Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 65429 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65429 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
I had no right to be upset, but there it was.
Bright.
Red.
Anger.
The truth was, it wasn’t just the rage I felt, it was jealousy that ate me fucking alive. The night went on with its normal festivities, and pretty boy Beau didn’t leave Livvy’s side the entire time.
Everything stopped.
Everything.
I swear to God my heart stopped beating in my chest, only for a second, and then a surge of panic flooded my body, my mind, and my soul at precisely the moment my heart began beating again.
Loud and hard.
Once we were sitting at the table, eating dinner, Beau lifted his glass.
Livvy looked over at him, eyes wide and full of unease. She cleared her throat, telling him to stop with that look in her eyes, and he didn’t even see it. He couldn’t read her at all, not like I could.
At first, it was like a movie. When you knew something bad was about to happen. However, the anticipation of knowing what was coming was stronger than the ability to stop it.
I couldn’t stop it.
I couldn’t stop this.
His hand tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and his fingers brushed down her cheek. “Baby, I just want your family to know how happy I am to be here with you.”
A quick grimace crossed her face. It was subtle, but I noticed.
I noticed everything.
Especially when it came to her.
The whole room ate up his every last word in some sort of bullshit cosmic energy.
Fuck him.
When my eyes landed on Livvy’s, it was all over as hers stayed fixated on mine. This trance was unlike anything I’d ever felt with her before. We’d been doing this dance with our eyes for as long as I could remember.
This one was definitely different.
This one hurt badly.
This one felt like it destroyed.
I was almost positive she sent me a sad smile, but I may have imagined that as our stares stayed locked, nothing, or no one, for that matter, could ever break that between us.
I had that.
It belonged to me.
I spent the rest of the night avoiding her. Avoiding everyone. I was like a ticking time bomb. The more I saw all of her family fawn over Beau, the more I felt like I would blow the fuck up. Shortly after dinner, I excused myself and left, briefly kissing Livvy’s cheek before I did.
I barely slept that night, tossing and turning. Every time I shut my eyes, I envisioned her with him. I tried to block those images out of my mind and think about all the memories we shared.
Except it didn’t help.
Before I knew it, the sun was up, and I was out of bed, showering and getting dressed. I grabbed some coffee at the shop around the corner from my apartment, and as much as I tried to ignore the thoughts of her and him, it was no use. They took up permanent residence in my head, and it didn’t help that when I found myself driving to our waterhole, I stopped dead in my tracks as soon as I came up behind her.
Livvy was facing the water.
She didn’t turn, softly expressing, “You weren’t supposed to be there last night.”
“Here I thought you’d be happy to see me.”
“Ethan—”
“I hate him. He’s a pretentious dick.”
“That’s not fair.”
“None of this is fair. Your father seemed to love him, though. I wonder why that is? Maybe it’s his last name?”
She immediately turned to face me. “I didn’t know Beau was the son of Hunter Oil when we met.”
Getting right down to it, I questioned, “How long have you been together?”
She shrugged. “A few months.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“We’re just dating, Ethan. There’s nothing to tell.”
“You’re just dating, but you bring him home to meet your parents?”
“His parents live in Summerville.”
“So he spends Thanksgiving with you instead of them? Sounds pretty damn serious to me.”
“They were out of town, but he’s spending the week with them. It’s the only reason he came to my parents with me. I would have told you I was bringing him, but you said you would be in Kansas with your uncle.”
“I guess we both had surprises for each other, then.”
“Ethan, don’t act so innocent. I know you’re dating girls, and you don’t see me giving you shit about it.”
“Because I told you I was! That’s what best friends usually do.”
“You’re right. I should have told you, but like I said, we’re just dating, and I didn’t want to say anything to you until I knew if it’d become something more serious.”
Unable to hold back, I snapped, “Are you fucking him?”
Her breathing hitched, and it was the only answer I needed.
“You’re fucking other girls,” she stated as if that mattered to me.
“Exactly! I fuck, Livvy. I don’t fall in love.”
“I don’t love him.”
“Yet,” I bit. “You don’t love him yet, but pretty boy Beau is sure as shit in love with you.”