Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40189 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40189 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
"Hello to you too," I mumble, dropping my clutch beside the door. I kick my heels off, holding onto the credenza to balance myself. Pictures on top rattle, threatening to tip over as I wobble, unsteady. I swear, stilettos are the most fun when they're still in the box.
"Oh my gosh! Your panties are missing!"
Crap.
I straighten up so fast my head spins.
My best friend gapes at me, her mouth hanging open. "You did meet someone," she whispers, reaching out to grab my arm. She practically hauls me across our spacious living room before forcing me to sit beside her on the sectional. "Tell me everything. Especially the good parts."
Her wicked laugh makes me giggle. God, I love her.
Elodie is one of the only people in the world who never judges me. She knows all my secrets and never tries to tell me what I can or can't do. She understands exactly how it feels for the whole world to see her as something she isn't.
But if I'm wrapped in bubble wrap, it's the exact opposite for her. Men take one look at her tattoos and pinup clothes and assume she's open to their lewd propositions and crude suggestions. She isn't. She's a virgin just like me. But they judge her without knowing the first thing about her.
I think that's why we became so close in college. When we're together, people treat us a little more like normal humans and a little less like us. She doesn't get as many lewd comments, and I don't get treated like a teenager out past my bedtime.
That's how our friendship started. It's blossomed since our freshman year. She's my ride or die now. I'd do anything for her, and she'd do the same for me.
"Spill it, Gemma Marsh!" she cries, poking me in the side. "What happened tonight?"
"Bronx Kaiser happened," I mutter, feeling my cheeks heat. My stomach flutters too, my entire body reacting to just the memory of the bossy, beautiful man.
I didn't want to leave tonight, but he walked me to my car and kissed me senseless before putting me inside. He followed me here on his bike to make sure I made it safely.
I'm already counting the hours until I see him again tomorrow.
He's so far under my skin it's ridiculous.
Elodie's mouth pops open. "Bronx? You mean Coby's older brother?"
"Yep." I grab a teal throw off the back of the sectional, throwing it over my lap.
"You slept with Bronx?" She stares at me like I'm a foreign species. "Bronx put that look on your face?"
"Stop looking at me like that!" I cry, covering my face with my hands.
"I'm sorry! I'm just…wow," she mumbles. "Every time I've met him, he's been cranky. But you're freaking glowing. I'm trying to wrap my head around this."
"He is so cranky." I drop my hands, smiling at the reminder. "And bossy. And so freaking hot, Elodie. And oh my gosh, he's filthy. And um, never mind. I'm not telling you about that. But he's so sweet too."
"He was good to you?"
I nod vigorously.
"He was respectful?"
"Very."
"I don't need to kill him?" she asks.
"Definitely not." I make a face. "I might, though. He has a lot of freaking rules. Like me not being allowed to…" I trail off, blushing. "Never mind."
"Nope. No way." She pokes me in the side again. "You already used your never mind for this conversation. Spill."
I huff, which doesn't earn me any sympathy whatsoever. She merely shoots me a look that tells me to spill it.
"I'm not allowed to get myself off until I see him again!"
Her eyes widen. "And you're actually going to obey this rule?"
"Maybe. Probably," I whisper, pressing my hands to my overheated cheeks.
"Wow. High five for Bronx," Elodie breathes, holding her hand up for a high five.
I giggle, slapping my palm against hers.
She laughs too, collapsing against me. "You seem really happy, Gemma."
"I am. So freaking happy." I learned something about myself tonight, and no one treated me like a kid or ignored what I wanted. For once, what I wanted for me mattered. Bronx made sure it mattered.
From the very first moment, he listened to what I had to say. He didn't try to decide for me. He let me explore and helped me articulate what I liked. He made tonight about me when he so easily could have made it about himself. In his position, a lot of men would have done exactly that…made tonight about their desires and their pleasures. Not Bronx.
"You're glowing," Elodie says. "Is it the sex or the man?"
"We didn't have sex."
"You came home with no panties."
"I didn't say we didn't have fun," I mumble, blushing. "I said we didn't have sex."
"It's definitely the man then."
I gulp, nodding. "I think so."
"Now you just look terrified," she says with a little laugh, scraping her long hair up into a ponytail.