Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 73311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73311 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
“That’s a big damn tattoo,” she said. “Did it hurt to get that over your scar tissues?”
“Like a fucking bitch,” I confirmed. “They recommend you not do anything to it for at least two years, but I couldn’t wait that long. I got it done when I joined the club.”
“Why?”
Always with the why. This woman was full of questions. Ones I didn’t want to answer. Not now, not ever.
“Because I wanted a reminder. I may have a new life, but I didn’t want to forget where I came from.”
“But you came from here,” she pointed out.
I sighed.
“I did,” I agreed. “But my life—what made me who I am right now—was made in Kilgore. I may be in a new place in my life, but I don’t ever want to forget what that life left me with.”
She blinked. “That’s pretty deep.”
I grunted.
“Be right back.”
I felt her eyes on me the entire way, and it was a good feeling, not a bad one.
Having her eyes on me didn’t send chills down my spine. Having her eyes on me didn’t make me feel sick to my stomach.
It was just her, and I couldn’t wait to explore more with her.
Five minutes later, I came back out in a more comfortable pair of jeans, a different black t-shirt that wasn’t soaked in sweat from standing in the sun for two hours, and my cut in my hand.
She was on my lawn chair reading one of my books.
Which she jumped out of the minute she spotted me.
“I didn’t hear you,” she accused.
I grinned. “Don’t know how. The floors are this fake wood shit, and I’m wearing boots.”
She shrugged. “I haven’t read this one.”
She wiggled the book in my face, and my eyes were drawn to the title.
“That’s not one adults normally aim for.”
“I imagined, by the kid on the front,” she confirmed. “Didn’t they make this into a movie?”
“Percy Jackson?” I asked. “I think so. I don’t see the movies of books, though. Always ruin it for me.”
She snickered. “I agree.”
“Why does it seem like I know you?” I asked her.
“I guess you kind of did. In a roundabout way. You saw me, but never talked to me,” Imogen smiled. “You were all I talked about my senior year.”
I blinked.
“What?”
Chapter 10
Did you hear that? That was the sound of my ovaries exploding.
-Imogen upon seeing Aaron with a baby in his arms
Imogen
I nodded, red infusing my face.
“You were at a party—Labor Day—my senior year, and I saw you for the first time. Your eyes held mine for about a second too long, and I fancied myself in love.”
Aaron grinned.
“Hate it when I make eye contact too long.”
I snorted.
“Well, apparently, it was obvious to Tawny as well, because she dropped me as her best friend, and I was left being a loner the rest of the year.”
“Bookie!”
I nodded my head.
“Yep.”
I was a ‘bookie’ according to him.
When I was at a social gathering, I was reading.
It didn’t matter if it was a pool party or a football game. If I had enough light to read, I did.
“You were the one who convinced me to pick up Harry Potter, you know.”
I blinked.
“What?” I asked. “I never once spoke to you.”
“No,” he agreed. “But I saw you reading Harry Potter, and I wanted to know what kept you so enraptured throughout an entire fucking Fourth of July fireworks show. So I picked up the book when I got home.”
My mouth fell open.
“That’s…amazing!”
He grinned.
“You were also the one to convince me to continue reading. Every time I came to a party and you were there, I’d secretly look at what you were reading. You were very inspiring in that department,” he paused. “Though, I don’t remember you looking like this when you were younger.”
I snorted.
“I went into the Marines right out of high school. I grew up. Found my voice. Pretty much, I became a little bit more social, and a lot less of an introvert,” I explained. “Oh, and I finally grew boobs.”
He grinned lasciviously.
“Is it wrong that I think it’s hot that you were in the Marines?” he questioned.
I laughed. “No, I don’t guess that it is.”
His mouth split into another lopsided grin.
“I like it when you smile.”
The smile fell off his face.
“It’s not a pretty one anymore,” he shrugged. “When I was in my…accident…the car caught fire, and burned half of my body. Knocked out about eight teeth. Smashed three bones in my arm. It was fucking magical.” He breathed in and out a few times, then continued. “I can cover most of the other scars…but the ones on my face are definitely the hardest to swallow.”
“They don’t detract from your handsomeness.”
He gave me a look that clearly disagreed with me.
“I scare people with just a look,” he informed me. “Tawny can’t even look me in the eyes.”
“Tawny’s a pussy.”