Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
I liked drunk Annalise. “That’s actually a damn good idea.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Except it’s already taken.”
“Nooooo.”
“Yep. There’s a pale ale named Me So Honey. It’s actually pretty good.”
“You’ve tasted it?”
“Of course. How could I pass a beer with that name and not bring it to my buddy’s? Who hasn’t brought a bottle of Ménage à Trois wine to a party for the same reason?”
Annalise kicked her bare feet up on the coffee table. “Me! I’ve never bought it.”
“Well, that’s because you’re uptight.”
Her eyes went wide. “I am not uptight.”
“So you’ve had a ménage à trois, then?” It was fun screwing with her.
“No. But that doesn’t make me uptight.”
I leaned forward and poured two more shots of vodka. Annalise hesitated, but I nudged. “One more. It’ll help clear your mind.”
She’d made a face after the first two shots. But this one went down smooth. Yep. Annalise was definitely a damn lightweight.
She slammed the empty shot glass down on the table a little too hard. “Ménage à blah. I was dumped once for not wanting to swing.”
My brows jumped. Totally not what I expected to come out of her mouth. “Your boyfriend wanted you to sleep with another guy?”
“Yep. In my first year of college. And of course, he’d get to sleep with another woman.”
I sucked back my shot. “That never appealed to me. I’m not big on sharing a woman.”
Annalise snort-laughed. “Maybe you should date me. That’ll make you want to sleep with other women.”
I let that comment sink in a minute before responding. Did she just tell me she sucks in bed? “Ummm…come again?”
She cackled so hard she tipped over on the couch. I had no idea what the fuck she was laughing about, but I started to laugh, too. Watching her loosen up and be amused at her own comments was pretty damn funny.
When her tipsy giggle fit subsided, she let out a wistful sigh. “Men suck. No offense.”
I shrugged. Men do suck, especially me. “None taken.”
“Sorry. I think the shots went to my head.” She sat up straight and smoothed out her hair. “Let’s get back to brainstorming. My brain took a detour, apparently.”
“Oh no you don’t. You can’t just drop that dating you makes men sleep with other women and move on. I’m a man, remember? I suck. I can’t move on from that without an explanation. Are you bad in bed or something?”
Annalise forced a smile, but it was a pretty damn sad one. “No. At least I don’t think so. I’ve been told I’m good at…” She looked down and then back up under those thick lashes. “…certain things. I just meant because I got dumped for declining swapping once and now…my boyfriend…ex-boyfriend…Andrew and I…we’re on a break.”
That answer had a lot of information in it, but I couldn’t get past certain things.
Was she flexible?
Give great head?
I once knew a woman who did this amazing thing with my balls…
I swallowed. Fuck.
“Ummm… You’re right. We should get back to work. Excuse me for a minute.” I abruptly got up and went to the bathroom to splash water on my face. A few minutes later I’d managed to wrangle my thoughts away from what talents Annalise might have.
Returning to the bullpen, I took a seat across from her. “How about Wild Honey? Men and women both respond well to the word wild. We can market by some association with the name—wild parties, wild adventures, wild animals.”
Annalise seemed to ponder my suggestion for a while. At least that’s what I’d assumed she was doing until she spoke.
“You’re a guy. What does on a break really mean to you?”
Shit. Do I answer that honestly or tell her what she wants to hear?
“Veto.”
Her forehead wrinkled. “What?”
“You said we each have three vetoes, and when one of us hates something the other comes up with, all we have to do is say veto and we move on—no debating the idea. I’m invoking my first veto power. I’m not touching that question.”
“Come on. I really want to know. I’ve only gotten a woman’s perspective. And you don’t strike me as the type of guy to bullshit me.”
I studied her carefully. She’d been giggling a few minutes ago, but she also seemed to be sincere in wanting an answer. So I took a deep breath.
“Okay. To me, being on a break means I want to have my cake and eat it, too. I don’t want to commit to just one woman, but I also don’t want her to commit to anyone else—in case the day comes when I decide I’m ready to settle down. So I keep her on the hook, while I go fishing somewhere else for a while.”
She frowned. “Andrew said he needed to discover who he is. On Valentine’s Day. I got dumped on Valentine’s Day.”
What a dick.
“How long were you together?”
“Eight years. Since junior year in college.”