Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 104657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 523(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104657 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 523(@200wpm)___ 419(@250wpm)___ 349(@300wpm)
Everleigh doesn’t respond, so I glance over my shoulder. She’s staring at my ass. When she lifts her gaze, she smirks.
Chapter Eleven
Eleven years earlier . . .
As if it wasn’t enough that I stayed the whole night with no sex, I played games in her apartment until she was done with her classes the next day. When Tyler called to see if I wanted to have lunch with him and his parents, I lied and said I had a headache.
Who was this girl? And why was I so fascinated by her?
“What do you want to do?” I hollered, continuing to play the game while she changed her clothes in the bedroom.
“Let’s fly a kite,” she said.
I wrinkled my nose, keeping my focus on the screen. “Fly a kite?”
“Yes. My father sent me a new one, and I haven’t had a chance to fly it yet.” She stepped around the corner in a sleeveless cream sundress and Birkenstocks. “When was the last time you flew a kite?”
I shut off the game and stood. “When I still had deciduous teeth.”
Everleigh eyed me with a hesitant smile. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. When was the last time you flew a kite?”
She pulled the kite out of the coat closet. “A couple of weeks ago.”
“You just . . . fly kites by yourself? For fun?”
“Yes.” She laughed, handing me the kite before threading her arms through her mini black leather backpack. “Don’t you have a solitary pastime?”
“Well, yes. But it’s not polite to talk about it.” I opened the door.
Everleigh studied me. I knew she wouldn’t get my joke, and there was no way I would tell her it was a quip about masturbating.
“We’re not in public. There’s no need to be polite,” she said, stepping into the hallway.
“True. But if something’s not suitable for public discourse, it’s also not suitable for the ladies.”
Her laughter filled the air as I walked to the elevator. “You’re a peculiar guy, William Landry. And I mean that in the best way.”
I puffed out my chest, even though she was the second-year medical student who flew kites by herself as a pastime. Peculiar? Absolutely.
When we arrived at the park, she jumped out of the cab and pulled the kite from its bag before we made it past the sidewalk.
“It’s a designer fighter cheel kite. Isn’t it beautiful?”
I nodded as she handed me the reel to hold. The kite was sky blue with pink and green. It was fine. Beautiful felt like a stretch.
In a matter of seconds, she had it assembled. I handed her the spool, and then she kicked off her shoes and tossed the kite into the air, but the breeze didn’t catch it. She tried several more times.
“It’s not windy enough,” I said.
“It’s fine. Here. You’re taller. I’ll hold the spool, and you hold the string close to the kite and run with it, slowly letting out more string.”
I stared at her. What happened to my one-night stand? Why was I at a park flying a kite without so much as a hand job? More than that, why was her grin so big? And why did it do weird things to my chest?
“Fine,” I said with an exaggerated sigh.
Everleigh lit up, eyes wide and shoulders at her ears like she was on the verge of squealing.
I jogged with the kite, letting out the string as it took flight. “Faster!” she yelled.
I laughed. “How fast do you think I can run with my hand in the air?”
“Okay, let go!”
I released the string, and the kite caught a wave of air. Everleigh released more string and gazed up at the kite, eyes squinted against the sun. I looked at her face-splitting grin, the breeze blowing her hair into her face, and the way she moved back and forth, side to side on her toes as if flying a kite were a dance.
“Do you want to fly it?” she asked.
“It’s your thing. I’m good.”
She stole a quick glance at me. “I invited you, so it’s our thing. Maybe you can let me do your top-secret pastime with you. That would make us official friends.”
I choked on my laugh, pressing a fist to my mouth. “We’ll see.”
She handed me the spool. “Got it?”
I nodded, taking it from her.
“Fun, right?”
I grinned without answering.
“See? There’s plenty of wind once you get it up there. Let’s lie down.”
“What?”
She crossed her feet and squatted before rocking onto her back.
“What do the directions say? Is it safe to fly a kite while lying on the ground?”
“It’s easier on your neck,” she said.
I lowered to my knees and then eased onto my back beside her.
“Don’t let it go.”
“I’m not,” I said.
“See? Easier on your neck.” She rolled toward me, head resting on her bent arm.
“You’re not even looking at the kite.” I chuckled.
Everleigh hummed. “I like looking at you.”