Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 75720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
It was an easy choice.
“Yeah, sure, I’ll join you guys if your friends don’t mind.”
I’d message the guy when I got back into my car. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too upset, but then again he likely had three other guys lined up in his chats, so I wasn’t too stressed about it.
Noah’s grin widened. “Perf. I’m sure they won’t mind. We’re a pretty chill group of people.”
That made me even happier with the choice I’d made. Ever since the breakup with Ashley, I had quickly realized that most of my friends had been her friends, and even though our breakup was amicable, they still remained a text away for her and were nearly nonexistent to me, none of them reaching out to see if I was doing alright or if I needed anything, even just a chat. As I got older, creeping toward my thirties now, I also came to find that making friends was way harder than it used to be back when you were forced together through similar classes or clubs.
“Come,” Noah said, turning toward a checkout lane. “Let me pay for these, and you can follow me back home. I’m just down the street.”
“I’ll take one.” I reached for a bottle, grabbing Noah’s hand instead. He straightened as if a shock of electricity jolted through his spine. Was it the same bolt of lightning that crashed through me the moment my hand closed around his? What the hell was that? Why were my toes tingling, my heart fluttering, and my thoughts suddenly tangled up like a pair of wired headphones lost inside of a coat pocket?
“I, uhm,” Noah started, moving his hand back so that mine fell down to my side. “No need. I’ve got it.”
“No, seriously,” I said, making a grab for the bottle again, closing my grip around glass and not Noah this time. “I don’t want to show up empty-handed.”
Noah nodded and let the bottle go. Was there a blush on his cheeks? I couldn’t quite make it out, Noah turning and walking to the cashier with his back to me.
The tingles and flutters continued until I pulled up behind Noah in his driveway.
And then the flutters and tingles only got more intense, mixing with the nerves that sprouted like a rose garden inside my belly.
3
NOAH BARNES
Damn, Jake smelled good. No, not even good. He smelled divine. Like a mixture of pine trees and leather and sex. Masculine with a soft edge that made me want to bump into his side and start purring like a cat begging to be pet. Maybe that’s why I had gotten the genius idea of inviting him over to join the book club, even though he knew none of my friends and barely even knew me. Sure, we were quickly becoming work buddies, but that was worlds away from the type of friendships I’d cultivated with the people currently sitting around my dining room table.
“Ready?” I asked Jake as I unlocked my front door, the sound of laughter and music already leaking out through the threshold.
“Born ready,” he answered, smiling a toothy grin that lured me in like a floundering captain trying to make it to the lighthouse before his ship sunk. I blinked away the spell and walked into my house, announcing our presence and being greeted by a couple of happy cheers.
“I come with not just wine,” I said as I turned the corner into the dining room, “but also a man!”
The gathered group looked past me at a still-smiling Jake, holding up his bottle of wine like he was offering his firstborn to the ritualistic town council. Tristan started a slow clap, which was picked up by the rest of the group. He stood and looked at Jake with reverence in his eyes before they crinkled, and a fit of laughter took his silly ass over. I rolled my eyes as the rest of the group started to join in on the laughter.
“Sorry,” Tristan said, sitting back down and rubbing his eyes. “I enjoy the dramatics.”
“Clearly,” I said, unable to tamp down my smile. “Everyone, this is Jake. We work together, and I bumped into him at the grocery store. He’s a big reader, so I offered him a spot in the club.” I peeked my head around the corner from inside the kitchen. “That’s fine right?”
“Yeah, he’s very fine,” Tristan said, licking his lips. I rolled my eyes again and went back into the kitchen, laughing to myself as Jake continued on with introductions while I poured everyone some wine.
“Hey, Jake, can you help me carry these out?” I asked.
“Sure thing.” He entered the kitchen and thankfully looked like he was still in one piece. It was touch and go there for a moment with how ravenous Tristan’s gaze had been. I’d half expected Jake to turn the corner wearing a tattered shirt and ripped-up khakis, hickies all up and down his chest.