Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 147021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 735(@200wpm)___ 588(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 735(@200wpm)___ 588(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
I skim the back of his hand and trail the length of his arm. “Please, please.” I don’t know what I’m asking for, but I need something. I can’t get enough of the pull of his lips, the gentle way he holds my face and yet commands my mouth with his.
I slide closer, leg pressing against his. I feel electrified, desperate for touch. For him to relieve this maddening, overwhelming throb that amplifies with every masterful stroke of tongue and nip of teeth. I’m seconds away from climbing into his lap.
And then suddenly his lips aren’t on mine anymore.
My eyes open, and his expression makes my stomach drop. Lust and longing are still very much present, but the guilt is an anvil to my hummingbird heart.
“Fuck.” His gaze moves to the side. “That was not—”
“It’s okay, Hollis. We’re not doing anything wrong.” It doesn’t matter if I’m right, that we’re both adults who can make adult decisions. We’re reading from the same book, but we’re on different pages. He still sees me as his best friend’s daughter, and I see him as the man whose bed and heart I want to be invited into.
“That was a mistake, Aurora.” He pulls himself out of the water. “We can’t happen. Not ever.”
I desperately want to find a way to fix this, but as I take in his wet, tense form, and the very impressive erection tenting the front of his swim trunks, I already know I can’t.
Worse though, is that any questions I had about my feelings for Hollis have been put to rest. I can’t pinpoint how long I’ve felt this way, but the horrible, paralyzing pain in my chest confirms it. I’m in love with him.
I sit in the hot tub for several minutes after he’s gone, trying to process what happened. It started as the best kiss of my life and ended as the worst. Not because of the kiss, but because of the way Hollis looked like he’d already stepped in a steaming pile of regrets within seconds of it ending.
CHAPTER 11
HAMMER
Ipry my eyes open at the sound of my alarm. They feel like they have sand in them from all the crying. I woke more than once last night in tears. I cringe when I get a load of my reflection in the mirror. My eyes are ridiculously puffy. In my dreams, Hollis got back together with Scarlet, and he kept kissing her in front of me.
That had better not be a premonition.
Rix has already left for work, so I drag my ass into the shower. It doesn’t help with the puffiness. While I’m lying on the couch with tea bags on my eyes—the online recommendation to alleviate my issue—my dad lets himself into my apartment. It’s a bad habit of his.
“Hey, kiddo, what are you doing?”
Shit. I can’t tell him I spent last night crying over his best friend. I scramble for a plausible lie. I remove one tea bag and blink him into focus.
Dad frowns. “Are you okay? Did something happen? You’ve been crying.”
“I’m fine,” I croak. I’m a terrible liar. “I went on a The Way We Weren’t rewatch kick, and you know how emotional that show makes me.”
“Oh, yeah. You scared me for a second there. I thought I was going to have to kick someone’s ass.”
Just your best friend’s because he called kissing me a mistake. “No. No asses need to be kicked, Dad.”
“Okay. That’s good. I was thinking we could order Thai for dinner tonight from your favorite place. Does that sound good?”
“Yeah. Sure. That’d be great.”
“Perfect. I’ll get all your favorites. Six thirty work for you?”
“Yeah, six thirty is fine.”
“Great. See you then, sweetheart.” He bends to kiss me on the forehead. “Have a good day.”
“You too, Dad.”
After he leaves, I check my phone. I have messages from my school friends and another from Rix asking how my swim went.
Aurora
Things happened.
Rix
What kind of things?????
Aurora
Un-take-back-able things.
Rix
Please to be expanding on that.
Aurora
Lip things.
Rix
(O_o) (O_o) (O_o)
My phone rings. “I’m about to get on the subway, but tell me what happened and whether I need to pick up fresh limes and the makings for nachos for tonight,” Rix says.
“Maybe yes on the limes, but for later tonight, I’m supposed to have dinner with my dad.” I rub my temple, wishing I’d said tomorrow. What if he invited Hollis? “That guy I like kissed me and then told me it was a mistake. It was the best kiss, Rix. The best kiss of my entire life, and then it was the worst.”
“Oh, muffin. I’m sorry he can’t deal with his feelings.”
“He admitted that he feels like he should still see me as the teenager he knew when he first came to Toronto, but he doesn’t, and it’s messing with his head.”
Rix sighs. “I can see why it would. He’s watched you grow up, and now you’re this gorgeous, driven woman he’s attracted to. He obviously cares about you, but he’s in the guilt-spiral phase.”