Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 31591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 158(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31591 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 158(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
"Thank you. And thanks for speaking with me; I was worried that you'd want nothing to do with me after last night. I owe you a huge apology for the way we met."
"You don't owe me anything," I argued. "I was the one who barged in on your, um…private moment." Guilt and jealousy rose within me as I remembered the scene. What am I doing? I ripped my hand away and pointed out, "You're with someone. You can't be here. Thanks for my book, but I can't do this." I grabbed my sketchpad and tried to close the door, but Talon blocked it with his thick forearm.
"Please don't send me away. I'm not with anyone; the man from last night was a drunken hookup. I don't even know his name and he ended his night with someone else."
I’d be lying if I said that didn’t please me. I let the door open again and asked, "Do you hook up a lot?" It came out more bluntly and rude than I meant, but I had to know what this was.
Talon's face scrunched up and he scratched the back of his head. "I'm ashamed to admit it, but I only want to be honest with you, so um...yeah, I guess I do…or did. I'm so sorry, Brandon."
I didn't understand his apology when we'd known each other for ten minutes. "There's no reason to be ashamed; everyone's got their own needs. On campus, I see hookup culture all around me and it's not for me to judge. But if we're being honest, it's also not something I'm interested in, so if that's why you're here-"
"It isn't," he replied quickly. "Brandon, I don't know how to explain it and I know I've given you no reason to trust me, but the moment I saw you, I felt something inside me that said I needed to get close to you. That's why I chased you, which I realize was probably scary as hell, and I apologize for that too."
"And I'm sorry I pepper sprayed you."
Talon chuckled and the deep grumble made my knees weak. "Eh, I deserved it."
His humility and understanding were incredibly sweet. I wanted to spend more time speaking with him, so I gathered all of my courage and asked, "Have you had breakfast?" Talon shook his head and I offered, "Would you like half of a raisin bagel?" Oh my god, how pathetic can I get?
Surprisingly, Talon smiled brighter and answered, "I'd love that." He stepped inside and when I closed the door, my heart raced with nervous excitement over having this sexy man in my space.
I grabbed the cafe bag that I'd abandoned on a nearby table and removed the bagel, handing half to Talon. "I may have something else in the kitchen, but to be honest, I'm not much of a cook."
"Me neither," he shrugged, and took a big bite of the pastry. "This is great, thanks."
I tore off a bite of mine as well and we just stood there chewing and staring at each other until I realized what a terrible host I was being. "Oh! Come on in and sit down." I led him into my small living room and we sat next to each other on the loveseat. I tucked my free hand beneath my thigh so that he couldn't see the way it trembled.
"I like your place," Talon smiled as he looked around.
"Thanks. It's only mine for another week, though; then I'll be graduating." Hopefully.
"Congratulations, that's impressive." His praise meant more to me than it should, and warmed my chest. "Rowdy said that you're an artist - is that your major?"
"It is, but I wouldn't call myself an artist. You wouldn't either if you looked in here." I nodded to the sketchpad balancing on my knees.
"I didn't look; I didn't want to snoop, but I bet your art is amazing."
My cheeks blushed as I chewed the remainder of my bagel. "Honestly, there's not much to see in here," I said as I flipped through the mostly blank pages. The ones that did have markings were smudged with eraser marks or crossed out from irritation. "I've been having trouble with my final assignment."
"I'd offer to help, but I'm afraid I can barely draw a stick figure."
I chuckled and tossed my book onto the coffee table. "Thanks just the same." I sighed and admitted, "This class has made me doubt myself so much. It's intimidating to be thinking about a career when I'm struggling with my education." I'd never opened up to anyone so quickly, but I had things I needed to get off of my chest, and Talon was easy to talk to. Somehow our awkward meeting made things easier; after catching him fucking a stranger and blasting him with pepper, there really wasn't anywhere to go but up.