Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
She laughs and waves, walking away with only one look back. My pulse pounds and my ears ring as I think about just how down the river I’ve already sold myself.
How I might already be in love.
I sure hope she gets in a boat and follows because, if not, it’s going to be a hell of a long row back to reality.
Lexi
After I left Blake at the stadium, I decided to busy myself at the lab, adding a particular algorithm into my test app for my dissertation just to see if it changes any of my conclusions. But when I ran into Ginger there, she all but forced me to follow through on the meal I promised her a week and a half ago.
And since it’s already seven, it’s technically a dinner meal, not a lunch meal, but Ginger clearly doesn’t mind.
Now, I sit across from her in a corner booth at Zip’s Diner, my burger and fries untouched as I mentally catalog what I’ve learned about Ginger Lewis over the course of this meal that I surprisingly didn’t already know about her from all the time we’ve spent together in the lab.
For starters, she’s older than me by a few years—twenty-nine to my twenty-five—and this is her first PhD. She’s laser-focused on finishing it and has a very clear vision of her future—developing code for a tech giant like Apple or Google.
And she’s also weirdly obsessed with hot chocolate, which she’s now sipping with what can only be described as reverence.
“So,” Ginger says after a particularly long sip. She leans in slightly, her red hair brushing her shoulders. “Tell me about the guy.”
“What guy?” I already know who she means, but I reach for my cup of water like it’s a shield and take a sip.
“Oh, come on, Lexi,” she says through a snort. “The guy who shows up with food. You know, tall, muscular, and devastatingly handsome?” She smirks. “Don’t play dumb. I’ve seen him twice now, and I’d bet all five hundred dollars in my checking account he’s not your DoorDash guy.”
I pause, debating how much to share. I’ve never really done the whole girl-talk thing, and spilling details about Blake feels equal parts terrifying and cathartic. But there’s a whole reason I want to keep our relationship a secret. I’m simply not ready for anything more than that.
But man, for once in my life, it sure would be nice to talk to someone about something like this. Someone who isn’t Connor or my family or someone who is friends with my family. A completely neutral party who doesn’t know all the ins and outs of my life.
“His name is Blake,” I eventually tell her, testing the waters to see if she knows who Blake Boden is to Dickson University. Truth be told, Ginger Lewis is a lab rat like me, and she either knows who Blake is because everyone on campus does or she has her head so far up her computer’s ass that she doesn’t even know our college has a football team.
“Okay, Blake,” she repeats, her eyes lighting up with curiosity but her expression not showcasing any recognition to his name. “And? What about this Blake guy? What’s the story with you two?”
This Blake guy. I almost want to laugh at how oblivious she is. I also feel the biggest sense of relief. It’s one thing for me to be reckless not even two hours ago and show up at Dragon Stadium to tell Blake that I want to try to be together—in secret—and kiss him, but it’s a whole other thing for me to actually talk about that reality with someone who knows who he is.
Ginger’s total cluelessness is a welcome breath of fresh air. Though, that doesn’t mean I feel comfortable enough to tell her all the sordid details.
“It’s complicated,” I say, going with vague.
“Complicated how?” She raises an eyebrow. “He seems pretty straightforward—brings you food, smiles like he invented happiness, and looks at you like you hung the stars. What am I missing?”
“You’re not missing anything.” I shrug, unsure of how to answer her question, but also, not answer it at the same time. “It’s just very complicated.”
“Well, dating someone generally is complicated.”
“We’re not dating per se,” I clarify quickly. “I mean, we’re dating, but we’re keeping things on the down-low and seeing where it goes.”
“So, it’s a secret relationship, then?”
“Well, yeah. It is. I mean, that’s how I want it for now.”
“You’re the one who wants it to be secret?” she asks, surprise in her voice. “Why? He seems great. And he’s easy on the eyes. Why the need to keep all that goodness locked up behind closed doors?”
“Honestly, it’s not about him,” I admit, my voice softer. “It’s more about me. My life is already full and busy, and I can’t exactly lose focus, you know?”