Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71044 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
We’re close together, nearly huddled. The way he leans against the wall, he’s pressed up against my leg and thigh. I give him a nudge. “Hey, at least we’re not dating or anything, so it’s not like I’m in any real danger.”
He gives me side-eye for a moment. “Right,” he finally says with a teasing smirk. “Totally, completely safe.”
“And I’m not your type either,” I remind him, “so … we’re basically the ideal friend match.”
“You keep reminding me.”
“Just so you don’t forget.” I lean forward, bringing my face closer to his. “I don’t care about your reputation, nor my friends’ warnings, nor your past. I’ve got one, too. We all do. Wanna hear about my shameful past? I used to play with dollhouses.”
Adrian shrugs. “Nothin’ wrong with dollhouses.”
“And I’d steal my brother’s action figures, give them new names, then play house with them for hours and hours. I was obsessed. I had a Captain America named Bullseye and a Michelangelo Ninja Turtle named Orangey.”
“Orangey?”
“He was the orange one! I think Bullseye was because Captain America’s shield reminded me of a dartboard. Anyway, my point is, I would never tell a soul about the dollhouse thing. Except for you in this moment right now because you’re being vulnerable with me, and I feel safe enough to return the favor.”
A group of teenagers walk past chatting and laughing loudly about a guy friend almost passing out on the creaky rollercoaster, another one of them clutching a giant stuffed shark I’m guessing she or her boyfriend won. Adrian and I stop talking, watching as they go.
Then he murmurs, “You and your dollhouses. Me and my trail of exes.”
“And those teenagers and their stuffed animals won from rigged carnival games.”
Adrian peers at me. “You sure you shouldn’t heed your friend’s warning about me? A love for dollhouses doesn’t exactly compare to a pile of love carnage at your back.”
“Love carnage?” I snort. “Look, I know Vann means well when he shows me all of the art in the Rivington, and takes me to the fair to see what Dreamwood Isle has to offer, and to fill my eyes with all sorts of things I can go back to school with and throw on a canvas, but …” I nudge Adrian with my leg again. “He’s more of a visual artist. His eyes feed his hands. For me, it’s more about feelings.”
“Feelings?” Adrian leans against the wall again, but much closer to me than before, his arm nearly on top of my thigh, his face closer. “What kind of feelings?”
My heart picks up pace. I clear my throat and look him evenly in the eyes. “Good ones. Bad ones. Happy ones. Sad ones. A mix of all of them.”
“A mix …?”
His eyes really are so fucking distracting. “It’s … uh, yeah, a mix. Like the feeling of dread when Vann forces me to go to some party with him … and then running into a guy like you. Then an added surprise of discovering you’re so much more than you seem. The fun we had last night just hanging out and wasting time together. The pinch of guilt I had this morning. It’s all complicated … the ups and downs. And when I sit in front of a blank canvas … all of those feelings tell me what to paint.”
Adrian studies my face with intensity. “Sounds like a lot of work.”
He isn’t looking away. He keeps peering into my eyes, like he’s searching for something, chiseling away at me.
The faster my heart races, the more difficult it is to draw breaths like a normal fucking person.
Am I really so immune to him?
Or am I just pretending to be?
“It isn’t a lot of work when you listen to your heart and just …” My eyes meet his. “… go with it.”
Adrian’s lips part.
My hand finds his arm somehow.
What is happening …?
Suddenly, an explosion of color lights up our faces. We look up into the sky. Fireworks burst over our heads, filling the heavens with additional, unplanned stars in countless colors from one end of the rainbow to the other.
“Saturday night firework show,” says Adrian.
“Every Saturday?”
“Few exceptions, but yeah. Finn’s dad insists on it. He’s all about appearances, indulging the crowds, and just giving everyone what they want.”
I don’t know who Finn is, but I just go with it, staring up into the glittery, colorful sky. “It’s really amazing.”
Adrian peels his eyes off of the sky and gazes back at me. “Yeah, really amazing.”
I’m still touching his arm.
His lips, plush, pouty, stay parted as he looks at me.
Then he gasps. “Hey, want to get a closer look? There is a perfect spot by the games where none of the rides block the view. Come on,” he says, taking hold of my hand suddenly and leading the way before I can answer.