Series: Like Us Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 241
Estimated words: 236417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1182(@200wpm)___ 946(@250wpm)___ 788(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1182(@200wpm)___ 946(@250wpm)___ 788(@300wpm)
He places a kiss on the top of my head. “It’s an age-old story, you know. Never let other people dictate your worth. If I let ‘em, I’m pretty sure I’d be a wet noodle.”
“I’d scoop you up,” I nod.
“Put me in a bowl?”
“Yep. I’d twirl you with my fork and slurp you in my mouth.”
Donnelly oofs like he’s both turned on and envious. “That’s it, you’re not allowed to suck off Wet Noodle Donnelly while I’m still alive and kicking. He’s off-limits.” I laugh, and he’s woven his arms around me from behind like he’s claiming me from any multiverse variants. He’s walking me to a kiosk.
I clutch his arms around me. “I do know a little something about being a jealous variant.”
“You should write a self-help book about it. Assist all our variants,” he says. “I’d read the fuck outta it too.”
I think he’s the only one who’d truly understand it, but I don’t mention that. The bell dings to the entrance, but the older man who dips into Wawa hardly pays attention to us. He beats us to a kiosk, and I watch him hurriedly select his coffee order from a digital menu.
This isn’t a normal “order at the counter” establishment. So I’m genuinely happy to have Donnelly as my Wawa guide.
“What’s the best part of this place?” I ask him as we reach the kiosk.
“Wawa can turn any day around and right side up.”
I didn’t expect that answer. He’s scrolling through the menu, not realizing my smile is so big that it hurts my cheeks.
“Has it been officially tested?” I ask.
“Over and over. By the world’s second-best test subject. Me.” He slips me a grin. “Which is also why I brought you here. Can’t give it the stamp of approval until the world’s first-best test subject tells me what’s up.”
I like how he calls us both test subjects. We both love trying new things—it’s something I’ve known, but it slams into me more profoundly today.
We haven’t eaten dinner yet, so he’s scrolling through food options. I’m deeply aware this isn’t some random outing. It’s a date.
He called it a date on our way here.
Nervous jitters invade, and I rock on my feet. “But what if I give Wawa a low score?” I ask.
“Wait to make your judgments until after you’ve had the Italian hoagie. Toasted.”
“What happens if I don’t get it toasted?”
“We can no longer be friends. I’m sorry, space babe. It’s just the rules.”
He kids, but I do know it’d hurt him if I didn’t love Wawa. The problem is I’ve been so hyped for this that I doubt anything could make me hate it.
I bite my lip. “We could no longer be friends but there’s no rule about not being lovers, right? So we could still sleep together.”
His finger stops on the screen near a roast beef hoagie. He stares down at me in a way that makes me blush. Donnelly is both much older than me and much more experienced in earthly things. What attracts me most isn’t his age or how he can lead me if I’m lost—it’s that he’s as comfortable in his skin as a person can be.
I’m drawn to his essence, even now. When we’re just talking about hoagies.
Very un-seriously but still seriously, he says, “If you get your Italian hoagie un-toasted, we won’t be anything to each other, Hale.”
I’m grinning now. “It would turn you off that much?”
“Complete turn off.”
“What if I crawled into your bed naked? You still wouldn’t sleep with me?”
He’s shaking his head. “Nope.”
I can’t stop smiling. “What if we’re the last two people in the entire galaxy? The survival of our respective species would depend on it.”
He makes a face. “Nah.” He’s struggling not to grin now. “I can’t fuck a Toasted Hoagie Hater.”
“Your turn-offs are mighty specific.”
“Give me yours.” He checks me out, and I can’t even say whether more people have entered Wawa or whether anyone has recognized us, outside of the camera-flashes against the windows. Donnelly seems to register those, but it never changes how he acts around me.
“Guys who hate glitter,” I nod. “It might be messy but it’s shiny.”
“That’s a good one,” he nods back at me. We’re nodding together, and our lips tease with these affectionate smiles, as though we’re acknowledging the powerful force of our attraction. We’ve been dating for two months, so this isn’t a first date on that account—but something about this date feels magical and easy.
Like…we’re just meant to be.
It’s a welcoming feeling after some of the tougher moments we’ve weeded through, and I think, right here and now, Wawa is special.
It can turn everything around.
“Guys who are embarrassed by me,” I add.
“You mean my enemies?”
I laugh, flushing more, and he tries to focus on the menu but we’re stealing glances at one another. As he taps the screen, he says, “Some of my favorite nights are the ones that start off shaky. It just reminds me that a bad night can always turn good.”