Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 114284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114284 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 571(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Needing to be near him, I leaned across the center console and hugged his arm.
Already, the crumbs didn’t bother me as much.
I kissed his shoulder. “Thank you.”
He kissed the top of my head. “You feelin’ better?”
“So much.” I stayed right there, even though it wasn’t the most comfortable position. “It’s almost as if being open with you is better than fretting in secret.”
He snorted a laugh. “Almost. I don’t know about secret, though. We should play poker sometime.”
I snickered and buried my face against his shoulder.
“By the way,” he said as we reached our exit. “When we get to Mclean, I’ll go inside and say hello to everyone. You can grab the wireless vacuum cleaner I keep in the back and tidy up here in the front. Your crumbs are drivin’ me fuckin’ nuts.”
I reeled back and stared at him incredulously.
My crumbs?!
Rat bastard!
Although, it was seriously hot he had one of those little vacuums in the car. Major brownie points.
He grinned, all smug and proud and shit.
I entered the club area from the back patio after leaving my jacket in Macklin and Walker’s cabin, and I spotted my tall drink of water at the bar. A lot of people were here tonight, and the cacophony was almost deafening, but being in a much better mood made me more social.
The energy buzzing through the room hit me the hardest, and upon seeing the smiles on people’s faces, hearing their laughter, witnessing the greetings among friends, it dawned on me that I’d never felt anything like this in my own community. We didn’t share that togetherness. After so much drama had unfolded in Old Town, we sometimes stuck to people not because we liked them but because they were the better alternative or because others were downright toxic.
It made me wanna recruit the few genuine friends I actually had there and bring them over here.
Ty and Reese laughed at something Walker said, whereas Shay and Macklin rolled their eyes, and I just thought…Nora would fit in great here. So would Reid and…
“Lane!”
I grinned when I saw Corey jumping behind someone a lot taller—oh, it was Sloan. Greer was there too, and Archie. My poor cousin struggled even more than I did to be seen in a crowd of skyscraper men.
We met somewhere in the middle, and his excitement was infectious.
“Can you believe it? We can finally go to the same events again!” he hollered over the music.
I laughed and threw an arm around his shoulders. “You should’ve suggested this ages ago!”
He looked at me kinda like I’d looked at Ty when he’d called the crumbs mine.
“Come on,” I chuckled. “Let me reintroduce you to my man.”
That put the grin back on his face, and we maneuvered ourselves through the sea of people until we got to the bar. Hmpf, just in time for Reese and Shay to leave.
“Does Ty still make pizza rolls?” Corey asked.
Of course he remembered the damn pizza rolls.
“Ask him!” I closed the distance between Ty and me and slipped my hand into his, and his eyes lit up with affection. “I think you remember this guy, honey. Other than when you saw each other at the munch last year.”
Corey smiled goofily and stuck out his hand. “It’s Pizza Roll Dad!”
Ty laughed warmly. “It’s Corey Cruz! Good to see you, kid.”
“You too, Sir. I’m super happy you managed to catch my slippery cousin. I gave him a stern talkin’-to the other day.” He was proud of that.
“I’m forever grateful.” Ty winked at him and hugged me closer. “I hear you’ve been—”
“Can we get everyone’s attention? Tappin’ the mic here.” Reese’s voice rang above all others, and the mayhem simmered. The atmosphere changed. It was still buzzing, but the greetings were put on pause. People were here tonight for two reasons—the official reopening of the house, and for the Game. Well, the nightclub theme that would follow too. Reese had promised a DJ, seizure-inducing lights, and smoke machines.
Corey excused himself to return to his squad, and Ty gathered me in front of him and rested his chin at the top of my head.
Macklin shot me a smile, so I blew him a kiss.
Up on the stage, Reese, River, Shay, and Lucas were waiting for people to pipe down.
“It’s good to see so many here tonight,” Reese said. “Innit, Riv?”
Several of us laughed at River’s deadpan expression. Aww, he was the community’s favorite grumpy grandpa or something. I’d learned that much after spending a week with him in Florida.
“He agrees,” Reese chuckled into the mic. “Tonight’s hot topic is, of course, our Picture-Perfect event, and I’m thrilled to say we have nearly thirty participatin’ dynamics this time around.”
I glanced back at Ty and puckered my lips, and he kissed me.
Our first of many events, I hoped.
“You might’ve seen the screens we’ve put up around the club by now,” Reese went on. Screens? I tried to see the walls for all the people, and I managed to spot three—no, four screens the size of my TV at home. Maybe fifty or so inches. “Now, before the Tops sent in the final three shots, they also signed a consent form that will allow us to print the photos and put them on the walls. That was kinda the idea behind this month’s Game since we lost the old artwork in the fire. But if you change your minds, just let us know and we’ll take ’em down. No worries. Here’s Mr. West with the rules.”