Total pages in book: 185
Estimated words: 191421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 957(@200wpm)___ 766(@250wpm)___ 638(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 191421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 957(@200wpm)___ 766(@250wpm)___ 638(@300wpm)
“Yes,” I say.
“And we can leave any time you want us to,” Jupiter chimes in.
“Got it.”
“So there’s nothing to worry about,” Poe concludes. “If he says something or, you know, does something, we’ll be there for you.”
I want to respond to Poe but I find that I can’t.
Not because I’m suddenly afraid again — I mean, the nerves are still there but I’ve mostly got a handle on it — but because I feel a tremble go through my body.
I feel my belly clench and my toes curl.
If he says something…
I wonder what he will say. When he sees me for the first time in two years.
I wonder what he’ll sound like.
Will he be angry? Enraged that I’m here when he specifically told me to stay away from him.
Or will he be too shocked, too stunned to say anything at all?
Or maybe he’ll see me after such a long time and for a few seconds, he’ll forget.
What I did to him.
How I hurt him.
I don’t know.
All I know is that whatever he’ll say, however he’ll sound, I can’t wait for it.
I can’t wait to hear his voice after two long years.
“I know,” I finally gather my voice to reply to Poe. “But it’s okay. It’s going to be fine. Besides, as you guys already told me, no guy in his right mind would be able to say anything upsetting, when he takes a look at this.”
I wave my hand up and down my body to tell them what I mean. And as expected, their grins come out and I’m relieved; I don’t want them to worry about me anymore.
Plus it’s the truth anyway. The dress that I have on is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
All thanks to Poe.
Along with being an awesome friend, Poe is a fashionista. Her eye for design and colors and fabric is second to none, and the corset-style dress that she’s chosen for me makes me look prettier than I am. It clings to my body in all the right places, accentuating my tiny waist and my C-cup boobs. Not to mention, my pale skin and my dirty blonde hair shine against the backdrop of the suede fabric.
Plus it’s blue.
His favorite color.
Now that my temporary freak-out is over, we all finish up getting dressed and head to our destination: a bar called The Horny Bard.
Despite what the name suggests — probably a strip club or something similar — The Horny Bard is a sports bar in Bardstown. It’s a very popular hangout for all the soccer players, and given that I’ve been living in Bardstown since I was twelve, I’ve heard of it. But this is the first time I’m going to set foot in it.
And I have to say that it’s the loudest place I’ve ever been in.
It’s not just the music either.
Which is extremely loud and heavily bass-centric; so much so that I swear the liquor bottles at the bar and the glasses on the table are freaking vibrating. It’s also the big TV screens up on the dark walls and the people who are shouting and cheering and swearing at them.
Plus it has to be the most dungeon-y place that I’ve ever been in.
Everything is not only dark but bathed in a reddish glow. From the crazy mob to the shiny liquor bottles, the brick walls, the pool tables in the back, the furniture.
I don’t see how this place can be remotely popular, but it is and it’s okay.
I’m keeping my mind on important things.
Like how if the information that I have is correct, he’s going to be here tonight.
And it should be.
I mean, the Bardstown High West chat group — comprised of girls from my old school —wouldn’t spread false information about this at least. Especially when he’s coming back to town after two whole years and is apparently… single.
So I forge ahead, ignoring the loud music, scary swearing and even the fact that I step into something super sticky and have to almost rip my heel off the floor in order to keep going.
I will let nothing, least of all the tackiness of the bar, stand in my way tonight.
But then a few moments later, I see something that makes me think — jarringly and abruptly — that I spoke too quickly.
Because I think I would let something stand in my way.
Or someone.
The only one.
With skin like my favorite season and eyes like dark melted chocolate. Only they’re not all melted chocolate. There are tones of rich red wine. Which you only see when you’re close to him.
Super close.
So close that you know that his skin doesn’t just look like summer, it feels like summer too. It feels hot and smooth and like basking in the sunshine.
So close that you know he’s also hard and strong all over. He feels like a mountain made of packed muscles and dense bones, and you feel all fragile and delicate when he wraps his arms around you.