Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 61953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61953 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
“And I think you should do whomever you want.”
“You still haven’t told me his name.”
I laughed. “Chase.”
She brought her thumbnail to her mouth and chewed on it. “I don’t know a Chase. Is he in our year?”
“Not exactly,” I said.
He wasn’t in any year. He was definitely not hanging out on Tech’s campus at all. None of that had mattered or come up last night. Not when every single other thing in our lives seemed to fit together so well.
“Older?”
“I’m taking a shower!”
“A senior?” Erika begged.
I laughed and then hustled out of the room. After a good long shower, I blew out my long blonde hair and then slicked it up into a ponytail. I didn’t need to be showy on a kayak.
A smile came to my face when I thought about returning to his house. God, I hadn’t ever wanted to leave. I wanted to stay in the little bubble we’d made, where no one else in the entire world existed. Could I live there forever?
I headed back to my room to find Erika playing video games with her latest fling on the headset. I waved my purse at her to say good-bye.
“No, no, no. Tell me about the guy.”
“We’re going kayaking. I’ll tell you when I get back.”
“Second date after the first day! Whoa, Harley-Davidson. That is serious.”
I shrugged. “I’m not the one who is afraid of serious.”
Erika flipped me off, and we both laughed. “What happened to I’m too busy to date? I’ve tried to set you up.”
“Yeah, well, Chase is different.”
Erika guffawed. “Good luck with that. I’d date men if men weren’t…men. They’re never different.”
And still I hung on to that place in my heart that said Chase was. The place where he’d called me his baby girl and things felt too coincidental, too perfect, too right. I didn’t care what Erika said. I’d be a fool not to see where this was headed.
I slung my bag over my shoulder and traipsed back through the dorm out to my Kia. The sun was as shiny as ever, not a trace of spring showers in sight. And for Lubbock, not a trace of spring dust storms either. The real bane of West Texas’s existence. It’d be a glorious day out on the water. I’d never been kayaking before, but I was a quick learner and always up for a new challenge.
The drive to his place was only a matter of minutes north of campus. I parked in the driveway and practically skipped to the front door. I knocked twice, still humming the words to Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.”
The door opened, and Chase appeared in all of his glory. My sigh of relief at the sight of him was audible. I hadn’t even meant for it to release. But I felt so much better in his presence. This wasn’t even about the fact that he’d held back my orgasm this morning. It’d been hot as fuck, and I knew he’d deliver later. It was just…him.
“Hey,” he said, a slight hitch in his voice.
“Hey!” I traipsed inside.
Bowie bounded across the room, and I bent down to let him lick my face.
“Yes, I missed you, too. What a good boy. Yes, so, so cute.”
Bowie lapped it all up, rolling onto his back and letting me rub his belly. I laughed, obliging his demands.
Chase had closed the door, but he hadn’t said anything, and when I turned back to smile at him, he wasn’t looking at me.
“What’s up?” I asked, suddenly wary.
He blew out a breath and ran a hand back through his hair. I slowly came to my feet, ignoring Bowie’s whine of protest. He looked like a shadow had descended over him. The difference between this morning and right now was night and day.
“Did something happen?”
He cleared his throat and then swallowed hard, as if something was lodged there. “We should…we should talk.”
I took a step back. My heart was racing at those words. What the fuck had happened between this morning and my hour away at the dorm?
“You’re freaking me out. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. It’s just…” He sighed like he hated himself. “You’re a freshman in college.”
I furrowed my brow. “Yeah?”
“Which makes you…eighteen?”
“Nineteen. Halloween birthday. I told you that last night.”
“Right,” he said, drawing the word out. “You mentioned a Halloween birthday, but didn’t say how old you’d be on Halloween.”
“Twenty,” I volunteered.
“Which you didn’t tell me because…”
“You didn’t ask.”
He nodded and glanced away. “I’m twenty-nine, Harley.”
“Okay,” I said, my stomach starting to knot. “So?”
“So?” he asked, exasperated. “So, I’m ten years older than you.”
“I mean, I thought you knew that.” I hated the hitch that went into my voice at the words. “I…thought everyone knew I was here for college.”
“I knew you were young, but you were drinking.”
“College students drink.”
“Yes,” he said with another huff. “I guess I assumed.”