Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
So I’ve controlled myself. I’ve limited myself to only text based communication for seven days. Seven fucking days of self control. I haven’t even asked for a nude photo. If they gave out medals for this kind of thing, I’d be dripping in cheap plastic by now.
It’s time to escalate things a bit. Sure, I want to respect her boundaries and all that, but I also want to let her know my gates are wide open. Maybe she already knows, but it won’t hurt to remind her. And fuck, I just want to see her. I want a chance to put my hands on her, even if it’s just a light press of my fingertips on the small of her back. I’m craving her and a little phone call is the least I can do for myself.
I stop on a bench and pull up her number while busy New Yorkers pass by on the street. Distractedly, I wonder what has people so busy and in such a rush so late. Maybe they’re on the way to dates, rushing back home to capture what’s left of their night, or maybe they’re just so used to rushing from place to place they’ve forgotten to take it slow when they can.
I know as well as they do how easy it is to get wrapped up in things to do and places to be. I know how easy it is to focus on your goals so hard that you look up one day and realize years have passed by. Maybe that’s why Charli has my attention so firmly. I’ve had my eyes down and focused on putting one foot in front of the other for a long time now. She’s the first thing that has made me look up and smell the roses around me.
I’m enjoying it, too.
I call Charli. My leg bounces while it rings because I’m not sure what I’ll do if she doesn’t pick up. I’d probably dig up her address off the internet and show up at her door.
Relief floods me when she answers.
“What is it?” she asks.
I would’ve preferred it if she purred my name in a sultry voice and told me she was just thinking about me. I’ll take what I can get, though. “Are you free tonight?”
“What?”
“You and me. A date. What do you think?”
There’s a long pause, and I’m starting to believe she might just end the call on me. “Jameson, I told you I’m not ready for anything like that yet. I’m still trying to heal.”
“That’s why this will be a practice run. In a week, we’re going to do our big performance at the mixer. Do you really want to risk screwing that up in front of Vaughn and his new woman? Think about it. We hang out tonight, get the kinks out, practice pretending we like each other, and boom.”
“You have to pretend to like me?” she asks. I love that playful streak of hers. I imagine if I’d caught her at a different point of her life, it would be far more prominent, too. Maybe that’s part of what draws me to her. It feels like the real Charli McBride is currently buried under a metric ton of bad luck and sadness. I want to start lifting that shit off her and chucking it out of the way. I want to uncover the girl beneath it all. And hey, it’s not as if I’m selfishly trying to rescue her. Maybe I just want to set her free once I’ve done my good deeds. Probably not, but maybe.
I suppose that’s bullshit. Because uncovering Charli is also going to help me get back at the Vanderlesh assholes. I can’t pretend I’m in this for the right reasons.
“Um, no,” I say. “I don’t have to pretend to like you. I’ll have to pretend I don’t want to drag you straight back to my place all night. You will be the one learning to pretend to like me.”
I think I can hear a smile in her voice. “That’s a big task. I’ve never been a good actress.”
“Good. If you ever decide to get beneath me, I won’t have to worry you’re faking.”
“Is that a common problem for you, Mr. Wolfe? Women faking it in bed?”
I smile and run my thumb across my lip. Damn. I really do like this girl. “I guess you’ll have to give me a shot. You can tell me what you think after we’ve gone a few rounds.”
“You’re talking like it’s a foregone conclusion.”
My cock seems to think so. It’s already rock hard from the brief flirtation. “Call me an optimist.”
“My sister complains that I’m too optimistic, too.”
My smile widens. “You have a sister? See? This is why we need to spend some more time together, Charli. I barely know anything about you.”