Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 106346 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106346 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
“It really is,” I say, thinking about the other motel in town that rents rooms by the hour. I lasted two weeks before my stomach gave out when I went to clean a room, and there was so much lube and blood on one bed that it had seeped into the mattress.
“Where does Dylan stay when you clean?” she asks, and I look over at her.
“I bring him with me. He usually watches videos or goes to the park next door,” I say. The door opens, and I hear his voice, so I turn to see Dylan and Justin walking into the room.
“See, I told you that she was here,” Dylan says, and Justin just looks at me with a huge smile on his face.
“Hey there,” he says, looking at me and then nodding at Cheryl who sits there with her mouth hanging open.
“What are you two doing here?” I ask, looking back at the clock to make sure it’s working.
“We got out a bit early,” Justin says. “We can go wait in the SUV.”
“No,” Cheryl says, recovering from the shock of either Justin or that he is so good looking. “She’s done anyway.”
“I still have this bag to finish, and then I have to help sort them.” I look at Justin and Dylan, who is now standing like Justin.
“Oh, no,” Cheryl says. “I have to go in twenty minutes, so I’m leaving all this here and we can work on it on Monday.”
“Are you sure?” I ask, looking around at the heaping piles of clothes.
“Oh, yeah,” she says, smiling. “Your boys are waiting for you.”
“Okay,” I say, getting up and ignoring the way my stomach flipped when she said my boys.
“Can we get ice cream?” Dylan says. “Justin says only if you said yes.”
I look at him, and he just shrugs. “I said I was okay only if you were okay with it.”
“So can we?” Dylan asks.
“We’ll see,” I say, grabbing my purse and then waving to Cheryl. I walk out, and the heat hits me right away. “It’s so hot.”
“Yeah, and it’s only going to get hotter,” Justin says, walking next to me. His fingers graze mine, and he finally wraps his fingers around mine. “They are calling for a heatwave for the next two weeks.”
“So can we have ice cream?” Dylan asks, and I nod my head.
“Only if Justin lets me pay for it,” I say, and Justin stops walking and looks at me and glares.
“Justin, will you let Mommy pay for the ice cream?”
Justin looks at me, and I’m all excited because I finally got the upper hand. “Sure,” he says, and I’m just happy I won until the rest comes out. “But my dad taught me that it’s rude to let a girl pay for ice cream if you like them.” Dylan just looks at me. “And I really like your mom, so if she pays for it …”
“Mom,” Dylan says, “it’s rude if you pay, so you have to let Justin pay.”
“Yeah,” Justin says. “It’s rude for you to let the girls pay. Besides, girls should be treated like princesses, and we all know that no princess pays.”
“Yeah, because the king or the prince pays,” Dylan agrees. “So let’s go get ice cream, and Justin is going to pay because he likes you, and it’s rude if you pay.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Justin says, and I can’t glare at him enough.
I cross my arms over my chest the whole ride there, and then I don’t even talk to him. We walk to the window, and he orders Dylan’s and then looks at me, and I just shake my head. “Dylan, what is your mom’s favorite?”
“She likes the two colors,” he says. “Vanilla and chocolate.”
“Traitor,” I say. Justin just throws his head back and laughs and then comes over and takes me in his arms. He puts one arm around my shoulder and then pulls me to the window.
“Sweetheart, just order your ice cream,” he says quietly. “And the next time you pull a stunt like that,” he says, leaning in just a touch more, “I’ll really throw you over my shoulder.” I should push him away from me. I should tell him that I’ll kick him in the balls if he even so much as tries it, but instead, I stand here while my heart skips a beat, and my stomach flips with butterflies. Even my body is a traitor.
He orders me a vanilla and chocolate swirl and hands it to me. “Here you go, sweetheart.”
“Yeah, right,” I say, grabbing it and bringing it to my lips while I look over at Dylan who has his own vanilla cone.
“Do you want to sit over there?” Justin points at the picnic table beside the ice cream place. Dylan walks over, and Justin sits with his legs on each side of the bench. I sit beside him, but he scoots over, and it’s almost as if I’m sitting between his legs. Dylan sits in front of us, and he tells me all about his day and how he scored on Justin when they played one-on-one.