Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 70574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Well, six now. Day one had been wasted with his head dangling over the loo and me holding his hair away from the waterfall of liquor and stomach acid.
“You stayed in my cabin all night?” he asked.
“I stayed in our cabin all night,” I answered. “Just like I will tonight, tomorrow night, and the remainder of the cruise. It’s safer that way, Ari.” Yes, it was safer, but we all knew that wasn’t the real reason why I’d demanded the IT person from work add me to his cabin when booking the cruise. It wouldn’t have been a huge stretch for them to rearrange the cabins and make it where we could have enjoyed adjoining cabins, giving each of us some privacy. I hadn’t wanted that, though. Nope, not me.
“Absolutely not, Eli,” he barked quickly. “I’m not sharing a cabin with you. Not now. Not ever. I…I might want to entertain a new friend.”
His argument was weak, at best. “A new friend? As opposed to all the old friends you were supposedly traveling with for your birthday celebration?” That comment might have been a hit below the belt, but he needed to know that lying to me was going to be a waste of both our time. I knew him too well—just like he knew me.
“You’re a bastard, Eli,” Ari snarled viciously. His voice was vicious, but the look in his eyes was nothing but pain. “You’re a fucking bastard for saying that.”
“I wasn’t implying you couldn’t make friends, Ari—only that you bundle yourself up so tight, afraid of not fitting into whatever mold you believe you think you should fit in to, that you won’t put yourself out there and make new friends. You don’t trust anybody…especially yourself. Hell, babe, anybody would be honored to be considered your friend, but you won’t let them in.”
“Not true, idiot. I have Baker and Seth,” he said smugly. Then, with a strange expression on his face, he asked, “Is that what you want to be, Eli? My friend? Is that what this is all about? You missed my playful banter so damn much you just had to come crawling back for more?”
“Playful banter, huh? No, it wasn’t that, Ari. I missed you. Believe what you want and blame me for everything that went wrong between us if it makes you feel better. The past is the past. I’m more than ready and able to leave it right where it belongs—in the past. I hoped you’d be capable of doing the same thing.”
I watched the emotions play across his face and wondered exactly what he was thinking. He was still the Arizona that I’d fallen in love with years ago, but he was also incredibly different. There’d always been a part of him that he held back from everyone except me, but even I no longer got to see that side of him. I wanted that Arizona back…the one that looked at me like I was the most valuable trinket on the planet.
I also wanted to fuck him so hard that he’d never again doubt who he belonged to.
Mine. The animalistic thought echoed in my mind.
“You’re only here to hurt me, Eli. Admit it,” he hissed. “Why can’t you just let it go? I lied. I shouldn’t have. Is that what you wanted to hear? You want an apology, Eli? Okay, I’m sorry! I’m fucking sorry that I lied! There…now leave.”
The sadness in his eyes was the only thing that kept me from being hurt from his outburst. Those damn eyes—they’d always been the window to his soul and my biggest weak point. From our first date until now, I’d never been able to deny him anything. It was the very reason I’d had to walk away.
And the very reason I’d had to return.
“Yes, I appreciate the apology, Ari. Very much. It wasn’t necessary, though. I’d already forgiven you.” I winked at him. “It doesn’t mean, however, that I intend to let you off without some…punishment for being so naughty. From where I’m sitting, I owe you a spanking for lying about your age and a birthday spanking on top of that.”
He blushed really pretty but then snorted in disgust. “I’m not into that spanking, cropping, or flogging…or whatever the hell you people call it. If you, Seth, and Baker want to dabble into that kind of sordid kink, go for it. Just keep my ass out of it.”
Okay…good to know.
So much for hoping he was anything like Baker.
It was probably at this moment when I’d one day look back and really regret the words that were about to come out of my mouth, the words that made me nothing more than a hypocrite and liar, but when faced with being honest and risking losing any hopes of getting back together with Ari before we even had a chance to explore adult feelings…I chose to lie. It was nothing more than an itsy-bitsy little lie that, with enough truth-twisting, I couldn’t almost present a fairly good defense of the validity of my next statement.