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)
His honesty is unexpected, and it emboldens me.
Aurora
What did you do to my scrunchie, Hollis?
Hollis
I washed it.
Aurora
Why did it need washing?
Hollis
I found it on the floor.
Aurora
Why did it end up on your dresser?
The dots appear and disappear several times.
Aurora
Did you do naughty things to my scrunchie?
Hollis
Go to sleep, little girl. You have class in the morning.
That’s as good as a yes.
Aurora
Can you say that again in a voice message?
I hold my breath as I wait to see if he’ll respond. A minute later, a voice memo appears.
His rasping command sends a shiver down my spine. “Stop pushing my buttons, Princess.”
I listen to it on repeat while putting Batdick to use. And come twice.
CHAPTER 18
HOLLIS
Princess
Do you need anything from the store?
Hollis
It’s late and dark. Why are you going to the store?
Princess
It’s a two-minute walk. I need chips.
Hollis
What kind of chips?
Princess
The kind I don’t have in my apartment.
The team left for their away series two days ago, and Rix flew out to North Carolina this morning, which means Aurora is on her own this weekend. I don’t love the idea of her walking to the store in the dark.
Hollis
I might have what you need.
I send it before I consider how it reads.
The dots appear and disappear several times before a message pops up.
Princess
I think we’ve already established that, but in terms of chips, do you have all dressed or smoky bacon?
Hollis
I have both.
They’re her favorite, so I always keep some in the pantry for when she takes care of Postie and Malone.
Princess
I’ll be up in a few.
I check to make sure my deodorant is doing its job and my hair isn’t a mess. I shouldn’t care how I look or smell. I should also not be this excited to see her. But she’s been busy with school the past two days, so any interactions have been brief—and fraught with so much sexual tension, I feel like I’m choking on it.
Less than two minutes later, she knocks. Postie and Malone follow me to the door. Aurora stands in the hall with her banana duck bag slung over her shoulder, looking like the problem she is. She’s wearing slipper boots and a pair of sleep shorts that are barely visible because she’s wearing my favorite hoodie. She’s had it for weeks.
“Hi.” Her gaze moves over me. I’m wearing a T-shirt and jogging pants.
I try and fail not to allow the memory of how those lips felt on mine to surface. I clear my throat before I speak. “Hey. Come on in.” I move aside. I’m still on crutches for at least another week.
“I brought up a few meals from the freezer. I can put this stuff away and grab the chips and be out of your way.” She averts her gaze and tucks her hair behind her ear.
I hate that I’ve made it this way between us. I’m the one who keeps crossing the line and stepping back. We can hang out for a couple of hours. I can manage my hormones and my impulse control and avoid doing something that would result in Roman digging me a shallow grave.
“I was going to watch a movie, if you want to stay and keep me company,” I say. “Unless you have other plans.” The possibility that she might go out with that James kid again makes me want to punch something.
Her eyes flare. “I don’t have plans.”
My relief is instantaneous and problematic, but it’s too late to backtrack, and anyway, I don’t want to. Fighting the draw is exhausting. I’m tired of trying to keep all these walls up when it’s so damn easy for her to break them down. “Good. Come on.” I crutch my way to the kitchen. “Let’s raid my snack cupboard.”
Aurora puts the meals in the freezer, except for two, which go in the fridge. She follows me into the pantry. It’s big enough for the two of us, but my crutches make it a tight fit.
She surveys the shelves and pokes at a half-empty container of salted-caramel chocolates. “Looks like someone’s been eating his feelings.”
“I won’t be on the ice for a while, so I loosened the reins on my diet.”
She unscrews the lid and nabs a chocolate, biting it in half before she offers the rest to me. “These are so good, but they’re a lot.”
I pop the other half in my mouth as she puts the container back on the shelf.
She grabs a bag of smoky bacon chips and another of gummy worms. “Anything else look tempting to you?”
My gaze rakes over her. Yeah, tonight is going to be an exercise in restraint.
“You shouldn’t look at me like that if you don’t want me to get ideas, Hollis.”
“And how am I looking at you, Princess?”
She brushes by me. “Like I’m the snack.”
Lately I live for these moments, when all the uncertainty and awkwardness disappear and Aurora is her saucy, beguiling self.