Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
But since Karen was having a grand time, I hadn’t wanted to ask her to leave.
“I’m definitely not that,” Kobe, the scary Asian-featured man, said. “Cassius won’t miss it.”
I opened my mouth to say something when he laughed.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “It was just sitting there on his bike. I swear he won’t miss it.”
I discreetly took a long, deep inhalation of the material, nearly doubling over in delight when I got the sandalwood and spice scent buried deep into my lungs.
“I’ll just have to agree to disagree,” I said once my toes uncurled from the sand. “But I’m willing to risk it for the biscuit at this point.”
He snorted. “He gives you trouble, I’ll give you my sweatshirt. Then he won’t give you trouble anymore.”
I almost said ‘let’s see how that goes’ when there was a gruff, “That’s my sweatshirt. Let me have it back. I’m about to leave.”
Oh, that rat.
I instantly started to take it off, though.
“Told you,” I said to Kobe.
I caught the look Kobe shot me out of the corner of my eye as the material just started to pull up over my head.
I didn’t want to let it go.
But I kind of wanted to see his reaction if Kobe gave me his sweatshirt.
“I’ll give you mine,” Kobe offered, already untucking the fabric from where it was pinched between the seat and his back.
He did that cool, hot guy thing as he tugged the sweatshirt at the collar and hunched his shoulders.
He’d just gotten it to the top of his head when there was a growl of disapproval.
Before I could get the material all the way over my head, Cassius was yanking it back down.
“Don’t bother, I can tell you already got it dirty,” Cassius grumbled, yanking it so hard down onto my body that I shook.
Then he walked away.
When I looked over at Kobe, who once again had his sweatshirt in place, he was chuckling silently, his hand covering his face.
“What are you laughing at?” I questioned, somewhat annoyed and somewhat happy.
He’d let me keep the sweatshirt.
That was a good sign, right?
“He wants you so bad that he’s practically gagging,” Kobe murmured quietly. “Keep doing whatever you’re doin’, darlin’. He’ll come around.”
With that, he picked up his phone and started to browse it.
In the meantime, I looked over at Karen, who was busily talking with the females of the group, and tried extremely hard not to scan for him.
It was useless, though.
Before long, my eyes were automatically moving about the area, trying to find him.
It took me making eye contact with him to remember that I wasn’t supposed to be looking at him.
Damnit!
I looked away, leaned my head back against the seat, and tried to forget about his glower aimed toward me.
He wasn’t happy that I was wearing his sweatshirt. Hell, he probably wasn’t happy I was even here.
Which, after the long day that I’d had, left me feeling somewhat exhausted.
Maybe I needed to rethink this having a crush—even though it felt like way more than a crush—thing on Cassius.
If we ever did get together, then he decided it was time to part ways, he would devastate me.
I didn’t like the idea of having my heart broken.
I liked the idea of being happy… but at what cost?
CHAPTER 7
Pubic hair grows back way too fast. I’m like, damn, can I at least get to his house first?
-Alice’s secret thoughts
ALICE
“Can I buy you a drink?”
The startled expression I wore as I all but fell into the random man that’d startled me with my hands covered in diesel—goddamn, we really needed to fix the pump—caused him to smile.
I was exactly where he wanted me.
Joke’s on him. I wanted nothing to do with him.
The smell of diesel must’ve permeated the air, because he looked down at where my hands were resting on his chest and he sneered.
I pulled away, thankful when he let me go easily, and said, “I’m sorry, but no. I’m on shift.”
I didn’t work at The Pizzeria often. In fact, it was so rare at this point that I didn’t recognize any of the regulars.
“Come on,” he urged, leaning farther into the bar as he looked at me expectantly. The dude just thought he could scare me, catch me, then cajole me into falling at his feet? I’m sorry, but it took a good angry man to get me going nowadays. And he definitely didn’t have that ‘broke’ vibe I liked either.
“No, thanks.” I smiled politely.
I’d read a book once that I needed to be firm with my ‘no’ and make sure that if I wanted to say no, that I did. That I was allowed to say no, when I wanted to, where I wanted to. I didn’t have to do something that I didn’t want to do.
And this random man that was hitting on me at my job? That was a big fat no.