Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 96292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 321(@300wpm)
I bite into my high protein bagel with blueberry cashew cream cheese. “He’s so good at breaking my heart,” I mumble before swallowing, “and putting it back together. How could he be anything but my boyfriend?”
“Well, I hope you’re using condoms. When I went to Coachella the spring I met your dad, Juni sent so many condoms with me, and she texted condoms! So I’ll mention it now, and text you later. CONDOMS!”
“I’m twenty-six. Almost twenty-seven. You were eighteen when you met Dad. I think I’m mature enough to handle birth control. But thanks.”
“Yes, but sometimes you just need to bang one out,” Grandma says. “And you don’t want to mess with the logistics of birth control. You just can’t wait for him to be inside of you. Grinding and groaning.”
“Juni …” Mom nearly snorts her coffee out her nose.
Grandma casually lifts a shoulder. “I heard you and Bodhi in the shower this morning. Don’t act so innocent.”
“Ew … nope. Not doing this,” I say, taking my bagel and a napkin to the bedroom as Mom and Grandma laugh.
While I’m finishing my breakfast on my balcony, the door behind me opens.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
I wrinkle my nose when Flynn kisses my neck. “You’re sweaty.”
“Sorry,” he says, leaning forward to take a bite of my bagel. “Your dad likes running hills.”
“How was jogging with my dad?” I turn my chair to face him. “What did you talk about?"
He leans his hip against the railing, wiping his sweaty face with his shirt. “What I discuss with your dad is confidential.” He drops his shirt and smirks.
I shrug. “That’s fine.”
He lifts an eyebrow. “It is?”
I lick my fingers before hugging my knees to my chest. “Yes. My dad loves me, and if he loves you too, that’s pretty much all I could ever ask for.”
“Well”—Flynn chuckles—“he didn’t declare his love to me yet.”
I twist my lips. “But you’re working on it. Right?”
He kneels in front of me, pulling my legs away from my chest.
“I said you’re sweaty.”
He shrugs off his shirt.
“Stop …” I giggle.
Flynn takes my hands and presses them to his cheeks, and I instinctively brush my thumb over his lip where he brushes mine.
“Your dad is concerned that I might have dreams that don’t align with yours.”
My smile fades.
Leaning in, his lips stop short of touching mine. “I didn’t tell him I only dream of you,” he whispers.
His words resurrect my grin. “Let’s go dirty up my sheets,” I say before biting his lower lip.
He grins, pulling away. “They’re already dirty, but yes, I’ll let you lick my naked, sweaty body in a minute.”
I roll my eyes.
“I need to go back to Minneapolis next week, just for a few days. Monroe is getting married. It’s just a small ceremony in a park, but I’m the best man. And I need to get the rest of my belongings from the Rawlings’ house. And I want to say goodbye to my old boss.”
I nod slowly. “You have some loose ends to tie up.”
“Yeah.”
“Is that it?” I rub my lips together.
“Uh, yep. Pretty much.”
“Okay,” I say, squeezing past him to stand and head back into the bedroom.
“Where you going?” he asks.
“I’m going to swim laps.”
“Thought we were getting back in bed.”
“I changed my mind.” I grab my swimsuit from the closet.
Flynn stands in the doorway. “What am I missing?”
“Nothing,” I brush past him toward the bathroom.
He grabs my wrist to stop me. “No. We’re not doing this. At least not now. Not until I get better at it.”
I give him a dead stare. “Better at what?”
“Games. I used to watch Monroe and Naomi play these …” He bobs his head as though he’s searching for the right words. “Head games. She’d get upset with him and act like you’re acting.”
“How am I acting?”
“Cold. Like you’re waiting for me to figure out what I did wrong. This is new to me. So I’m going to lose every time because I don’t know the game or the rules. Do I stink? Is it about Minneapolis? You think your grandma will take a turn for the worse while I’m gone?”
I close my eyes on a long sigh. “Don’t you get a plus-one?”
“Huh?”
Oh, Flynn …
“You’re right. No games. I want you to ask me to attend Monroe’s wedding with you. Can you do that?”
Flynn’s lips twitch before slowly curling into a huge grin. “You want to be my wedding date?”
“No.” I fight to keep a straight face. “I want to be your world.”
He grabs my face. “Zoya June Juju Malone, will you be my wedding date?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Dear god, what have I gotten myself into?”
Before I can answer, he kisses me, backing me into the bathroom and kicking the door shut behind us.
“I hate it,” Flynn says, staring out the window of Grandma Juni’s private jet on our way to Minneapolis.