just hot. She’s cute. I never realized the combination was my kryptonite.
“I would worry about that, but since there are no details to share . . .” She shrugs.
“You should talk to him about that. Communication is important.” Honestly, though? I’m not sure Chuck Kruger knows how to communicate without his fists.
She shakes her head. “It’s so dumb, but I’m not supposed to complain about his tactics because I don’t know what it’s like to be a dude.” She says the last part in a mocking, low, dude-bro voice.
“Well, I happen to know a little bit about it if you want to bounce anything off me.”
Sighing, she stares into her coffee and shakes her head. “Nah. I’ve said too much already.”
“Ah, so it was the booze making you overshare.”
She lifts her gaze to meet mine for a beat before dropping it back to her coffee and shrugging.
“Okay, let me guess, then. He believes he’s more powerful and aggressive going into a fight if he deprives himself of sex and orgasms beforehand?”
She wrinkles her nose again. “So this is a normal thing?”
I bark out a laugh and lean back in the booth. “I don’t know if I’d call it normal, but I’ve definitely heard of it before.” I’ve heard of it a lot among fighters, but I’ve never been a believer myself. Chuck’s probably feeling cocky as hell if his girlfriend is bent out of shape over a few days without sex. “But I’m sorry you’re, er, suffering. For what it’s worth.”
She sips her coffee and scans the diner. The place was built in the ‘80s and is pretty run-down. I’m pretty sure the booths are original, and the linoleum floors have seen better days, but it’s clean and—most importantly—open during hours when nothing else decent on this godforsaken campus is.
Savvy’s avoiding my gaze, and I take advantage of the opportunity to look at her. I admire the smooth skin of her neck and the freckles on her bare shoulders. This girl definitely does it for me, and that’s a problem. Despite our unconventional meeting, I would put money on her being a relationship kind of girl, and I’m not a relationship kind of guy. There are some mistakes you only make once.