Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 69371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
"Oh, trust me, I know," I respond, not telling her she has other talents I loved more. "But seriously. I'm going to leave and call your sisters and tell them where you are."
"I just don't know what the big deal is." She grabs the bottle and takes a sip.
I close my eyes as the thumping of my head comes on. “Are there any other reasons you shouldn't stay here?" She waits for me. “You really should know that when you say a bunch, it's not two. Two is a couple." She holds up her two fingers. “A bunch is more than five."
"Says who?" I put my hands on my hips.
"Google," she says, rolling her eyes and then taking another sip.
I want to reach for the bottle, but I know that if I'm going to drive, I shouldn't touch another sip. "We shared something," I finally say out loud, and the funny Clarabella is gone, and in its place is the Clarabella you don't want to fuck with. Her whole demeanor changes, and all she does is glare at me. Idiot, my head yells at me. At the same time, I want to tell her to forget it, but now that it's out there, I can't put it back in the box.
"Did we?" She folds her arms over her chest, and I regret even saying a word. "You don't say." I'm about to say something when she holds up her hand. “Wait a second. I believe what you said is ‘this was a mistake.’" She looks at the ceiling. “Yeah, from my memory, which is foggy right now, but I’m pretty certain you looked at me and said ‘this was a mistake.’"
"Clarabella," I say her name through clenched teeth, but it doesn't seem she is done speaking.
"Yes." She nods her head, putting her finger to her chin and tapping it to pretend she is thinking, but you know she doesn't have to think about this. "That is exactly what you said to me." She slams the hand that was tapping her chin on the island. “One minute, we were in bed together. You were all up in me." My teeth clench when she says that. “And then the next, you are sitting on the side of the bed while I lay there naked, telling me that it was a mistake." I'm about to speak, but she just glares at me. "I would choose your words very carefully, Luke."
"I have no excuse for that but to say I was scared." I swallow the lump in my throat.
She laughs, and I know she's not really laughing. Actually, come to think of it, it's the sound one makes before lunging for a person to choke them. “Okay, maybe that word isn't right." I hold up my hands. “I just didn't want anything between us to change." She just shakes her head. “What we shared was more than just a one-night stand." I run my hands through my hair, wanting to rip it out for her. "I'm not explaining myself well."
"Oh, you’re definitely fucking this up to the tenth degree," she admits. “One minute, we were a mistake, and the next, you were gone." She laughs bitterly at me. “Fun. Good times." She takes a sip. “Also would not recommend."
"Are you done?" I ask. And if I thought she was glaring at me before, I was wrong. I've always heard the saying if looks could kill, but for the first time in my life, I'm given that look. "I had no choice but to go. It was an opportunity of a lifetime. When Francois called me about the place in New York, I had no choice. It was my dream to have a restaurant in New York City. Not only was it my only chance but he also gave me six hours to get to him. I didn't know what to do."
"And you couldn't pick up the phone to call and tell me?" she shouts and then throws up her hands. "Imagine that, picking up a telephone and calling." She brings her hand up to her ear with her thumb and pinky out, putting it to her ear. “It's barbaric, I know, but that's the way people communicate."
"What was I supposed to say?" I put my hands on my hips, my whole body now filled with nervous energies as we throw words at each other from each side of the island.
"I wanted you to say anything!” she yells. “Anything would have been better than nothing."
"What did you want me to say to you, Clarabella?" I look at her, and this time, I'm the one who doesn't give her a chance to say anything. “You wanted me to call you after you stormed out of the house and be like ‘last night was amazing.’" My voice goes louder. “Best night of my life, but I'm leaving, so catch you on the flip side." I stare into her eyes. “Is that what you wanted?"