Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 108636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Am I being paranoid? I don’t know. But my intuition tells me I’m treading shark-infested waters the longer I stay at this club now that Beau has arrived.
What if Beau and I get lost in the moment, like we always tend to do, and Avery manages to notice? What if Bethany or Seth witness something that they would gladly use against us?
Suddenly, it feels like I’m being tracked by the damn FBI. Maybe I’m better off just going home. Getting out of here and climbing into bed to smother myself in a pint of ice cream sure feels a hell of a lot safer than this clusterfuck of a situation.
The bathroom door shoves open, and through the reflection in the mirror, one of the last people I want to see steps inside. Son of a bitch. I stand up to my full height, trying to act as nonchalant as possible, while my gaze discreetly tracks Bethany through the mirror. She notices me right away, of course, and saunters over in my direction with a smile on her face as I start the process of washing my hands again.
It’s the easiest mode of distraction as she comes to a stop beside me and starts to talk. “Your secret is safe with me, you know?” she says, making me lick my lips.
I turn to look at her, doing my damnedest to steel my features against anything that’ll give me away. “My secret?”
“Yeah. About your crush on Beau.” She narrows her eyes, and her mouth quirks up into a sneaky smile. “I wouldn’t have brought it up if I’d known you didn’t want Avery to know. Honestly, I thought she knew.” She laughs and waves a dramatic hand in the air. “I mean, God, it was so painfully obvious with the way you were always staring at him.”
“What can I say?” I play off her words by smiling, even as I feel my stomach churn. “He was cute.”
Bethany’s returning smile is big and confident, her victory of getting me to admit the truth clearly making her happy. “He was. Still is, really.” She sighs and shakes her head. “Anyway, have fun out there.”
“Yeah.” I lift my cheeks, my smile the equivalent of peanut brittle. “Yeah. You too.”
She pops into a stall, and I don’t waste any time leaving the bathroom. I don’t know how much longer I can keep this shit up, but how in the hell am I supposed to tell Avery now?
Beau and me. The most ridiculous thing in the world, my best friend said.
The insecure girl inside me rears her evil head.
Maybe, just maybe, Avery’s right.
The ride up in the elevator is quiet. Well, besides Avery’s gabbing, that is.
I don’t know what she’s talking about, my brain too focused on not looking at Beau as we ascend toward our floor to be able to process the words racing out of her mouth like a sprinter out of the gate.
Tonight at the club was…strange. Confusing and anxiety-inducing, all thanks to that witch Bethany and my best friend’s current obliviousness to Beau’s and my relationship. And clearly, the latter is all your fault.
An odd mix of exasperation and guilt settles into my lungs and wants to escape in the form of a sigh, but I swallow it down. I can feel Beau’s eyes on me. It’s something you simply know is happening when you’ve spent half your life in love with a guy.
I steal a glance; I can’t help it, and the secret smile he flashes at me makes my heart pound against my ribs.
From the pit of low to the soaring high I go, and it’s safe to say things are becoming more and more complicated.
The elevator dings its arrival, and all three of us step off the cart. Beau, always the gentleman, making a gesture to go first.
“So Beau, what do you think?” Avery asks, and Beau just chuckles.
“I’ll be honest, Ave, I didn’t hear a fucking word you just said.”
“Excuse me?” she asks, and when she glances at me, my body tenses up. Lord knows I haven’t heard a word she said either.
“Good night, ladies,” Beau says, pulling Avery’s attention back to him—thank goodness—as he steps up to his door and pulls out his keys.
“That’s it?” Avery questions. “What if what I was saying was really important?”
“Was it?” Beau questions with a challenging tilt of his head.
“I guess you’ll never know,” Avery sing-songs and Beau just shrugs.
“Okay.” He unlocks the door to his apartment. “Good night, ladies.”
“God, you’re such an old man!” Avery groans, but Beau just flashes a grin and walks inside his condo and shuts the door.
I unlock the door to our condo, stepping inside, and Avery follows. She heads straight for the kitchen and tosses her purse onto the marble island.
“Gahh, tonight was the best, wasn’t it?” she questions and plops down onto one of the stools. “I swear DJ Andre is so good, he has to be a part of the illuminati.”