Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 80197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Fake dating is weird. Three men have offered to help me exact my revenge against Eddie, but none of these dates will be the same. I know Elias best physically, Dornan best emotionally, and Travis hardly at all.
Dornan is staring, so I jangle my keys to jolt him out of the daze that mentioning possible sex has put him in. Jeez. Dudes can be weird about women being sexually confident. It's like they want us to cover our faces with a veil and lower our eyelashes while coyly staring at the floor. Those days are long gone, and I won't apologize for going for what I want when I want it. I spent too much time doing what Eddie wanted. I’m not going back there again, ever.
"Let's go." I follow Dornan, jumping into his old but very shiny, silver car. Fastening my belt, I watch him gently shut my door and attempt to fold himself into the driver's seat. Seriously, the dude is massive, and this car isn't sized for a football player's bulk.
"You sure you don't want to trade this in for an SUV?"
"I love this car."
He cranks it into drive, and we head to the same bar Elias and I went to last night. It’s probably weird to go to the same bar two nights in a row with two different men, but it's the most popular place to be, which means I have a greater chance of seeing people who know Eddie.
"What do Gab and Ellie think about this fake dating scheme?" Dornan asks.
I turn to face his profile, taking in his strong, bristly jaw and straight nose. He holds the steering wheel with just one powerful arm, and I enjoy his relaxed control. I don’t need to second guess anything when I’m with Dornan. It’s comfortable and I can relax because I trust him to handle everything and take care of me. "I haven't told them about it," I admit.
His blond brows shoot up. "Are you serious? You guys tell each other everything."
"I haven't seen them." The truth is that I know they’ll be disapproving, not in an unkind way but because they’ll worry about me and the effect these dates might have on our group dynamics. It’s easier to avoid conversations than deal with the possible fall out.
He cuts me a glance. "You know, there are these things called phones, and all you have to do is push a few buttons, and suddenly you get to talk to your friends?"
"Funny." I play with the handle of my purse, flexing the soft leather. "I've cried on their shoulders too much recently. I think they need a break from The Life and Dramas of Celine Lauder."
"No true friend needs a break from their buddy's life. That's not how friendship works. We carry each other through the hard times. No questions asked."
I rest my hand on his huge thigh and squeeze it. "You're a good friend, Dornan. You always go over and above."
"Ellie would probably disagree in this situation."
I cock an eyebrow, surprised. "Why?"
"Because I should be talking you down from going ahead with these revenge games. I should be encouraging you to see it as a waste of your time and energy and get you to focus on moving on."
"I am moving on." I fold my arms across my chest, resentful of imaginary Ellie for her negative assessment of my decision-making. "This is an excellent way of moving on. Elias helped me so much."
As soon as the last part is out of my mouth, I regret it. I don't want to sound manipulative. Whether Dornan intends to go as far as Elias did with me is up to him. I'm not pressuring anyone to have sex with me if they're not crazily up for it.
"Elias is out for himself."
"Dornan, that's not very nice."
He shakes his head, and his nostrils flare. Down, boy. "You know Elias. He never has anything good to say about anyone."
"He had lots of nice things to say about me."
"Because he wants to get his dick wet."
I bristle because, even though that might be true to a certain extent, I think Dornan is being tougher on Elias than is justified. "He has a big brooding bear thing going on, but I've never heard about him being a dick."
"He was a dick about Ellie when it got around about her fooling around in the closet with the Townsend Triplets."
"He was?"
Dornan nods. "He was asking them about it in the locker room."
"Asking them?"
His shoulders stiffen. "Yeah. Poking his nose in where it doesn't belong."
"So, he was curious? Did he call her names?"
"No."
"Did he make bad insinuations about her?"
"He started talking about stepsister porn."
"Sounds like he was trying to be funny."
As we pull up a little down the road from the bar, Dornan unsnaps his seatbelt. "He was trying to get under their skin. I don't like that shit."