Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 84952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84952 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
We stand like two teenagers going to prom, facing each other but scared to actually touch. Suddenly, this seems like a terrible, rotten idea because I have no idea how I’m going to keep my wits about me tonight.
I don’t think I can.
My brain screams at me to stay in check while my body begs for a free pass. My mind can’t deny that a free pass—especially under the circumstances I just carefully laid out to my friends—wouldn’t be the end of the world.
If the opportunity presents itself.
What do I have to lose?
“Boone,” Bellamy says, “this is our cue to go, good buddy.”
He sticks a hand out to Hollis. “It was nice to meet you. Nice car, too. Is it fast?”
“Oh, hell yeah,” Hollis says, giving his hand a shake. “I’ll take you for a ride when we have more time. It’s a twelve-second car.”
“No shit?” Boone asks.
“Yeah. River and I did it on this abandoned stretch of the way just off the campus. It used to be an old mine road or something, and we ran it just to see what it’d do. Quarter-mile in twelve seconds. Not too bad.” He smiles proudly.
“That’s awesome,” Boone tells him, side-eyeing me before turning back to Hollis. “Hey, are you coming to our New Year's Eve party?”
Hollis looks at me. I can see the hesitation in his eyes because we haven’t discussed that. We haven’t discussed anything after tonight because our relationship pact ends after Jack’s party.
“I haven’t brought it up,” I say so that Hollis doesn’t have to stumble his way through it. “He might have plans.”
“You gotta come,” Boone says. “We’ll all be there.”
“Not me,” Bellamy says.
I look at her. “Really, Bells?”
She shakes her head adamantly back and forth. “Not if Coy is coming.”
“He’s my brother. What are we supposed to do? Not invite him?” Boone asks, rolling his eyes.
“Sounds like a plan to me,” she says.
“Just avoid him,” Boone tells her.
“Trust me. I try. I avoid him like the fucking plague, but he is the fucking plague. I’d rather just avoid him from my house.”
I’m not entirely sure what happened between the two of them, but it’s been going on for a long time. Coy seems less hateful about Bells than she does him, but it doesn’t matter. She loathes Boone’s brother.
Or so she says.
Boone sighs. “Anyway, I hope to see you there, Hollis. It’s a great time. I promise.”
“Yeah. Okay. Thanks.” Hollis smiles at Boone. “We’ll see how things go.”
Boone looks at me and grins. “Call me tomorrow.”
“I will. And tell your mom thanks for the bracelet.”
Hollis looks at the gold circling my wrist and gulps. His hand goes into his pocket, and he frowns. I can’t think about it too much because Bellamy is hugging me.
“If you get Cheez-Its on this dress ….” I warn her.
“I hope that’s not all that gets all over this dress tonight,” she whispers in my ear.
I shove her away, making her laugh. “Get out of here.”
She exchanges a quiet goodbye with Hollis, and I’m glad I can’t hear it. The mischief in his eyes tells me it was something that would’ve embarrassed me.
As soon as the two of them are gone, the energy in the house changes. It gets hotter. Thicker. More alive.
“You look beautiful,” he tells me. The grit of his tone scratches wonderfully over my ears. “I meant it when I said that earlier.”
“And you clean up well. I love the suit and tie on you.”
“Do you?” He looks down at himself. “I don’t wear this shit often. I feel like a monkey.”
I laugh. “Well, you look handsome.”
He reaches for my hand. I hesitate before putting my palm inside his.
I hiccup a breath as our skin makes contact, and I feel the warmth of his hand as he closes his fingers around mine.
“Ready?” he asks, looking so deeply in my eyes that I think he can see my soul.
“Yup.”
“Let’s go then.”
With a final exchanged grin, we head out the door. And even though I know where we’re headed, the rest of the night is a mystery.
Like the man holding my hand.
Thirteen
Hollis
Holy shit.
I mumble the words under my breath as I take in the activities around me. I don't know what I expected when I agreed to accompany Larissa to her stepfather's event, but I think it was all along the lines of something like a football banquet. A table of food with caterers, even. I figured there would be a stage for people to get up and talk about a bunch of shit nobody really cares about.
This is not that.
A large ballroom in a ritzy hotel in Savannah sits in front of us. It’s filled to capacity with men and women whose Audis and Mercedes surround my Mustang in the valet.
I look down at Larissa.
That fucking dress has given me a hard-on since the moment I saw her. It was difficult to hide in front of her cousin, and it made the car ride here uncomfortable. Every time I look at her, I have to battle not throwing her over my shoulder and carrying her out of here.