Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
After finishing my errands, I stop by this little café down the street from Metropolis. I order two salads to go, dressing on the side, and then make it back to my condo in time to change into my workout clothes before there’s a knock on my door.
I pull it open to see Gary, looking like the all-American boy-next-door, with his sandy-blond hair, shorts, and a polo shirt. I don’t know why in the hell I think it’s so fucking cute, but I do.
“Hey, Hot Ass. It’s good to see you.” I lean toward him and take a taste of his mouth. Just tease him a little with my tongue to earn one of his sounds. He’s holding back. I feel it in the press of his lips. Who are you hiding in there, boy?
Once we part, Gary steps inside. “Can you just please not call me Hot Ass?”
“No.” I close the door behind him.
“Why not?” He shakes his head like he doesn’t understand me, and it makes me smile. “No one is going to believe that. You’re going overboard.”
Huh. That’s interesting. “Why wouldn’t anyone believe it?”
He cocks his head and lifts a brow like I just asked the stupidest question in the world.
Does he really not see it? “You have a hot ass, Gary. Own that shit.” I nod toward the bar. “Sit.”
He takes two steps…then stops. “I’m not a dog.”
“So, no puppy play for you? Got it. Glad we’re getting the parameters of our relationship set up now.”
“Oh my God. I can’t do this. I changed my mind.” He moves toward the door again, but I reach out and grab his wrist.
“Nope. You already agreed. Plus, it was a joke. You know, ha-ha. Not that I would be averse to playing around. I’ll try anything once. Will you?”
His blue eyes blow wide and his arm goes stiff. “What…I…are you…”
A laugh jumps out of my mouth, one I’m unable to hold back, and then Gary jerks his arm away and says, “I fucking hate you.”
“Is this our first fight?”
He sighs, and I have a feeling I’m exhausting him. I don’t know why I enjoy that thought. It’s fun messing with him. I like getting under his skin.
“Fine, whatever. But no one was in the hallway. You didn’t have to kiss me.”
“Kissing is an underrated activity. I like to kiss, and by the way, you nearly lose it every time I kiss you. I think you like it, too. Nothing wrong with a little practice so we make it realistic when we’re around people. Sit,” I tell him and nod toward the bar again. He opens his mouth, making it obvious he’s going to refuse me, so I add, “I got you a salad. Have you eaten?”
Something flashes in his eyes, an emotion I can’t read. “You got me a salad?” he asks as though he’s surprised I thought of him. That doesn’t make me real confident on how well Peter treated him. By the sound of it, I’m a better fake boyfriend than he was a real one.
“Yes. It’s just a salad, but if you don’t sit and eat the fucking thing, I’m going to get my feelings hurt.” I walk over to one of the bar stools and sit down. Gary pauses before he walks over and takes a seat beside me.
We eat in silence for a few minutes. When I can’t take it anymore, I tell him, “Now, as soon as I get a date from Steven, I’ll let you know. And for your part, to really fuck with Peter’s head, I think we need to be seen together—gym, coming and going from each other’s condos, shit like that. It would be beneficial if you didn’t do that initial freeze-up when I first kiss you and just go straight into the part where you kiss me like you want to rip my clothes off and mount me.”
Gary coughs, following it with a pat to his chest before coughing again.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Lettuce.” He says before coughing again. I grab my bottle of water and hand it to him, and he swallows half of it down.
“You gonna live?”
“I don’t kiss you like I want to mount you!”
Deciding to have a little fun with him, I lean close. “Oh yeah, Hot Ass, you do. Lips don’t lie, and neither do dicks. Let’s not pretend you weren’t hard as stone when I had you against that wall.”
He looks at me out of the corner of his eye like he’s trying to be annoyed with me, but damned if I don’t see him trying to bite back a smile. “And you weren’t?”
“Never denied it.” I wink at him. “Now finish your salad because we’re going to the gym.” I could use a little weight time to keep my mind off my family. It’s going to be that or fucking.