Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 95080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 317(@300wpm)
Kevin scowled. “I was a little, to be honest.”
Matt laughed out loud. “That man is such a prick,” he shouted, reaching out for my good left hand. “I finally have the perfect excuse to get out of work, and there’s nothing he can fuckin’ do about it!”
I was chuckling. Matt was giddy and cackling. And while I was not the kind of person who normally categorized people as assholes, his boss really was awful. The undermining and put-downs were the absolute worst. He needed a new job, like, yesterday. The good news was, he and his dear friend Jasmine Baylor were working on opening their own business; they just needed a bit more time.
“What do you two do?” the doctor asked us.
“I’m an event coordinator,” Matt told him. “Currently at Grant Chessman.”
“And you?” His voice was like velvet.
“I’m a bookkeeper at an import-export company,” I answered, and I realized suddenly that I was really thirsty. “Hey, Kev, can I have some water?”
“You could have some ice chips.”
“Why can’t I have water?”
“Why can’t he have water?” Matt asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
They exchanged looks then, the doctor and the fireman, and for the first time I felt a twinge of worry.
“Guys?”
“It’s in case we have to operate on ya,” the doctor answered me softly, his tone designed to comfort me, which it did.
“That’s direct and to the point,” Matt said matter-of-factly, trying to sound brave, but I could hear the fear in his voice. “Now you two need to go away so I can finish telling my friend about my hot date tonight.”
The fireman smiled and rose from his crouching position next to the window, but the doctor didn’t move.
“He’s serious,” I told the doctor. “He can get a bit graphic. Might make ya blush.”
“Can I take a quick look at you first?”
“Go ahead,” I said, trying to shift in my seat so I could get my wrist free to show him. “Look at me.”
He leaned into the car, and it was only at that moment that I realized the door lock was upside down. I was not in my seat; I was sitting on the roof of the car. The dome light was in the crack of my ass, my head was next to a hanging seat belt, and the reason I couldn’t get out was because most of the trunk was beside me.
“Is our friend Sara okay?” I asked. “She was sitting right here beside me.”
“It’s truly a miracle, but she is indeed all right. Only you and your friend here are looking to have sustained some serious injuries.”
“How serious?” I heard the edge in my voice.
“Well…” he began, giving me a small smile, and for the second time I noticed his warm eyes, a gorgeous dark indigo, almost violet. They seemed to sparkle when he smiled. “I think you probably have a concussion, and you”—he indicated Matt with a jerk of his head—“you’ve probably got a concussion as well. You’re both experiencing some shock.”
“We’re so not in shock,” I choked out. “This is us all the time.”
Matt laughed then, and I dissolved into a fit of giggling.
The doctor smiled at us again, then left.
“Oh, he’s a dish,” Matt said as soon as the doctor was out of earshot.
“He’s from Georgia. He’s a peach.”
Matt rolled his eyes and resumed telling me all the intimate details of the sportscaster’s anatomy that he had discovered thus far. The first date had been good; the second was sure to be better.
We were not alone long before the doctor reappeared at my door.
“Let’s talk a little,” he said to me.
“Okay. What would you like to know, Doc?”
“Names would be good for starters,” he said, really looking at me, into my eyes.
“Well, my name’s Tracy.” I yawned. “Tracy Brandt, and this is my dear friend Matthew Sato.”
“Pleased to meet you both,” he said, and I noticed how he couldn’t seem to stop staring at me. “My name’s Breck Alcott.”
“Breck?” Matt asked. “Is that short for something?”
“Breckin.”
“Breckin? Are you kidding? What kinda name is that?”
“Manners,” I scolded him.
Matt groaned loudly.
“Listen,” the doctor began. “I—”
“For the record, I think Breckin’s a fabulous name.”
“Oh dear God, stop this shameful display of flirtation,” Matt teased me.
“That’s good,” Breckin said. “Now, I want to tell you both what’s going on out here.”
The upshot was that the doors were holding up the car. If they moved the doors to get us out, the car would basically cave in on itself with us inside, and we’d be flattened like pancakes.
“That’s a bummer,” I said to Matt, who nodded his agreement.
Breckin shook his head at us. “Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to raise the car up off the ground and pull Matt out first. You, Tracy, are wedged in pretty tight, but Matt we think will come out easy.”
And I did in fact have metal cocooned around me. Funny that I hadn’t really noticed until he mentioned it. My arms were free, but that was about it.