Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 103530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
“Like the yard skeleton on social media?” He chuckled. “Are you trying to ruin our good thing here?”
I laughed. “No. I’m not sure anything could ruin it.”
He reached across the corner of the table and took my hand in his to squeeze it. But he didn’t say anything. And that made my ribs ache and my stomach drop.
I couldn’t keep doing this. I couldn’t keep falling in love. He didn’t plan on this being permanent. I didn’t plan on it. But now here we were, and he was being so nice to me.
“You know, I think I’m going to go for a walk,” I said, pushing my chair back suddenly.
“Ah. I think…” he looked at his cane. “I’m going to have to skip it today. But you’ll be perfectly safe.”
“I know,” I chirped. I’d been banking on that. “I’ll be back later. Don’t worry about me.”
“No worries,” he promised as I modulated my walk back inside so it wouldn’t seem like I was running away from him.
But I was running away from him. Like I ran away from everyone.
If you got far enough away from people, they couldn’t take your hand and crumple your resolve and, eventually, hurt your heart when they realized that you weren’t worthy of their love.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
(Matthew)
Charlotte came back from her walk and found me in the den before lunch. Her shoulders and chest were rosy from sunburn above the top of her bright pink bikini.
“I forgot sunscreen,” she said morosely, dropping on the couch beside me. She nodded at the TV. “Is that all you do when I’m not here? Play war video games?”
“Sometimes, I play a dragon video game,” I informed her. Maturely. I set the controller aside and turned off the TV. “You ran out of here awfully fast. Did I say something wrong?”
“Oh, no. Not at all.” She waved a hand in a dismissal I didn’t quite believe. “I needed to stretch my legs, because I’ve spent so much time on my back.”
I laughed at the way she wiggled her eyebrows on the last part of her sentence. “What did you get up to, besides being sunburned?”
“Um, I watched people have sex on the beach.” She made a face. “Considering where sand goes when you’re on the beach normally, I assume it was…abrasive.”
“It is. Never again,” I informed her gravely.
“I wouldn’t have asked.” She giggled. “Is it possible that being here makes sex boring? I mean, when I first got here, I was shocked and turned on and everything was in overdrive. But now it’s like, well, there are people fucking on the beach. Over there, people fucking against a wall. Hey, maybe I’ll go to the pool. Oh wait, everybody is fucking in it.”
“So, you missed me?” I teased.
She gave my shoulder a little push.
“I know what you mean.” I truly did. As much fun as I’d had the night before, I’d been on the island way too long. “I hope you’re not planning to take off early, though.”
She shook her head. “Before your birthday party? Absolutely not.”
But will you stay after? That wasn’t on the table for us. We’d both made that perfectly clear. “I’m glad you’ll be here. I like to share my gifts with my friends.”
Her face blanched.
“Oh my god, no!” I hurried to reassure her. “No, none of the friends you met at the wedding. And definitely, your brother is not coming to this party.”
She held a hand to her chest. “Thank god. And if he ever comes here, you can’t tell me. Never, never, never.”
He’d already been to the island, but I’d take that secret to my grave. For him, not for her; he’d been so embarrassed to even accept the invitation that he’d made me swear on a literal Bible I would never tell a soul. “I promise, I will never.”
She put her feet up, across my lap, and laid back with a throw pillow under her head. “By the way, I’m not bored of having sex with you.”
“Well, that’s good to hear.” I hadn’t assumed she was, though her bringing it up did make me wonder.
“I don’t think I could get tired of having sex with you.” She played with the end of her coppery ponytail. “Are you getting bored of me?”
“Not at all.” I lifted one of her legs and kissed her ankle. “But you did say you needed a break.”
“I probably do. My pussy is worn out,” she said with a snort of laughter. “I knew it would happen, one day. I didn’t realize it would be so soon.”
“I’m sure she’ll bounce back.”
“My mouth isn’t tired, though,” she said, batting her eyelashes. “My mouth is kind of lonely.”
I played along. “What a coincidence. My dick is awfully lonely, himself.”
She giggled and swung her feet down. “How about you enjoy your game while I enjoy you?”