Total pages in book: 163
Estimated words: 164828 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164828 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
He takes my hand over the table and kisses my fingertips. “I like that story.”
“Me, too,” I whisper. “Me, too.”
* * *
I lie on the deckchair and smile up at the sun.
I’m wearing my gold bikini—the one that started everything. I’ve worn it every day, and Nathan has taken it off every night.
It’s day seven of our holiday. We’ve swam, eaten, sight seen, and made love under the stars. Majorca is so beautiful.
It’s now 7:00 p.m, and the sun is just starting to set over the ocean. We are on the beach drinking margaritas. Nathan is on his phone, and I’m lying in a lazy state of heaven.
“Hey,” he says as he reads. “Your apartment settles tomorrow.”
“Your apartment,” I remind him.
“Our apartment.” He sips his drink as he watches me. “So, I’ve been thinking.”
“Did it hurt?” I ask as I tilt my face to the sun and close my eyes.
“What if I…?”
I open one eye to look at him. “What if you what?”
“What if I moved in with you… permanently?”
I sit up, suddenly interested in this conversation. “You mean, like a boyfriend in a real relationship?”
“Yes.” A trace of a smile crosses his face, and then he chuckles. “Real relationship.” He mouths as he repeats the words.
I bite my bottom lip to hide my smile. “Nathan Mercer, are you asking me if I’ll be your girlfriend?”
“No.” He sips his drink casually. “You’re already my girlfriend. I’m merely stating the facts. When I told you I loved you and you said it back, so then….” He shrugs, as if I should already know what he’s talking about.
“You didn’t ask me yet.” I smirk.
He puts his drink on the table in between our deckchairs, and he turns his attention to me. “Eliza, do you want to be my girlfriend?”
“I’ll think about it,” I reply casually as I lie back down.
“Right, that’s it.” He jumps up and he sweeps me up into his arms like a bride. “You asked for it.” He strides toward the water.
“Asked for what?” I laugh. “Put me down, people are watching.”
“They’re going to see a lot more in a minute.”
“Like what?” I laugh.
“I’m going to hold you under water until you agree.”
I burst out laughing as I feel the water meet my stomach as he walks further into the Mediterranean Sea.
We fall into the ocean, laughing, and he takes me into his arms. My legs instinctively wrap around his waist. Skin to skin, we fall silent. He wraps my ponytail around his hand and pulls my head back so that my eyes meet his. “Be my girlfriend.”
“What do I get for it?”
“Me.”
The most wonderful reward of all time.
My heart swells, and I smile and kiss him softly. “It’s a good thing I love you.”
“It’s the best thing.”
His lips take mine.
And just like that, I have a boyfriend who lives with me.
Look at me being all grown up.
* * *
It’s day eight of our holiday. and I close my eyes as the masseuse’s hands roam up and down my back. Nathan has gone off on his own, and I have spent the afternoon at the spa. I’ve had a manicure and pedicure, and now she’s just finishing a two hour massage. I really am living this up.
When I finish here, I’m going to go and buy a new date dress. Nathan is taking me to some fancy restaurant for dinner and dancing tonight. I want something really special.
“There you go.” The masseuse smiles.
“That was wonderful,” I say. “Thank you so much.” I dress and pay before I make my way out into the street. My phone rings, the name Brooke lighting up the screen. My stomach flips with nerves. I haven’t spoken to anyone since Nathan and I got together.
“Hello.”
“Oh my god, it’s a disaster!” Brooke cries.
“What is?” I frown as I walk along.
“Jolie has drunk too much kombucca and gone totally fucking insane.”
I stop walking. “What, why?”
“She’s been fucking Santiago and letting him film her.”
“Noo!” I gasp.
“She thinks she likes it; says it’s turning her on to know he’s watching it back when he’s alone.”
My eyes widen. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. She doesn’t even know this guy, and now she doesn’t care if he shows anyone. Oh, and get this. She thinks they have something special—that he could be the one.”
“She has lost her mind. This is disturbing.”
“You need to talk to her.”
“I’m on the other side of the world.”
“Call her right now and tell her how stupid and irresponsible she’s being.”
“She’s a big girl.”
“… who is making a huge mistake she’s going to regret when she’s uploaded onto a porn site for millions of men to jerk off to. She’s going to become a public come-bucket.”
I wince at the horrendous analogy. “She hasn’t thought this through at all. I mean, okay I get it if she wants to sleep with him. But to let him film it when she knows he openly shows everyone. I mean… what the hell?” I whisper.