Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 97364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
I halt. Every part of my body, including my breath, just … stops.
I’ve had dreams like this—too many to count. This one is much more vivid than any of the other dreams.
“Hi.” His voice is not echoed like it’s been before in my other dreams. His golden blond hair is longer, not quite long enough to pull back into a ponytail but close. The beard. It’s longer too. Shorter than it was when we met but longer than it was … in my last dream. Because … this has to be a dream.
Blink. Blink. Blink.
“Mind if I come inside?” He nods toward my door, a small smile spreading across his beautiful face.
Blink. Blink. Blink.
“Hi,” I whisper.
Thunder rumbles, vibrating the floor beneath us.
Theo’s smile grows a bit more. “Is this still your apartment?”
I shake my head. “Sorry. Uh … yes.” I unlock the door and step inside, shrugging off my jacket.
Theo closes the door behind him and leans up against it, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans. “You live alone?” His gaze trails around the room.
I rub the goose bumps along my arms and nod. Words still evade me.
“How have you been?”
How have I been? Is that a real question? “Good.” I relinquish a polite smile.
He nods.
The awkwardness sucks the oxygen from the room. My heartbeat is sporadic like it doesn’t have a clue what to do.
“You just get off work?”
I nod.
“What do you do?”
“Um …” I fiddle with the hem of my shirt.
He chuckles.
I narrow my eyes then look down. “Oh.” I laugh at my blue shirt with an apple on the front.
“Sorry.” He pushes his hands deeper into his pockets. It brings his shoulders closer to his face. He looks so young, handsome, and … happy. “I’ve seen you at the Genius Bar.”
“You have?” I narrow one eye.
He looks down at his feet. God … who is this man? Is he embarrassed? Shy? I’ve never known this side to Theodore Reed. “Yes. I’ve been in town for a few days.”
“Stalking me?”
He glances up. “Just … seeing how you’re doing.”
I try to decide what that means as I return a slow nod.
“You look amazing.”
I smile. “So do you.”
We stare at each other in more awkward silence.
“Uh, can I get you some tea or …”
“Tea?” He chuckles. “Just say it. You only have tea or water to offer me. Maybe some carrot juice?”
I shake my head, biting back my grin. “I’m out of carrots. I need to go to the supermarket.”
“I’m good. I don’t want to keep you. I just wanted to say hi and see how you’re doing.”
Theodore Reed, if you walk out that door again, I’m certain I will die right here in this very spot. It still feels like this is a dream. I’m so afraid if I move an inch, I’ll wake up and he’ll be gone.
I point toward the kitchen. “Maybe there’s still one of Oscar’s beers in the back of the fridge. I can go check.”
Theo shakes his head. “It’s fine. Really, I don’t want to keep you.” He turns and twists the doorknob.
“Do you miss me?” I ask in unapologetic desperation. I don’t need to know if he still loves me, just if he misses me. That’s all that matters.
He drops his forehead to the door, slowly rolling it side to side. My fucking feet won’t move. Maybe it’s my heart pounding in my throat. Maybe it’s the fear that if I touch him and he still leaves, the heartache will start all over again.
“So much I can barely breathe,” he whispers.
Tears flood my eyes. “Then maybe you should want to.”
He slowly turns, eyes red and glassy with emotion. “Want to what?”
“You…” I blink and the tears release “…you said you didn’t want to keep me. But if you miss me even a fraction of the way I miss you…” my voice shakes as my words struggle to claw past the lump of emotion stuck in my throat “…then maybe you should want to keep me.”
His forehead tightens. “Scarlet …”
Scarlet …
I close my eyes. My name on his lips brings my mere existence back to life again. When his hand presses to my cheek, I open my eyes.
“I don’t deserve you.”
I rest my hand on his chest. I’ve never felt his heartbeat in dreams. “You really don’t.” I grin through my tears.
He smiles back. It’s sad and filled with uneasiness. “Can I keep you anyway?”
Leaning forward, I rest my ear next to my hand on his chest. It’s such a beautiful sound, such a perfect feeling, such an unforgettable moment.
“I’ve always been yours, Theodore Reed.”
My name is Scarlet Stone, and I am alive.
EPILOGUE
Theodore
“Are you nervous?” Scarlet asks as I grab my faded jeans and slip them on.
“Of course not.” I’m fucking terrified.
She hops off the stool and saunters toward me. My dick’s hard in less than three seconds. It’s not a good time to get an erection. Her finger traces down the lines of my chest, over my abs, stopping at the waistband of my briefs.