Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 122966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 615(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
“I already know I want the lasagna,” Elise said.
“Same here,” I chuckled.
So that was what we ordered, along with a bottle of wine.
Elise grinned smugly to herself when no one asked for her ID.
“I wanna play poker with you sometime,” I said.
She laughed and shook her head. “No way. I know my limits. I have no poker face.”
That’s what made it fun.
Quick service around here. Someone appeared with wine and a bread basket soon after, and I let Elise approve our wine before our glasses were filled. The second we were alone again, I held my glass toward her.
“To you seducing me.”
She flushed and offered a playful glare but toasted to the brilliance of her seduction anyway. Then she switched to curiosity and asked, “What did it? What made you cave?”
I grinned faintly and cleared my throat. “I had to have been the easiest obstacle to overturn. I thought I caved embarrassingly fast.”
“Oh, please!” She laughed but clearly didn’t agree with me. “You’re just blind. The first several months I tried to make you view me in a different way, you didn’t notice it one bit.”
I furrowed my brow. “I vividly recall a yellow bikini that almost made me swallow my tongue. Did even a week pass before I had you in my bed?”
“But I didn’t start with the bikini,” she responded. “I think it was around the same time we learned that Grace was going to be a girl that I realized I had feelings for you, and the natural step was to just be around you more often. As soon as school was out, or as soon as my chores were done, I headed over to your house. I couldn’t not. I freaking obsessed over it.”
I smiled, loving hearing these little confessions.
“Mom and Dad always joke that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” she went on.
It dawned on me right there. “You started cooking a lot more at my place.”
She tapped her nose.
Huh.
“But I kinda knew it was in vain,” she said with a light shrug. “I know you well enough. I was certain you wouldn’t look at me twice as long as I was under eighteen.” She wasn’t wrong. “Plus, you were a mess—with Grace and everything, I mean.” She wasn’t wrong there either. “So, it was the bikini that did it, huh?”
Well…
“It changed things, yeah,” I replied honestly. “But I already loved everything else about you, Pipsqueak. You were already the person I looked forward to seeing the most at the end of the day, for dozens of other reasons, and that’s been growing for years. For as long as I’ve known you. You have always been special to me. I’ve always treasured the perspectives you offer. And now…”
She smiled softly. “And now.”
Now, here we were.
I took a sip of my wine and squeezed her hand on the table.
She squeezed back before she withdrew to try out the bread. “Have you thought more about your travels this summer?”
“I’ve prepared absolutely nothing, but I have a list of sights I’d like to see.”
She shook her head and dipped a piece of bread into olive oil. “You’re crazy sometimes. You have to plan properly!”
I chuckled. “I’ll get there. I thought I’d start packing up personal belongings next week so a listing agent can come by and take pictures of the house.”
She hummed and chewed. “Do you think it’ll sell quickly?”
“Considering the location, yes.” I broke off a piece of bread too, and I poured some salt into the oil before dragging the bread through it. “Well, there’s one thing I’ve made plans for. I’ve rented a storage unit in the Valley.”
My hope was that the house would sell before fall. The market could look better, but I had one advantage. There weren’t many houses for sale in my neighborhood. In fact, there were only two others. And many wanted to live there.
“Will the Realtor or whoever handle everything?” she wondered. “Like, what if it sells while you’re in California? Which…I mean, I guess that’s sort of a given if you’re leaving soon.”
“I’ll just fly home to finalize everything, and then I’ll be back,” I said.
She nodded in understanding. “So, when are you leaving? Your lack of planning is highly frustrating, you know.”
I could imagine, since I knew her, and it was time to reassure her a little. “I’ve lived my life according to a plan, baby. For the first time ever, I want to try to go without knowing every detail beforehand. And I’m not saying it’s going to be my MO from now on. We’re just talking about a year off. A year to try new things.” I paused. “My plan…is to get in the car with Grace and just go. Our things will be in storage, I’ll keep an eye on listings for a future home while I’m away, the house will get sold, and…that’s it. A couple months on the road, starting the week after you’ve left here, and then I’ll join you in the Bay Area when the semester starts.”