Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 122609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
At the end of it all, they’d return home to bend to each other’s sexual demands…
He slipped his phone back into his jeans pocket, snatched his arrow from the target board and his bow from the floor, and practiced his aim for the next few minutes. When he was satisfied, he left the room, locked the door, and made his way to the kitchen. The entire island was now covered with her camera equipment. She had earbuds in while painstakingly cleaning various nooks and crannies of the gear. She glanced his way, winked, and kept toiling away.
“Is there any place you need to go today?”
“Huh?” She slipped the earbuds from her ears.
“I said, is there any place you need to go today?”
She shook her head. “No. Today there’s nothin’. I need to make a few work-related calls and what not, but I’m finished with my jobs for the week. Just need to edit the pictures I have. The restaurant is almost finished, too, so that’ll be wrapping up in about a couple of weeks or so.”
He made his way to the refrigerator and got himself a blue Gatorade. He took a few swigs then sat across from her.
“Anything else that needs tending to? Anything important comin’ up?” He placed the bottle on the island, a good distance from the mess she’d made.
She kept her head down for far too long, running a microfiber towel over a camera lens nice and slow. He knew exactly what was going on. The silence that had her tongue tied was her friend, and her enemy, but it was best they discuss it anyway.
“After the restaurant gig is over, I’m expected back in L.A. Silver called me, said they’ve scheduled a meeting upon my return.” She kept her eyes on her work, now using a Q-tip to clean in the grooves of the lens mount.
“And what do you think this meeting will be about?”
She shrugged, then finally looked at him, shoulders slumped. She offered a weak, watered-down smile—so unlike her. “I have no idea. He gave no indication in any direction. I mean, he seems pleased with the shitty restaurant assignment, but that may not be enough to sway them. Either way, I’m mentally prepared for whatever goes down.”
He ran his tongue over his teeth and leaned back in his chair.
She looked away, then back at him. At his body.
“You don’t have on a shirt.”
“So? Neither do you.”
“Yeah, but I was just working on my cameras. Weren’t you practicing your archery? Why wouldn’t you wear a shirt?”
“How is a shirt going to help or protect me, Honey? You think a shirt makes my aim more accurate, or an arrow is going to stop mid-air and go, ‘Oh shit! Let me go around this guy. This motherfucker has on a shirt!” Her complexion deepened, then she laughed. It was clear her mind was scattered. “You’re just trying to change the subject.”
“Yup. Guilty as charged.”
“If you don’t want to go, don’t go, Honey. If you want to go back to L.A. and face the music, do that, too. Either way, you have my support.” Her eyes widened, lips parted, but she didn’t say anything. “Let me explain somethin’ to you so that my position about this shit is crystal clear.” He got up and stepped behind her to rub on her shoulders. She leaned into his touch. “I told you how I feel about you, you told me how you feel about me. You know I want you.”
“…Yes. I want you, too.”
“I know you do. And… I love you. Love isn’t a state of mind. It’s not just an action word, either. Love comes raw and uncut, and it can only be felt by those open to feeling it and willing to provide it with no promise of anything in return. Loving someone has nothing to do with conquering, reciprocity, or control. It’s the very opposite of male human nature, and I already explained my position on this to you.” She nodded in understanding. “So, because I love you, I’m telling you that you should take care of whatever it is that you need to take care of back in L.A., and don’t worry about me or anything else. I didn’t expect you to never go back. Your family, friends, and job are there.”
“I know… things are just so different now though.”
“I’m new in your life. We’re still trying to learn one another. I have to roll with the punches and though it’s not my nature, I have to exhibit patience in this situation, Honey. What has transpired between us is not common. I had one idea, one plan, and now the total opposite is happening, and I’m co-signing it. Neither of us expected anything that’s happened these past few months.”
“You can say that again. What about Bannon though?”