Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 100612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
When he hands the tweezers to me, I hold them up in front of his nose, tapping them together like alligator teeth.
“Hold still.” Chomp, chomp. “Let me see if I can get us out of this mess.”
“With those?” he squeaks, clearly terrified.
“It’ll be fine.” It has to be fine. “I’ll be careful.”
Carefully—as if I were a surgeon performing a delicate operation—I wedge the tweezers as slowly as I can between his fingers and my flesh, gently trying to pry them apart without hurting either of us.
“Ow, ow—stop, stop, stop.”
I stop.
“Seriously?” I huff. “This is your fault. I take my eyes off you for three seconds and this happens. You’re gonna have to suck it up and let me do this.”
“Only because I became distracted by someone bossing me around, because God forbid I choose the wrong flower color for your precious garden thing.”
“Trellis. Garden trellis.”
“They didn’t even have those back in medieval times.” He ignores me and continues complaining. “What a stupid idea.”
“Literally not the point!” I practically hiss in frustration. “You are glued to me. Focus, Easton, focus!”
I fixate on the hand pressed to my skin; it’s so big. These hands have been on your body, Harper, running down your spine when he kissed you.
I give my head a shake, biting my bottom lip.
Concentrating on the task, I do my best to ignore the way my pulse quickens with him so close. He smells so good…so clean, with a hint of something woodsy.
Guh!
I bite harder on my lip, forcing my brain to come up with a solution to get us apart rather than getting distracted by the heat of his skin beneath my touch. His index and middle fingers specifically.
“Agh,” he mutters. “We don’t have time for this!”
I roll my eyes. “You’re not going to be stuck here all night—calm down.”
I push. Pull. Nip at the glue with the tweezers.
Cringe.
Gasp.
It hurts, but I’m willing to fight through the pain.
And just as I’m about to say Let’s just rip off the Band-Aid and separate on the count of three, the gym doors behind me bang open, followed by a cool breeze hitting my back.
Everyone seems to stop what they’re doing to stare. Time stands still. Birds stop chirping.
I know who it is without turning to look.
Maddie Miller.
Great.
Perfect!
Of all the people who could walk in right now, of course it has to be the last person I want to see. She’s got her camera with her, probably to film that content for her socials she mentioned to Easton, making good on her promise.
Shit, shit, double shit.
Easton shifts slightly, trying to block Maddie’s view of his hand on my body, but it won’t work. We’re too close together, almost on top of one another at this point. Too tangled.
My heart is pounding so freaking fast and hard I’m certain everyone around us can hear it. How could they not?
I watch spellbound as Maddie’s keen eyes scan the room like she’s on a mission. She hasn’t seen us yet, but it’s only a matter of time. I feel a wave of panic wash over me as I realize there is no way we’re going to escape this unscathed.
Unfilmed.
As if she were in a music video, her long blond hair catches the light, tousled from the wind outside whipping it around her face. She’s wearing a strappy top that recently went viral on the internet, making it impossible to find, of course, and is the center of attention.
Always the center of attention…
Easton’s posture straightens, taking me along with him. I wince again as he twists his body to watch her approach.
He makes one last-ditch attempt at disconnecting us, tugging his hand, gawking at Maddie as if she were the only other person in the gym and he weren’t glued to me.
Chapter 24
Easton
“Well. Guess you were wrong about her showing up. Guess she is the kind of girl who doesn’t mind having glitter in her hair after all.”
“Huh?”
I pivot back to look at Harper—I almost forgot she was tethered to me.
I shake my head and shift in my spot, forcing her body to contort to accommodate my position. I wouldn’t say we’re twisted like a pretzel, but it is highly uncomfy sitting on the floor like this, unable to separate.
If I move, the glue rips painfully at her neck. If she moves, it rips at the tips of my fingers.
Not ideal.
“Hello, pay attention.” She waves a hand in my face. “We’re trying to fix this?”
“I realize that.”
“Do you?” Harper looks so disgusted with me, her eyes and mine drawn to Maddie Miller and her sudden appearance in the gym. “She is not the priority here.”
I nod along as she complains, trying to actively listen. Dude, it’s so hard, though…
Then.
Maddie looks straight at me.
Like, straight into my soul.
“Easton!” Harper barks, snapping me out of another trance. “I swear.”