Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 282(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 282(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
It’s his turn to be surprised. “What? You’ve never had a boyfriend?”
I let my head drop down and try not to let the embarrassment swallow me up. “It’s hard when I don’t enjoy being touched by anyone… it just makes it difficult, ya know.”
He swallows, hard. “Right… uh, so no one has touched you?”
Without blinking, I stare at him and lick my lips before I answer. “Uh, in high school, I kissed a boy, but no, other than that, I haven’t been touched. I don’t even let people hug me, King.”
He nods, and his breathing has picked up. “Right.” He stands up suddenly. “Well, I think that’s enough for today.”
“Oh… right. You’re right. Thanks for staying later with me.”
He nods, and I walk over to the door, stopping before opening it. “Thank you, King. I know it sounds crazy, but this was good… this helped me.”
He searches my eyes, nodding his head. “When will I see you again?”
“Oh… uh, will Victor be back next week? Or are you stuck with me now?”
He puts his hand to his chest. “I’d like to keep seeing you if that’s okay.”
I can’t stop the smile that forms on my face. This is not a date. This is not a date, I keep repeating to myself. “I would like that,” I answer him truthfully.
He brings his hand up, and I’m surprised to see he’s giving me the orange slices. “Take them. They’re for you.”
I grab the bag with my left hand, and for the first time ever, I initiate contact and hold out my right hand for him to shake. His eyebrows lift, but he doesn’t hesitate. His hand is huge, and he wraps it around mine with ease. I try to commit to memory the feel and the heat of his skin. It feels good, and before I’m ready, he releases his hold on me and asks me gruffly. “When? When can you come again?”
I tilt my head to look up at him. “Victor said twice a week… so I guess next week. I can be here Tuesday.”
He nods. “Pick a time.”
I look around the room, expecting him to write it in a schedule book or something, but he doesn’t reach for one. He doesn’t even reach for his phone to put it in. “Uh, I don’t know… can you do four?”
“I’ll see you Tuesday at four.”
I nod, and as I turn to leave, King starts to move with me. I walk into the hallway, and he joins me. Another two steps, and he’s right beside me. I laugh. “Where are you going?”
“I’m walking you to your car.”
I stop and shake my head. “You don’t have to do that.”
He reaches for me and then rethinks it, dropping his hands to his side. “I’d like to know you make it to your car safely. I mean, if that’s okay with you.”
I try to hide my smile as we walk side by side through the hotel and outside to where I’m parked. The whole way, I’m reminding myself, This is not a date.
6
KING
I’ve been counting down the days and minutes until I get to see Haven again. I’ve stalked her on social media, researched everything I can find on her, and now I’m pacing back and forth, waiting for her to arrive at her appointment.
As soon as there’s a knock on the door, I stride across the room and rip the door open with more force than I should. She jumps at the sudden movement of it, but she’s smiling nonetheless.
“Hi,” she says with a pretty blush on her cheeks.
It takes everything in me not to reach for her. “Hello, Haven. Come on in.”
As she walks in, the server from the hotel restaurant is finishing setting up, and she stands next to the table that is filled with an arrangement of lunch items. “Everything is set up, Mr.—”
I cut her off. “Thank you, Janice. I appreciate you setting things up. We’ll let you know if we need anything else.”
I pull a hundred dollar bill from my wallet and hand it to her. “Thank you.”
She nods, looks at a surprised Haven, and then walks out the door.
“I ordered food. I didn’t get to eat lunch, and I thought we could eat while we talked.”
“Uh…” She starts staring between me and the table.
I know I’ve overstepped and this whole thing is unorthodox, but I also know from her social media that she had a shoot today, and she probably missed lunch. I hold my hands up. “No pressure. I saw you had a shoot today and I wasn’t sure if you had time to eat.”
Her eyes widen in astonishment. “You know I had a shoot today?”
Shit. That doesn’t sound appropriate at all coming from what is supposed to be her therapist. “Yeah, I saw it on your social media.”