Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
This is what you should be working on, Nicole. This is what your audience wants to hear. It’s what they deserve.
“This is what they deserve,” I quote, my voice unhindered by the nerves it hasn’t been without the past two weeks. “So it’s what I must give them.”
“Nicole, over here!” River waves me into the living room bustling with the road crew we’re about to spend the next several weeks with on tour.
“Sorry I’m late. I was writing.” The glee in my voice can’t be missed.
The crew is too busy chatting amongst themselves to give my excuse any thought. The only one who pays attention is Laken. He’s hogging one-third of the only sofa not overflowing with employees of Knox Records.
“I saved you a seat.” River guides me to the three-seater couch I just mentioned. “If you’ll sit, we’ll start proceedings.”
It could be my imagination or the dozens of loved-up lyrics I just wrote down, but I’m confident the gap between Laken’s knees expands when River plops me into the seat next to him.
A surge of excitement runs through me.
Once my thigh is butted to Laken’s, River drags Bella onto a makeshift stage before shifting his eyes to the person I should have known was his brother.
River looks at Laken in a way he’s never looked at Knox.
He truly loves him with everything he has.
“Ready?”
River waits for Laken to give him the thumbs-up before he and Bella reenact a scene I’m certain I’ve seen before.
A remote will never be seen as anything but a microphone when a devastated River drops it to the ground as Bella says, “That is so wrong.”
Before I can blurt out the title, Laken leans into my side and whispers, “Unless you want to watch Never Been Kissed, pretend you don’t know which movie their skit is from.”
When I twist to face him, the minty freshness of his breath exposes he brushed his teeth as recently as I did. “Isn’t the point of charades to guess correctly?”
“This isn’t charades.” His breathy response prickles the hairs on the back of my neck. “You only want to guess correctly if you like the movie they want to watch.”
“You don’t like Never Been Kissed?” His screwed-up face makes me laugh, and that simple gesture doubles the tension teeming between us. “I love Drew Barrymore. She can do no wrong.”
Laken shifts his eyes from my smile to River and Bella when someone from the sound crew shouts, “Never Been Kissed.”
With a shrug, he stops the timer on River’s phone before spinning the screen to face him.
“Yes!” River fist bumps the air before forcing his excitement onto Bella with an ecstatic hug.
Once her cheeks are as red as mine from how often Laken’s thigh brushes mine during their celebratory dance-off, he aligns his eyes with his brother’s. “Bet you can’t beat that.”
“Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched, River.” When River and Bella sit in their spots next to mine, Laken stands before holding out his hand in offering. “Ready?”
“We’re playing?” I ask, shocked.
He plucks me from my seat before anyone answers my question and spins me to face the dozen faces eagerly watching us.
Their interest is even more daunting than when I’m standing in the wings of a stage, waiting to perform.
I’m also not convinced my ego can take another battering so soon after the last.
It could pummel my confidence beyond repair.
“I can’t—”
“You can do this, Nicole,” Laken interrupts, his breath hot on my ear.
He steals my chance to announce I’m not as confident as he makes out by telling River to start the timer.
“I’m not ready to go it alone just yet.”
Since my line doesn’t come from a movie script, confusion mars the guessers' faces.
It doesn’t linger for long. Only as long as it takes for Laken to say, “Now hold on to the railing.” My heart thuds louder than my temples ever have when he places his hands on my hips to hold me steady. “Keep your eyes closed. Don’t peek.”
His fingers flex when I close my eyes before following the gist of his skit. “I’m not.”
His voice is different when he says, “Step up onto the railing.”
Rose’s gasped breaths sound authentic when my mind drifts back to the night on the rooftop with Laken.
I swear nothing but millions of lights and people the size of ants are in front of me.
“Come on, keep your eyes closed.” I flatten my back to Laken’s chest when he asks, “Do you trust me?”
I nod before saying, “I trust you.”
My arms are only just fanning out when a voice breaks through my daydream. “Titanic!”
Disappointed our skit was interrupted before we got to the best bit, I slump back before opening my eyes.
Ellen looks pleased she guessed correctly, but I’m disappointed when River checks the timer on his phone.
“Three seconds too slow.” He bounces his eyes between Laken and me. “Titanic is out of the running for premium screentime tonight.”