Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 140874 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140874 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
“I suppose if things had gone differently with my, er, introduction, as it were…perhaps I might have tried it again in the future.” Neil shrugged. The motion jostled my head. “But I don’t think I was ever destined to switch.”
“Do you think you’d ever try it again? With someone you trusted?” I asked, wondering if I’d overstepped my bounds.
He chuckled softly. “Are you volunteering?”
My body throbbed at the idea. But maybe I wasn’t the best person for the job. I’d only been Neil’s sub for a little over a year. Despite all the books, blogs, and Tumblrs I’d voraciously consumed during that time, and Neil’s careful instruction, I didn’t have the experience necessary. “I don’t think I’m the right person for the job.”
And like a light bulb, I knew who the right person was.
“You know, I might try.” Neil sounded strangely positive about the idea. “A lot of things have changed for me, and it has been a very long time. If I were to have the opportunity in the future…”
He fell silent, and we didn’t talk about it again. We didn’t talk about anything again, because a few minutes later, I heard his soft snoring. There was no way I was going to sleep now. My mind was racing.
I eased out of Neil’s embrace, and he turned on his side to face away from me. I reached for my phone and snuck it guiltily beneath the covers.
I still had Emir’s number, from when he’d called for updates about Neil’s condition during those touch-and-go moments over the summer. Though I wasn’t sure that what I was doing was right, or even technically helpful, if they were planning to meet in London, it might be the perfect opportunity. I typed in a quick message, hit send, and turned off my ringer.
If Emir wasn’t the right man for the job, then I didn’t know who was. I just hoped Neil wouldn’t be too mad at me for taking the initiative.
* * * *
Though it sucked that Neil and I would be apart for the weekend, it did give me extra time to see Holli. We’d decided to spend the day in the village, hitting all the trendy shops and feeling very superior about our fashion knowledge.
We were standing in 2-1-8, a recently opened boutique that was trying way too hard, when Holli checked her phone and groaned.
“Annika has to stop referring to her kid’s age in months.” She rolled her eyes. “Tell me you will never, ever let me be like that. If I call you up and tell you that my little Jackson just graduated law school at two-hundred eighty-eight months, pepper spray me in the eyes.”
I snickered. “I thought you weren’t having kids?”
“Deja wants them, eventually. She better be the one birthing them, because these narrow hips are structurally unsound.” Holli shook her head. “I know, I’m a terrible person. I used to hate it when people would say, ‘one day, you’ll change your mind,’ and here I am changing my mind.”
“You’re not terrible. Just because you didn’t want kids before and you do now doesn’t mean you’re a traitor. Now, if you suddenly start telling me that I am going to change my mind? Then you’re a traitor. And a dick.” I tilted my head as I considered an overpriced white cardigan with red-orange horizontal stripes. The buttons were interesting, but not enough to warrant the two-hundred-and-fifteen-dollar price tag. I put it back.
“Yeah, again: pepper spray.” She held up two fingers in a v and pointed to her eyes.
“Ugh, this store sucks,” I said under my breath.
“You wanna go back to your place? I have to stop by Hermés on Madison, there’s a scarf I’m dying for, and I just got paid.” Holli did a little dance.
I almost made a comment about how a Hermés scarf would look splattered with baby puke, but I realized that then I would be a dick. While I was slightly disappointed that Holli was falling out of the no-babies-ever-forever club, logically I knew it wasn’t a judgment of my own choices. I didn’t have to be defensive about it.
We got a cab, and since she’d dropped a bomb on me, I figured it would be okay to drop one on her. It would at least make the ride interesting.
“So…Neil and I are going out on Monday to look at a house in the Hamptons.”
She blinked at me. “Wow, really?”
“Uh, yeah. You know, we were discussing moving out of the city, this Sagaponack thing came up—”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Holli shrieked, and the cab driver jumped a little in his seat.
In a purposeful hush that I hoped would communicate the need for quiet, I replied, “I didn’t tell you because it’s not a big deal. We changed our minds. But the property is apparently a steal, so Neil wants to look into it.” I paused. “You know, maybe he could buy it, and Emma and Michael could live there.”