Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43118 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 216(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43118 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 216(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Jenna
Getting up in the morning is an exquisite delight. The anticipation hits me the very second I open my eyes.
Today is the day that Hunter takes my virginity. Today is the day I have sex with the man of my dreams, who, for some reason, I haven’t yet been able to determine if he actually does want me.
Today is the day my life changes forever with one single experience that will redefine who I am.
I can’t wait. Especially not if what he did last night is any indication of how it’s going to feel.
I make my way to Hunter’s house, feeling like I’m floating on a cloud of air. I check my watch as I walk down his street and realize that I’m early – really early – much earlier than I was yesterday.
But today, I don’t think it matters as much. I don’t want to back out. I don’t need to go back and rethink my outfit. I already know he wants me, and I already know that today is all about us.
I don’t want to wait another minute for this day to begin, so I walk right up to his house even though I'm early.
I am almost there, slightly hidden just around the corner by the wall around his neighbor’s property, and I freeze.
I hear Hunter’s voice, and I know he’s not talking to me – because he doesn’t know I’m here yet.
“Thank you,” he says, and I lean forward just a little until I can see through the wall. I see him, and then I pull back immediately, my heart pounding at what I just saw.
I rehearse it in my mind, replaying what I just saw, trying to make sense of it. Hunter was standing at his door, reaching out toward someone, giving them something.
It was a small package – it looked like a white envelope, stuffed full enough to be wide, almost the shape and size of a brick.
Almost the shape and size of a large amount of money.
And the person he was reaching for – the man. I recognized him even from the back of his head. That image has been engraved in my memory for all time. It was one of the most humiliating moments of my life, right before Hunter cleared everything up, and it turned into one of the best moments I ever had.
That’s the man who interrupted us in the street yesterday, knocking on the window when we were about to do something we shouldn’t have been doing in a public place.
“I’ll be in touch,” the man says, and I realize that he’s probably about to walk away. I stiffen, realizing I’m about to be caught spying on them, but there’s nowhere for me to go.
It’s a wide-open street. He’s about to walk right out and see me. I flatten myself against the wall as if that’s even going to help.
He comes out of the walk up to Hunter’s door and….
He turns opposite to me, heading up the street from where I am standing. I watch his back walk away from me. He shoves the packet into one of his coat pockets as he goes. He doesn’t look back.
I sag in relief. I got away without being seen. But now there’s another dilemma on my hands.
I can’t just walk up to Hunter’s door immediately – he might realize that I’m so close, I would have seen that man leave and walk away. I don’t want him to know that I saw.
It seems like he scheduled this meeting, whatever it was, for the time that I wouldn’t be here. I want to know why.
I want to know why he was meeting with that man and paying him.
The immediate thought that comes to my mind is that I’m being played. But how and why? And what exactly would Hunter gain from having that man come up and interrupt us?
Or is it the other way around – did he interrupt us to get Hunter’s attention and remind him he needs to pay someone for something else?
What’s going on here?
The only thing I need to know right now is whether he’s going to own up and tell me he met with that man, because if he doesn’t, I’ll know for sure that something is up.
I check my phone for the time. The man has gone far enough down the street that I can barely make him out now. I think I’ve waited long enough.
I take a deep breath and step around the corner, hoping and praying that Hunter will prove my suspicions wrong.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Hunter
At the door knock, I drop what I’m doing and scramble toward it, thinking it can only be one of two people. The guy I just met with came back – which means I really want to get him out of here again as soon as possible – or Jenna was showing up early. Either way, I’m eager to get to that door.