Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75323 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
The moment felt like it went on for ages, like seasons changed, like the world went on without us as we stayed stuck in that second.
Yet, too soon, Lula sat back.
“No rubber ducky beads, huh?”
I shook my head, forcing myself to tamp down the thoughts of slipping those straps off her shoulders and leaning down to suck one of her nipples into my mouth as my hand slipped between her thighs from my mind.
“Bead store seriously lacked imagination,” I said, gathering several types of beads and the elastic stretch cord.
With that, we put a movie on the TV and half-watched, half-crafted for the next hour and a half. Before we knew it, we both had several bracelets sitting on the table, and we were having a lively debate about the end of the mystery we’d just watched.
“I dunno. I think the bait-and-switch can work,” I told her as I picked up a bracelet I’d made out of muted pinks and creams. “Shutter Island comes to mind.”
“So does Atonement and I hated that one with my whole being.”
“Okay. Fair,” I agreed, sliding the bracelet up her wrist.
“What are you doing?”
“Made this one for you,” I told her.
“You did?” she asked as my gaze flicked up, finding hers all soft and sweet.
“Thought these beads fit your aesthetic.”
“They do,” she agreed, smiling a little at her wrist.
“I made this one for you,” she admitted, making my stomach flip. “There was nothing crazy to work with, but I thought the chaos of colors suited you.”
She’d chosen some of the smallest beads and did it in more masculine colors: stop sign red, grass green, sun yellow, brown, black, and pile-on orange. She was right. There was absolutely no order to it. It was chaotic. And she’d made it thinking of me.
“You don’t have to wear it,” she said, a slice of insecurity slipping into her voice.
“I’ll be buried in it,” I told her, handing it to her to slide on my wrist.
“You’re so dramatic,” she said, but the insecurity was gone and a smile split her gorgeous face. “This was fun.”
“New hobby unlocked?”
“Maybe.”
“They sell fancier beads. You can get just about anything. Or you can work with metal too. Matter of fact, hold up, let me imagine you with a blowtorch and one of those welding masks… and nothing else.”
“So in this scenario of yours, I want to protect my face but not my boobs?”
“Don’t ruin my fantasy with your logic.”
She smiled as she sat back and stretched, making those boobs she mentioned stretch the material of her tank top.
“I’m still annoyed about that movie.”
“Want to watch another one to overwrite it? Perhaps with some coffee and Texas peach cobbler?”
“I’m going to return to Shady Valley twenty pounds heavier because of you.”
“That’s a yes.”
“It’s a yes. With the caveat that we have to take a walk or something tomorrow.”
“Luckily for you, it’s already in the itinerary,” I said as she cleaned up the beads and I ordered dessert.
“Do I get to know, or is it a secret?”
“We should be hitting San Antonio tomorrow. We can do the River Walk. Though I doubt we will do the whole thing.”
“Why not?”
“It’s fifteen miles. But we can walk the part that runs through downtown. That’s only maybe an hour and a half if we meander.”
“If we get there early enough, I have faith that we could do the whole thing,” she said, making her way toward the bed and bringing up the menu of movies. “That would be, what, four hours? Five, maybe? Then we should still have time to hit the hotel, shower, and check out the shops and have dinner.”
I toed out of my shoes and climbed up on the other side of the bed. “Starting to like this whole road trip thing, huh?”
“It’s not like I’m likely to be in the area again. Might as well enjoy the whole walk. Especially when we are spending so much time sitting in the car. Don’t you try to stay active on stops?”
“I accidentally joined a marathon once. Ran that shit in jeans and old sneakers. Came in second-to-last. The only person behind me was an eighty-year-old woman.”
“But you finished. That’s what counts. How does one accidentally join a race?”
“The woman at the sign-up table—”
“Enough said.” She rolled her eyes at me. “Did you order the coffee already?”
“Don’t worry. I made yours decaf.” At her pinched brows, I said, “You mentioned that coffee too close to bed gives you restless sleep.”
“Is there anything I’ve said that you haven’t committed to memory?”
“Won’t lie. I zoned out a little bit when you started to explain how to cook books. Math has never been my strong suit.”
“No? What’d you like in school?”
“The cheerleaders, mostly. The drama club girls. Band geeks. The intense goth girls…”
“An equal opportunity manwhore even back in the day.”