Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 93942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93942 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Landon flipped off the switches, so that the only light was from the fire, which is how I liked it. I sat in the middle of the couch, and Kai and Asher sat on either side of me, close enough that our legs were touching.
Landon joined us last after switching off the lights and frowned when he saw us. “Where am I supposed to sit?” He handed a blanket to Asher, who spread it over the three of us.
That was something I’d already figured out from hanging out with the three of them—that I only had two sides for them to be on. “You could sit on my lap,” I offered.
He grinned and scooted the coffee table out a foot. Then he sat on it, his forearms resting on his knees as he leaned toward me.
I gulped. This was it.
Landon started—we’d all tacitly acknowledged that he was the best person to lead this particular conversation. And so he dove in. “Say anything you’d like, Zoe, as long as it’s the truth.”
Which was easier said than done, but I nodded.
“Have the lessons been everything you hoped they’d be?”
I let out a relieved breath. At least he’d started with an easy question. “Yes. Everything I’d hoped for and more.”
“Good to hear,” Asher said, putting his arm around my shoulders.
Kai put his hand on my thigh, squeezing lightly, as we all watched Landon.
“Since our time here is almost up, and since we’ll soon be in different parts of the country, we need to know if this was just about sex… or about something more.”
Damn it. There it was, the question I’d been dreading. It made me want to sink down and disappear into the sofa cushions. Didn’t he know what an impossible question that was for me? “I don’t understand why it matters,” I said in a small voice. “This time with you guys… it turned out better than I ever could’ve imagined. It’ll be my favorite memory from my entire time at school. And that’s the honest truth.”
“It matters because I can’t pretend that this is about sex. I can’t pretend my feelings for you haven’t changed,” Landon said softly. “The question is, have yours changed about us?”
Shaken, I just looked at him. How could he think I could know that in just a few weeks?
“Let’s start simple,” Kai said. “Do you still think Asher’s a complete asshole?”
“Thanks, man,” Asher grumbled, and Landon chuckled.
“No.”
Asher squeezed my shoulder. “Am I still the one you’d murder in Fuck, Marry, Kill?”
I laughed despite myself. “No.”
“Then which? Fuck or marry?”
Though he was teasing, panic filled me. “That’s a dumb game.”
“Could we not make this conversation even more difficult by mentioning the ‘m’ word?” Kai asked.
“It doesn’t have to be difficult.” Landon’s blue eyes were steady on mine. “Whatever you’re feeling, whether you think we’ll like it or not, is fine. It’s what you’re feeling. We’re not asking you to say anything untrue for the sake of our egos.”
I nearly rolled my eyes at that. Landon wasn’t the one who had an ego the size of a mountain—unlike the two men next to me.
Asher dove in. “Do you want to see us again?”
“She’ll have to see you. You go to the same school,” Kai pointed out.
“But we managed to avoid each other, with one notable exception, the first three-and-a-half years,” Asher pointed out.
“I want to see you again. All of you.”
Landon looked please. “That’s a start.”
“No, it’s not. It depends on why she wants to see us. Is it just for sex?” Asher demanded.
“Of course not. I like spending time with you.”
“Spending time in the friend zone,” Kai muttered.
“I think of you as more than a friend,” Landon said in his simple, straightforward way. “So, I’d like to know how you see me. See us.”
“We were clear,” I said desperately. “From the start we were clear. Nobody was supposed to catch feelings, so I stuck to that.”
“I think you’re lying.” Asher’s voice wasn’t accusatory, just matter of fact.
“I’m not.”
“I think you are. Remember when I was in the chair and you straddled me? You freaked out, and it took me a long time to realize why.”
“I was tired,” I protested. “Most virgins don’t go from zero to sixty in one night like that.”
“You were fine once I laid you on the bed,” Asher continued. “I think that when we were face to face, eye to eye… it started to feel too real, too raw for you. As if it might be about more than just sex.”
“No, that’s not what…” My quiet words trailed off.
“I know that, because I felt it too. That was the first time it hit me that this wasn’t just about banging the hot chick I had a complicated history with. You were right there, staring into my eyes, your arms wrapped around me… and it started to feel like it might be something else.”