Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 68987 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68987 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
“Did you fucking call me Dracula, by the way?” I snorted. “That’s a new one. I know I like horror movies, and I always had a soft spot for Buffy, but I’m not a vampire.”
“You wear dark clothes, and you charm and seduce everyone around you,” Jax said. “What’s wrong with Dracula? He’s cool.”
“I think I’m more of an Edward from Twilight type vampire than Dracula, anyway,” I said.
“Brooding, wise, and actually a really kind person deep down in your heart?” Jax said. “It checks out.”
Heat bloomed in my chest, radiating all the way up toward my neck. Now it was my turn to squirm from his compliments. I sure as hell didn’t think I was wise—more like a fool in love, ever since I’d been old enough to get a crush on anyone.
But I still liked hearing him say it.
“I hate you,” I told him, unable to keep a smile from my face.
He dropped his jaw in mock horror, but I saw a slight smile appear at one corner of his mouth, too. “I call you hot and you tell me you hate me?”
This was my curse. I had the hottest guy in Colorado telling me I was attractive, and of course, he was completely unavailable to me. All for the better, though, given my track record. I needed to stay the fuck away from any real attempts at dating for a very, very long time. A little harmless banter with a bartender was better than falling for someone else and fucking things up for the hundredth time.
“Yeah, because I do hate you,” I said simply. “Because you’re too perfect.”
Jax snorted a laugh. I loved messing with him like this, and he was usually so polite and shy with most of the other bar customers that I’d made it my mission to fuck with him until he laughed his ass off, every time I came in.
He seemed to really like it, too. Over time, he’d opened up to me, shedding his shell and getting less shy, messing with me just as much.
“Asshole,” he said playfully.
“I hate you because you’re apparently the only person who thinks I’m hot, and the difference is that you’re never the one who ends up in bed with me at night.”
“You’re even crazier than I thought if you think people don’t find you hot.”
“Okay, fine. They think I’m hot, then when they actually date me, they run for the hills at the first mention of commitment. It feels like no one wants a real relationship anymore. Just endless hookups and maybes and unanswered text messages.”
He rolled his eyes. “Well, you’ve dated a lot of pricks, as far as I can tell.”
I wished I could argue with that. I rubbed my thumb over a knot on the bar top, trying not to think about the text from Jim I’d gotten earlier. Jim had been the only one of my exes to ever say he wanted to marry me one day—and then he’d broken that trust, over and over, cheating on me more than once and always going back on his word.
“Thank you for calling me hot, Jax,” I finally said, pushing the thoughts of Jim out of my mind. Even thinking about my most recent breakup was easier than thinking about him.
Jax bit his lower lip gently, giving me a nod. “Anytime,” he told me, his gaze so casually sexy it almost hurt. “But I can tell something’s still on your mind.”
Fucker. He was too good at reading me. Or maybe I was just terrible at hiding my feelings.
“I got dumped today,” I admitted.
“Shit,” Jax said. “That guy you came in with last week?”
I nodded. “His name was Kitt. We’re over, apparently. We were supposed to go to a pumpkin patch in a couple weeks.”
“Pumpkin patch date?” Jax said. “Romantic. That’s gotta be like second base, these days.”
“Exactly. Sex, then a pumpkin patch date, then a cozy fall day in bed together.”
Jax whistled. “What’s a home run?”
I shook my head. “Getting broken up with, apparently. If you’re me.”
He bit the inside of his cheek. “I’m sorry.”
Shame flooded through me when I saw the sympathetic look on Jax’s face. I suddenly felt like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs. How many more times was I going to bring guys here to the brewery, introducing them to everyone, and thinking they’d finally be the one? It was getting embarrassing how often I had to tell my friends more bad news, yet again.
“It’s no big deal,” I said, waving a hand.
“Still. I’m so sorry,” Jax said. I knew he meant it genuinely. Luckily, he didn’t seem to judge me. I wasn’t even sure if Jax was capable of being judgy—over time I’d learned he was one of the most open-minded people I’d ever met. “What can I make you? Citrusy drink? Maybe something with berries? Or are you in a spicier, ginger-ish kind of mood?”