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 was her Mister, for chrissakes. We had our own special relationship. I loved her with every fiber of my being, but it was different. We were close, admittedly very close, though nothing like Ryan was implying. Or rather, what Pipsqueak might feel. And she fucking couldn’t. Had she hit her head?
I shook my head in disbelief.
Ryan smiled faintly. “I figured it wasn’t reciprocated—”
“Dude.” I frowned. “What if it had been? Don’t tell me that would’ve been okay. She just turned eighteen, and I’m fifteen years older than she is.”
He knitted his brows together. “You’re kinda talking to the wrong person about this. I have almost twenty years on Angel.”
“Which is weird too,” I pointed out.
He shrugged at that. “It could be, but I’d like to think our ages don’t necessarily have to define us. As long as all parties are legal, I don’t give a shit. Angel’s lived more than most women her age.”
Darius had told me Angel used to live on the street. She’d run away from her foster family at fourteen or something, and Ryan had met her when she’d tried to shoplift food from a friend’s convenience store. “Met” was a relative term. She’d punched him and tried to run away.
“Elise hasn’t lived more than most women her age,” I said. “Speaking of, that’s your sister. How would it make you feel if a buddy your age made a move on her?”
Ryan chuckled. “You mean, what would I do if my sister shacked up with one of the best men I know? One who happens to be a terrific friend and father? Gee, tough one.”
I opened my mouth to respond but quickly snapped it shut as his words settled. What the fuck? He couldn’t be all nice and shit when I was trying to make an argument. Because he was in the wrong here.
“But you don’t feel that way about her, right?” Ryan turned pensive, studying me.
I widened my eyes. “Of course not!” I…I… No! His question jammed a rock the size of Mount Rainier down toward my stomach, and I swallowed uneasily. Looking over at the others where they were preparing for our lunch, I did my best to explain, but I got stuck. I couldn’t put into words how I felt about Pipsqueak, because everything could be misconstrued.
My chest felt tight when I looked at her. It was highly uncomfortable, and I wished Ryan had never asked. It was wrong. Elise was sacred. She was to be cherished and protected.
“Then there’s nothing to discuss.” Ryan gave my shoulder a squeeze and smirked to himself as he took a couple steps out of the water. “Like I said, let her down gently if she does come clean this summer. She may have mentioned to Angel that she’s working up the courage.”
Well, shit.
The notion of hurting Pipsqueak legitimately made me nauseated.
Ryan left me alone, and I didn’t know what to do. What to say, what to think.
I scrubbed my hands over my face and winced. The skin on my shoulders felt tight, letting me know I’d been a fucking idiot not to put on sunscreen this morning.
“How do I seduce a man?”
“Oh God,” I muttered to myself.
Could she have been talking about me?
Covering my face with my hands, I let out a laugh and a groan at the same time, because this was just so her. She’d come to me for advice…about me. She was the sweetest, loveliest, most genuine… I heard her laughing up the beach, the sound soft and carefree, and I couldn’t not seek her out. My hands fell to my sides, and I watched her goof around with Lias and Ethan.
It was her influence on me that had played the biggest part in changing my attitude toward women.
That dorky little darling. Something had to be wrong with her if she was infatuated with me.
It was flattering, albeit absurd. There was something else too, a ridiculous heat that spread in my chest, not to mention an ego boost that made me want to kick myself. But I guessed it proved how much I needed it. The lonely fucker in me was so desperate for affirmation that I took it from a young woman who was off-limits.
It would just be so much easier to keep her away from me if she went back to wearing a unicorn bathing suit rather than that flimsy little bikini.
Fucking hell, she was gorgeous.
I blew out a breath and shook my head, and I started making my way out of the water.
Losing her affection would hurt incredibly, but I supposed I should set some boundaries. She gave the best hugs, often at the most random times. She could be busy in the kitchen; I could be busy grading tests, but if she felt like a hug, she came and got it. A few times, she’d come into the living room while I watched the news or something. With the couch at the center of the room, she’d stood behind me and scratched my scalp while she said whatever she’d come to say.