Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 112892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“I don’t know,” he said innocently. “I’m normally a model student.” Despite his use of sign language earlier, it felt like he was speaking so easily to me—and I loved it.
A few frames later, he said, “I liked being at a bowling alley. It’s so loud that no one really expects you to hold a conversation, so I could pretend I was normal.”
“You are normal,” I said, and then shook my head after his ball thundered down the lane and knocked the pins into the next time zone. “I take it back. No normal guy bowls strike after strike.”
He grinned. “I get a few spares sometimes too.”
He gave me some tips after that, and I managed to get a few more pins each turn.
When we finished, his score was 256. Mine was 67.
“Not bad,” he said, looking at the numbers flashing on the computer screen. Then his grin turned teasing. “I’m sure you did better than a couple of those guys down at the last lane.”
Since there was a kid’s party at the last lane complete with balloons, a dad dressed like a clown, and bumpers blocking the gutters, that wasn’t much of a compliment. “Thanks a lot.”
“I’m serious—you did well. But I wish you’d knock down two more pins.”
“Why?” I said, looking again at my score of 67. Then I knew. “Don’t say it,” I said, turning to him.
Seeing the glint in his eye, I tried to cover his mouth, but he grabbed my hands and, in a move too fast for me to follow, twisted them behind me, trapping me against his chest.
The sudden closeness and being pressed against the hard wall of his chest knocked all other thoughts out of my mind.
But it left him free to say, “69 is my favorite number.”
“You and every other guy,” I muttered. Being this close to him was having an effect on me. His eyes met mine, then dropped to my lips. Then he dipped his head to my ear, his nose nuzzling against my hair. God, it was like he was a whole new person today. Maybe he’d really needed to tell someone about his childhood. I was honored he’d chosen me.
I stilled as he leaned in close, every cell in my body quivering in anticipation. “Behave yourself. There are children watching,” he whispered.
I laughed, trying to jerk out of his grasp, but he was stronger than I’d thought, and I couldn’t get free until he let me—which was both annoying and arousing.
After we finished the second game, we waited outside on a bench, sipping sodas.
Thanks to Cody, I was learning that it wasn’t necessary to fill every moment with conversation. Yes, sometimes I wanted to talk to him, but other times I was content to sit in silence next to him. This was one of the latter times. Plus, after the bowling alley noise, the relative quiet of the parking lot was refreshing.
Eventually, he got a text. “They’re on their way back.”
“Yeah? Want to tell me where they’ve been?”
“How would I know?” he said, striving to look innocent.
Despite the fact that he had the face of an angel—or at least a fallen one—he couldn’t quite pull off the innocent act.
“You know. You just won’t tell me.”
“Interesting theory,” he said. “We should test it in chem lab sometime.”
I rolled my eyes and went back to alternating between glaring at him when he was looking my way and checking him out when he wasn’t.
34
MIA
“Don’t fill up on chips and salsa,” Diego warned. “The meal’s going to be worth the wait.”
Aaron laughed. “You’ve never even been here before.”
“But you have, and you’re going to love what I chose for you.”
When we’d arrived at the Mexican restaurant, we’d let Diego order, and I was excited to try everything he’d selected. Plus, it kind of lent the feeling of this being a date. In books, I’d read scenes where the man sometimes ordered food for the woman at a restaurant. And while I wouldn’t want that kind of thing to happen all the time, it was exciting to at least try it. Only in this case, my date had ordered food for me and two of my friends.
It did feel like Diego was my date though, because, well, he was. It was finally here. The night I’d spend with him. Given our history of ups and downs, you’d think I’d be a little apprehensive about it, but I wasn’t. Not at all. I was completely ready. More than that. It felt like we were finally going to indulge ourselves after weeks of foreplay. All day, he kept touching my arm, or putting his hand on the small of my back. Twice, he winked at me, and something about the gleam in those dark eyes was so sexy. Every time I looked at him sitting next to me, it sent shivers of anticipation down my spine.