Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 148704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 744(@200wpm)___ 595(@250wpm)___ 496(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 148704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 744(@200wpm)___ 595(@250wpm)___ 496(@300wpm)
My pulse jumps, and my head slowly turns toward him, eyes waiting ’til the last second to leave the stunning woman in yellow.
I meet Willie’s gaze, and he smiles, but it’s softer this time, his hand on my shoulder firm and reassuring.
He slips by, clapping his hands and saying something to the women, but my feet stay planted where they are, my mind whirling.
She’s settled right into my world, carving out a place of her own within it, like I hoped she one day would. Doing good things for my friends as she is me, helping find and navigate avenues they never knew they had. Because she’s kind and good, accepting and understanding.
Because she’s Davis.
“I’d give you anything you wanted.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re you, and I’m me.”
It really is that simple for us, isn’t it?
Davis smiles from across the pool, waving me over.
I don’t make her wait, but I sure as fuck cut dinner short.
The second she swallows her last bite, I catch her by the wrist, hauling her from the seat.
“What the hell? I thought you didn’t have to be at the bar ’til seven?” Willie pouts from where we left them at the patio table, plate lifted high in one hand, fork in the other.
“I don’t, but we’ve got homework.”
Davis and Willie both frown.
“Homework?” She cocks her head, entwining her fingers with mine.
“Math homework.” I speak her language, tugging her along.
“Math?” She scowls, confused. “Should we go back to the bar and grab the invoices?”
“Nope.”
“You sure?”
“Yep.” I yank her into the house, pushing her against the wall, and take her lips with mine while blindly unlocking the front door, and then we’re at the truck, climbing inside. “It’s a real simple equation.”
“Simple equation…”
“Oh yeah.” I tug her lower lip into my mouth. “Seventy minus one, baby.”
Davis throws her head back with a laugh.
And just like that, the worries of the day are drowned out by the pure perfection that is Davis fucking Franco.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Davis
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last several days, it’s that Crew Taylor is completely insatiable… and a little more paranoid than I remember.
His need to watch over me, be near me, be inside me is marvelously exhausting, yet somehow, I still wake in the middle of the night unable to keep my hands to myself, but I should have expected as much, considering how long I’ve waited for this.
Truth be told, I had given up on a chance to go from him and me to “us,” especially once we made that stupid deal. I thought for sure his rejection confirmed I was out of my league, and in many ways, I am. Crew’s this tall, strong, walking enigma—tanned and toned and primed in inky art, where I’m so standard across the board, I can hardly find pants or shoes I want, my size so… average. So common.
I mean, I’m not even a real brunette, but a basic and boring blonde, no pretty waves or deep ringlets to speak of.
But what the hell do I care if Crew chooses to have me on his arm, under his body?
It never really bothered me to be the unspectacular girl next door in comparison to others, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to be prettier or sexier or any other ideal I assumed Crew preferred over what I was. Is that a little pitiful? Maybe, but it’s honest. What young girl doesn’t look in the mirror at least once, wishing to magically morph into exactly what the boy she likes would like? Not many, I’d bet.
To know Crew wants me as I am settles me in a way I can’t explain, in a way I didn’t know I needed. His tentative, one might call obsessive, ways make it that much harder to be away from him. It sucked worse than I thought it would to go back to work this week, but that’s life.
If only I could figure out what the hell to do with mine. According to my parents, I’m suddenly supposed to know exactly where to go from here.
What a load of crap.
So I graduated college with a degree in both mathematics and microbiology, cool. And?
I’m as clueless now as I was when I enrolled.
I wonder if Xavier feels the same? I think as I spot him pulling up outside—Crew insisted I have an escort to the bar, rather than driving myself there. I guess he wants me to ride home with him after closing.
Clocking out, I say bye to the girls and meet X at his truck.
“What’s up, girl?”
“Hey.” I smile, spotting not one but two 7-Eleven cups in the holders.
I meet his gaze with pleading eyes, and he laughs.
“Yes, girl, one’s for you, and while I would love to take credit, I won’t.” He smirks. “This time.”
Chuckling, I go right for it, settling against the seat with a sigh as he pulls onto the road. I decompress a moment before I turn to X.