Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 81176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Grinning, I asked, “All good things I hope.”
Clare let out a small groan.
Ron looked at Mandy, me, then back to Wes. “I guess so. I thought you lived in New York?”
“No, I moved back to Boston a year ago. Mandy didn’t tell you we ran into each other one night at a bar in town?”
If looks could kill, I would have been dead on the spot. Mandy was shooting me daggers.
Ron looked at Mandy. “No. She didn’t.”
“It was a long time ago, and I was with friends when I bumped into him.”
“Right, we…bumped…into each other.”
Clare grabbed my arm. “Wes, dear…est…we really need to be going. It was a pleasure meeting you both.”
She started to walk back toward the car when I stopped her. “Clare, hunny bunny, my coffee and your tea.”
Now it was Clare’s turn to shoot daggers at me. “Right. I forgot.”
I opened the door to the coffee shop and motioned for Clare to go in, then Mandy. Ron forced himself to smile at me as he followed Mandy in. Clare had stepped to the side so that Mandy and Ron could order first.
“What the fuck was that?” she hissed. “Your girlfriend? And hunny bunny? Seriously?”
Smiling, I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her closer to me when Mandy glanced over her shoulder. “You didn’t see the way she looked at you when she walked up. She was jealous.”
Clare stared at me like I’d grown two heads. With her voice lowered she asked, “What fantasy world are you living in, Wes? She did no such thing. And what was all that…we bumped into each other one night?”
I shrugged. “We did. We bumped uglies.”
“Ugh,” she softly said as she reached to the side and pushed my hand away. “You are so gross. I can’t believe I even let you kiss me last night.”
Lowering my voice more, I said, “Ha! You lied earlier.”
Her face turned so red it was almost kind of cute.
“You knew it wasn’t a dream?”
“Of course I did.”
“Why did you lie then?”
I shrugged.
When Mandy and Ron were finished ordering and turned to face us, I drew Clare against me, put my finger on her chin and kissed her. I thought for sure she would pull away, instead, when I swept my tongue over her lower lip, she opened to me. The kiss was slow at first, then grew a bit more, and I swore I forgot everything and everyone around us. A voice cleared from behind us, and we both slowly drew apart and turned to see an older woman smiling.
“Young love. I remember those days. But you’re up next, so stop sucking face and go order, will you?”
Clare blushed and quickly made her way up to the counter where she ordered a chai tea Frappuccino. I ordered an americano.
After paying, I noticed Mandy and Ron standing off to the side whispering and smiling with one another. Clare was standing as far from them as she could, chewing on her thumb nail.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
She looked at me and let out a humorless laugh. “Are you daft? That’s twice you’ve kissed me. Why?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Seemed like a good thing to do at the time. And it’s part of our plan.”
Her mouth opened and a squeak of some sort slipped free. “A good thing at the time? And what plan? I told you I wasn’t having any part of that plan of yours.”
“Yeah. Last night you looked like you wanted to be kissed. So, I kissed you.”
Holding up her hand, she waggled her index finger at me. “Ohhh, no, sir. You said you wanted to kiss me, then you did. I had nothing to do with it. Then you insulted me.”
“Did I? I don’t remember that part.”
“Of course you don’t,” she replied as she rolled her eyes. “And what made this kiss necessary?”
I leaned in closer. “To make Mandy jealous.”
Something like hurt moved across her face, and I instantly wanted to take the words back when she averted her gaze.
“So it meant…nothing?” she asked so softly I could hardly hear her.
A part of me wanted to tell her that it had. That I had never experienced a kiss like that before, not even with Mandy. But I didn’t say that. The next words out of my mouth were cruel and were only meant to drive her away.
“Not for me. It didn’t for you, did it?”
She shook her. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
I pushed down the sudden feeling of nausea and glanced over to Mandy and Ron. His name was called, so he walked up to the counter. Meanwhile, Mandy made her way over to me and Clare. I could almost feel the energy coming off Clare. I reached down and took her hand, giving it a light squeeze. When she didn’t pull it away, the sense of relief nearly knocked me over.