Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 49669 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 199(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49669 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 199(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
Rush’s arms tensed, and then he was dropping them and looking in horror at the decimated wall. “Fuck, Christopher, I’m so sorry. I can put it back—”
I let loose the laugh I’d been struggling to contain. Rush went completely silent, and then his jaw hardened. “You’re going to pay for that,” he said sternly, though only humor danced in his eyes.
“Wait, is that more smoke?” I said as I pointed at the oven. The second Rush looked over his shoulder, I hightailed it out of the kitchen and made a dash for the stairs.
He caught me halfway up. His big arms caged me against the wall. “Just for that, you’re making the pancakes,” Rush said. We were both breathing heavily, but it had nothing to do with the short chase.
I let out a soft moan when Rush closed his mouth over mine. The searing kiss had me practically curling my toes. But Rush ended it too quickly, causing a little whimper of protest to escape my lips.
“Will you go out with me?” Rush asked suddenly, all humor gone. In its place was what I could only classify as desperate hunger.
Like my answer would determine the fate of the world.
I supposed it would… his and mine anyway.
I knew what I was supposed to say. It would be the easiest and cleanest way to accomplish what needed to be done.
“When?” I asked.
Definitely not the word that the voice of doubt had ordered me to say. I had no idea what the hell I was doing. I knew this thing with Rush needed to come to a quick and clean end, but I couldn’t let him go.
Not yet.
The worst part was that I was acting out of pure selfishness. While I no longer had any doubt that Rush truly believed he had feelings for me, there would come a day when he wanted out. Even if by some miracle the antiviral therapy finally began to work and my viral load became undetectable, what could I offer a man like Rush? My life was a mess and would be for the foreseeable future. I didn’t even have a plan for myself, so how could I hope to build something with a man who deserved so much more. And if I did get sick, Rush would waste days, weeks, months caring for me because he felt obligated to do so.
“Today,” Rush said. He leaned down and kissed me softly. “Now.”
I nodded without hesitation.
“You aren’t working today, right?” Rush asked.
“No.”
“Will you show me around Seattle?” Rush asked. “King’s tour guide skills are somewhat lacking. I know where the bar that serves the best peanuts is and what to order from the menu at a place where you have to talk into a whale’s mouth, but that’s pretty much it.”
I laughed. That definitely sounded like my uncle. He was a man of simple tastes.
“Is there anything in particular you want to see?” I asked. I was already planning out a route that would include many of my favorite places.
“I want to see it all,” Rush responded. “But let’s start with a place that serves a good breakfast.”
“I’ll go get ready,” I said. “I, um, don’t have a car. I use my bike to get where I need to go.”
“Bike sounds good,” Rush said.
I shook my head because trying to get to all the places by bicycle would be impossible, especially with my hand. I opened my mouth to explain that, but Rush kissed me hard and then wrapped his fingers around my uninjured hand.
“Before I forget…” he said as he led me up to my bedroom.
Butterflies danced in my stomach as I thought about an impromptu make-out session on my bed. But it wasn’t the bed he led me to. It was the sizeable walk-in closet. I usually left it open a little so Pip could get in and out to get to the litter box and his food, but the door was completely shut. Rush opened the closet door all the way.
“Okay, guys, noisy stuff is over,” he said. A moment later, Pip wobbled his way out of the closet. Right on his heels was a huge, white rabbit with floppy ears. Rush glanced at me and said, “I didn’t want the noise to scare Pip, so I brought him some company.”
“Oh my God,” I said as I watched the kitten and the rabbit interact. The rabbit appeared to be guiding Pip away from things the kitten could stumble over like the little handheld vacuum cleaner I kept just outside the closet and one of the decorative pillows that had fallen to the floor at some point, probably while Rush and I had been watching movies the night before.
“Thumper’s a good mama,” Rush added as he crouched down. I did the same. Thumper immediately began nudging Pip toward us.