Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 126602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
I couldn’t help it. I was thinking about that pet comment.
It really was funny.
And even though I missed Ombre, my fish, I still appreciated a good joke.
“I’m r-ready,” Eli said at my back.
I spun around and helped him swing up onto the bike. “You remember how you gotta hold on, right?” I asked, guiding his arm around Sean’s waist and pressing Eli’s hand to Sean’s belly. “Like this. Tight.”
I felt hardened muscle contract beneath my fingers.
I looked at Sean, breath catching in my throat.
Sean looked at me, his eyes more intense than I’d ever seen before.
Then I looked back at Eli before I passed out, doing this at the same time as he muttered, “I g-got it.”
He slid closer to Sean and wrapped his other arm around him, which prompted me to step back since he did, indeed, have it.
The bike roared to life.
Eli’s face lit up, and the smile he was wearing rivaled Dominic’s, which brought that feeling of elation back on, but this time tenfold, seeing as I was making up for that missed field trip in a good way, the way I had been hoping to make up for it.
And I had Sean to thank for that.
The bike backed up a car length, leaving room for me to pull out of my parking space.
I gave Eli a thumbs up, got one in return, met Sean’s eyes and got that head jerk I always found hot in a broody sort of way, but was beginning to find cute too now that I’d seen Eli do it, waved at the both of them, and then got in my car.
“So, how was tutoring?” I asked Dominic once we’d both pulled out of the parking lot, Sean staying close behind me.
“It was tutoring,” Dom replied curtly.
Eyes already in the rearview, I looked from Sean to the top of Dominic’s head, saw his attention on his phone, and told him, “Hey, you know we all care about how well you do in school, right? Mom and Dad, they love you a lot, Dom. They just have—”
“God, I don’t care,” he interrupted me. “Seriously. We don’t have to talk all the time.”
Annnnd King Attitude is back. Awesome.
I rolled my eyes away and put them back on the road ahead of me after taking one last glance in the rearview at Sean. I kept my mouth shut and finished the drive in silence, but not because I wanted to.
Part of this whole going with the flow thing meant picking my battles with Dominic.
I’d gotten a smile out of him today. A real smile. I wouldn’t push my luck.
When we got to Pebble Dune Apartments, I parked in my usual space while Sean pulled up along the curb, allowing Eli to hop off onto the sidewalk.
“My l-legs are sh-shaking!” He giggled, unhooking the strap under his jaw and removing the helmet.
I closed the driver’s side door and walked over, asking, “How cool was it?”
“So c-cool!” Eli handed the helmet over to Sean.
I ruffled his hair. “What do you say?” I prompted.
“Th-Thank you.”
Sean jerked his chin.
Eli smiled, then returned the gesture in an exaggerated way, so his head tipped way back.
I laughed. “Go get your book bag out of the car,” I told him. “Leave your baseball stuff. We’ll need it for tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Eli stepped away and hurried to the car.
“Can I get your house keys?” Dominic asked at my back.
I was going to tell him I’d just be another second, but remembering his smile and how I was picking my battles, I tossed him the keys instead after hitting the lock on the key fob.
Dominic caught them, then he and Eli went inside the apartment.
I turned back to Sean. “Thanks again for getting Dominic for me, and for what you did for Eli. That meant a lot to both of us. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I didn’t do it ’cause I had to,” he replied.
He didn’t, and I knew that, which was another reason why I was so grateful to him.
Just like the guy who bought my tacos the other day, Sean did a good deed just because he wanted to, and he wasn’t expecting anything in return for it.
I thought that said a lot about him.
“Well…” I paused, not sure what to say next, besides a hundred more thank-yous and an invite inside, which I was too terrified to offer for fear he’d shoot me down.
“Gotta get going,” Sean muttered, letting me off the hook.
I was grateful for that as well.
“Right. Okay, see ya.”
“Later.”
I waved as I turned, took the three steps down to the basement level, and paused at the door, looking back toward the sidewalk when the bike engine revved.
Sean and I locked eyes.
Then I watched him pull away.
Before I went to bed that night, I’d decided on writing out a thank-you note to express my gratitude to Sean.