Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81581 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81581 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
“You were eyeing me like I was a venomous snake!” she argues with a giggle and swats my thigh. Warmth shoots through me. My friend Lisa from high school used to be that way. A knee slapper is what we called her.
“Because I thought Gray brought me on a date to meet his wife!”
This sends her into a fit of laughter that has her doubled over. Once I make sense of the stupidity of it all, I start laughing too. Then we’re both trying to talk with tears streaming down our cheeks.
“You h-h-had the bitch look!”
“You were s-so p-pretty and I thought you were his wife!”
“I thought my brother found himself a mega bitch!”
“I thought I was going to have to castrate him in front of his wife!”
We’re both laughing so hard when someone pounds on the door. We ignore it at first, but when the pounding gets louder, we both fall silent.
“You stay there,” she instructs as she fumbles for her keys. She holds up a can of mace that’s on her key ring as she starts toward the door. Must have been what she got that creepy dude downstairs with. Suddenly, I want to hug this girl and never let her go.
When she stands on her toes and peeks out the peephole on the door, she lets out a snort. “Oh, God. Do you want to talk to him?”
“Why are you here, Gwen?” he growls from the other side.
She looks at me and rolls her eyes. “Consoling your girlfriend. You hurt her feelings.”
“I’m not his girlfriend,” I hiss but she just winks at me.
“I don’t know what the hell happened,” he roars from the other side. “One minute everyone is hunky-fucking-dory and the next my baby sister runs off with my…” Silence falls, and Gwen and I seem to be holding our breath.
“Violet,” he finally says with a huff.
“Your Violet?” Gwen challenges with an arched brow my way.
I shake my head at her. “I’m not his.” But warmth spreads throughout my body by that notion.
“Let me in so I can make sure she’s okay,” he pleads.
Something in the vulnerable way he says it has me chewing on my lip and nodding. As soon as she unlocks the last bolt, he pushes through the door past her and drops to the sofa beside me. His icy blue eyes seem to swirl with hurt and concern. It causes my heart to flutter. Stupid heart. His warm hand envelops mine and he squeezes.
“Everything okay?” His voice is husky and raw.
“Yeah.”
“What happened?”
Gwen tosses her keys back in her purse. “A miscommunication.”
Gray frowns at me but doesn’t press the issue any further. “Do you want me to stay with you?”
“I’ll be fine. I’ve just had a long day. Truly. You two should go. I appreciate the…” I stall because I don’t know what to call this intense pair.
“In the real world, they call it friendship. Glad we became friends,” Gwen chirps, wearing the same shit-eating grin her brother wore earlier today when he made a declaration of friendship as well.
My eyes dart to Gray’s, and he’s smirking at me. “We’ll leave but get yourself to bed early.”
“So it’s not just me he bosses around,” Gwen says behind him.
He flips her off but his eyes never leave mine. I like the way they wash over me. Assessing my emotions. It’s nice to be someone’s focus.
“I’ll call you and check up on you tomorrow,” he says finally. I can hear the reluctance in his voice, but he stands anyway.
Gwen walks over to me and hugs me. “Talk soon, friend.” Her smile widens. “I’ll get your digits from my brother.”
Grayson ruffles her hair and then proceeds to poke at her until she makes her way to the door. Now that I’m not freaking out over her being his wife, they’re actually a cute pair of siblings.
“She’s a stalker,” he mouths to me. “You’re going to have to block her.”
She punches him in the arm but wears a smile that she regards me with. “Don’t forget to lock up, Vi.”
I give them a wave and follow them to the door. Grayson gives me a long penetrating stare before mouthing the word “bye” and stalking after his sister.
Two friends in one day.
It only took seven years to make all two of them.
Sleep is for pussies. At least that’s what I tell myself on night two of no shuteye. After I made sure Gwen made it home safely and we watched a movie together, I slipped out of the house to go see Violet again. When I left her earlier this evening, she was shaken up and slightly drunk. It took everything in me to leave, but the only reason I left was because I knew it would only be a matter of hours before I came back.
Click.
I twist the knob and push the door inward after disengaging all three locks. The apartment is dark and quiet. Slipping inside, I make sure to close the door as silently as possible. For a moment, I remain still with my back pressed against the door. I’m patient. I count the seconds. Then the minutes. And eventually, it rolls into an hour before I feel comfortable to proceed. I slip out of my shoes and pad through the house. Last night and earlier today, I learned so much about her. Tonight, I intend on finding more out. If I don’t find anything, it will be worth just seeing her sleep again.