Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 115737 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115737 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
I just need tonight to be over so I can commence with the meltdown that’s undoubtedly going to floor me. He felt it, just like I did – the connection, the overwhelming chemistry. But it was just lust, stirred up and made more potent by alcohol. And spontaneity. I have to keep telling myself that. It’s the safest way. I never thought I’d see him again, that he would remain a beautiful, albeit frustrating, fantasy in my head. A benchmark for all men who may come after. I doubt I’ll find that crushing attraction with anyone else. I’ve been teased, experienced something incredible, only to discover I can never have it again. That I should never have had it in the first place. Denying yourself is one thing. Being denied by something out of your control is a whole new ballgame. It just makes you want it more.
I watch as Stephanie chats with Colin, and Jack stands silent at her side, obviously distracted. No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop my eyes from straying to him. Every time I catch his gaze, I quickly glance away, pushing down my thumping heart as it works its way up to my throat. I fight to keep myself in conversations, but I’m too unfocused, seeing mouths move but hearing no words being spoken. My head is full of reminders. Of things Jack said to me. Of the way he touched me and made love to me.
I discreetly glance over to him again, but this time his attention is on his wife as she speaks to him. Colin raises his hands, as if in surrender, and backs away from the couple warily, making his way over to me. Stephanie looks angry, and though I try my hardest to lip-read her, I can’t make out what she’s saying to her husband. Her husband. Jack. Stephanie’s husband.
‘It’s kicked off over there,’ Colin laughs, a little tipsy as he reaches me.
‘What has?’ I ask, playing ignorant, keeping one eye on him and one eye on Jack.
‘Jack is a diamond of a bloke, but it seems the rumours are true.’
‘What rumours?’ I ask, frowning as I watch Stephanie’s face get closer to Jack’s and he retreats a little, shaking his head and closing his eyes. He’s gathering patience.
‘Well,’ Colin starts. ‘I’ve only met the woman tonight, but I can see what people mean. She’s a bit . . . of a handful.’
Handful? I can’t rip my eyes away. Jack is clearly trying to keep Stephanie calm, leaning in to speak to her and placing a comforting hand on her arm. My eyes root to that hand, feeling it touching me all over again. What is wrong with her? Is she suspicious? Has she sensed the friction between Jack and me?
My eyes jump between them, trying desperately to figure out what’s going on. Jack catches my eye, and he breathes in deeply as Stephanie shrugs him off and throws her wine back on a sneer. She marches off to top up her glass, and I find myself stuck in position, wanting to move away but unable. I start to shake, fearful of the lack of control I have over my body where Jack’s concerned. And, worse, my mind.
‘Best keep out of the way of domestics,’ Colin says, pointing to my empty. ‘Another drink?’
I strain a smile. ‘I just need the toilet.’ I force my shaky legs to take me inside and to my bathroom. I close the door and fall back against the wood, trying to breathe some calm into my lungs.
I feel like I could crack under the pressure of Jack’s presence, my mind going into overdrive, wondering if the tension between us is obvious. Wondering what his wife’s grievance is. I’m not the paranoid type. I’m not unreasonable. Yet right now I feel like I have a sign stuck to my back detailing my sins.
‘Annie?’ There’s a knock on the door behind me and Lizzy’s concerned voice drifts into the bathroom. ‘You okay?’
‘I’m fine.’ I rush towards the sink and brush at my flushed cheeks, then spot the bottle top on the shelf. I’ll never be able to look at Budweiser in the same way again. Clenching my jaw, I grab the cap and throw it in the bin. ‘Just coming.’
‘They’ve gone,’ she says quietly through the door.
I swing around, air gushing from my lungs in relief. ‘They have?’
‘Yes, just left. His wife seemed a bit drunk.’
I open the door and face my friend’s pursed lips, trying to smile. It’s an epic fail. ‘A bit?’
‘Okay. Totally fucked.’ Lizzy eyes me carefully. ‘To be fair, she was sinking wine like water.’
I wince. ‘I think they were arguing. What if she knows?’ I start to shake again.
‘She doesn’t know, Annie. Calm down.’
I try to breathe steadily, and Lizzy takes my arm. ‘Come on.’ She pulls me out of the bathroom, where I think I’d happily hide for the rest of my life. ‘Micky’s lined up shots, and I think you need ten of them.’