Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 65582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
I hang up and set the phone down. It rings and I jump, answering as fast as my heart races. “Hey.”
“Are we staying closed tonight?”
Not the voice I was hoping to hear. Romeo. “Yeah. It’s not safe for people to be out. I don’t want to encourage it.”
“All right,” he says, and I can tell he has a smile on his face. “I’ll just stay in bed the rest of the day.” I think I hear kissing noises.
Fuck my life. “We’re open the day after Christmas.”
“Cool.”
“Don’t be late. Bye.” I disconnect the call as quickly as I can before I’m stuck listening to him have sex with whomever he’s with.
Sex.
Sex.
Sex.
Man, do I miss it. Why did I stop doing it? It’s not like I didn’t have a ton of offers over the last three or four weeks. Virginia didn’t stop crushing, as she calls it, on that asshole lawyer, so why did I stop hooking up? Missed opportunities. Some lost, some are like a bar tab the women leave open, hoping I will finally say yes.
Maybe that’s what I need. I need to say yes. I’m damn moody these days and that’s probably not helping. I know my hand isn’t. Righty takes the edge off of Big Richard, but he’s never truly satisfied like he is after good hard fuck. Picking my phone up again, I scroll through some numbers. It’s snowing hard. Everyone is home because the city has closed down. I’ve got my pick of the pretty kitties tonight, so whom should I choose?
***There never was a choice. As much as I don’t like liars, I had become one of the best. When I finally started telling myself the truth, there was nowhere else I could go.
Trudging through the snow, the blizzard blinding my way at some points, I would be there for Virginia. Friend, foe, lover, despite the snow, I would go. I couldn’t resist the rhyme, but at least it has reason. Being cold like this makes you loopy so I was reciting rhymes and the presidents again, but this time, not to keep my dick down. The freezing temperatures were doing a good job of that, but to keep my mind sharp.
No taxis.
No buses.
No subways.
No bikes.
No pedicabs.
Nothing. Nothing but a pair of snow boots with three pairs of socks underneath, those too tight on the three amigos down below, long johns, jeans, and waterproof jogging pants. I had so many shirts on, a college sweatshirt, and my coat that I looked like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. The scarf, hat, gloves, and earmuffs just added to the sexy I wasn’t pulling off at all. But this isn’t about looks or sex, but I see how you might have thought that this whole time. Nope, it wasn’t about those things at all. They’re shallow pursuits and something I pursued often—PMV.
After three hours, I’m finally standing in two feet of unplowed snow in Lower Manhattan solid in the conviction that the only thing I want to pursue is Virginia Ryan. Continuing my journey to her Mecca, I see a beacon of hope up ahead. My pace picks up and when I approach I look in through the window. It’s not a mirage. It’s real. And it’s open. Coffffeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Get in my belly and warm my bones. There’s a line because apparently New York has a lot of other dumbasses like me who disregard weather warnings and still venture out. But maybe they’re trying to work their way to the women of their dreams too. Fine. I take it back. They’re not dumbasses. They’re just in love. Which is kind of similar when you think about it too long. I choose not to and step up to order a coffee instead.
After placing my order, I step off to the side to check emails, texts, and hoping to have heard from her. I haven’t. She’s off fucking the asshole, giving up something she used to value all because I made her feel cheap. Yup, me. Not Isabella. She was a catalyst to the catastrophe, but it comes down to me. I didn’t tell Virginia how I felt. I didn’t tell her that I don’t want to be with anyone else. I didn’t tell her I stopped fucking around the night I started fucking around with her. I didn’t tell her to be with me instead of Lowry.
And I should have.
Not because she’s a chick and chicks need to hear it, but because it’s the truth. My truth and that holds more coffee than this sixteen-ounce cup. I take the bag with the treat I bought and head back out into the snow.
Four more blocks and I finally make it to her building. Barry opens the door, tips his cap, and says, “Did you brave the elements alone?”
“For too long,” I reply not referring to the weather. “I’m hoping to change that.” I step inside the lobby. The lights are dimmer than usual, letting the holiday lights on the tree and around the desk shine brighter.