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)
“Hey big girl,” he says. “Guess who came to see you?”
The animal lifts its head from the tangle of fur and my heart melts. It’s a sloth. She has black fur around her eyes and a sleepy, adorable little smile as she blinks in recognition at Jameson. She lifts a long, clawed arm toward his face and touches his nose with the rounded center of one of her claws.
He gives her head a scratch, then points to me. “Sarah, don’t be jealous, but this is my girlfriend. Things just weren’t moving fast enough with us. I had to move on. Don’t be mad.”
Girlfriend? The word makes my heart start beating a mile a minute, even though I know he’s probably just filing it under the whole “practice” category. We’re practicing, Charli, remember? Part of practicing would include not freaking out when he refers to you as his girlfriend. Although he has made it pretty clear he’s only calling this pretend for my sake. Maybe Jameson really thinks of me that way.
“Hi, Sarah,” I whisper. I slide my eyes to Jameson. “How are you allowed to just come in here and pet a sloth? What’s going on?” Both the keepers are just off tending to the animals in cages as if Jameson barging in here is the most normal thing in the world.
“Would you believe me if I said it’s just a side effect of my charming personality?”
“No,” I say slowly.
“A few years ago, the zoo had a donation drive. They were trying to adopt some orphaned animals, but didn’t have the funding to house and place them. Sarah was one of those animals, so I paid for her habitat and all the care she needs.”
I tilt my head. “I’m starting to think you just call yourself a bad boy to get girls. All I see is sweetness and kindness.”
He lifts a finger to his lips, smiling. “What if I told you the donation is tax deductible?” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. “That’s right. I’m sticking it to the tax man by helping this adorable little critter. Downright dirty, isn’t it?”
I laugh. “I’d still think it was super sweet of you to do something like this.”
“Well, it has perks. I get to come in and hang with Sarah whenever I want. And I can name drop her to see if my potential girlfriends get jealous.”
“I wasn’t jealous.”
He’s scratching Sarah behind the ears and she ever-so-slowly closes her eyes, lifting her chin to give him better access.
“Yeah, you’re right,” he says. “Jealousy wasn’t a big enough word. You were ready to murder whoever Sarah was. You were homicidal.”
I shake my head, cheeks going red with embarrassment. “You’re exaggerating. I was just concerned. I realized we never really set any ground rules for… this.”
“Like what?”
“Well,” I say, speaking slowly and deliberately. “It would be strange if we dated other people, right? While we’re… doing this.”
The corner of his mouth pulls up. “Are you asking me to be exclusive, Charli McBride?”
My embarrassment deepens. “I’m just voicing my concerns. When you mentioned a girl’s name, I thought… well, I thought if I was dating you, I’d want to know if you were going on romantic practice dates with some other girl. You know?”
“Ah, I see. You’re worried about the feelings of my potential girlfriends on the side? It’s not that you want me all to yourself?”
I lift my eyes to his, which is a mistake. I can see from the way his smile grows that my thoughts must be perfectly obvious from my expression.
He gives my thigh a squeeze. “I’m all yours, baby. Like it or not, I took myself off the market the moment we started this little fling.”
“Oh, okay.” I can’t seem to look at him. Relief is flooding me, and I don’t want him to realize that, too.
“So?” he asks, putting a finger under my chin and gently turning my eyes up to his. “What about you? Are you all mine?”
I press my lips together and to the side. I shrug slowly. “I’m not planning to date. Maybe ever again.”
“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” he says softly.
His eyes are so soft and brown and his eyelashes are so long. I feel like I’m lost in them and barely even realize how close our faces have become.
“I could kiss you,” he says. Our mouths are so close his breath puffs against my lips in four hot waves.
“For practice?” I ask.
“We can call it whatever you want. Just say ‘yes’.”
I’m distantly aware of the little adorable sloth who is watching us with her big, round eyes and the two young workers at the other end of the building. My awareness is only distant, though, because Jameson’s eyes and his lips are everything.
“I could–” I stammer. “I mean. If you wanted to. We–yeah,” I say finally.