Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74298 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
By the time we got to dessert, I was in a haze, and I realized for the first time in months—maybe years—I hadn’t thought about my work stresses at all for hours and hours. No matter how bittersweet it was to be here, I was glad for the break.
“Well, when the sun goes down around here, it’s jacuzzi time,” Jo said. “Hope you all brought your swim clothes like I told you to.”
“Got mine in tow,” Shawn said.
“We definitely did,” Tris said. “After a day of travel it’s all I want.”
“Let’s hop to it,” Jo said, clapping her hands in the air. In a frenzy of activity, all seven of us started cleaning up the dining table, rinsing dishes, and loading the dishwasher.
By the time we had changed into swim clothes and headed out onto the back deck, Bruce was out there getting the big hot tub ready and bubbling.
“What are we thinking? Red? Blue? Green?” he asked as he pushed buttons on the wall, changing the color inside the long tub.
“Turn on that strobing effect one,” Lindsay said with a chuckle.
“Hell, no,” Nathan said. “That gives me a headache. All the colors of the rainbow every three seconds is too much.”
“I know you like rainbow colors, though,” Shawn said, grinning at Nathan.
“Of course I do,” he said. “Just not in my hot tub experience, okay?”
Bruce clapped his hands. “Okay. I’m making the executive decision. We’re going with this nice, crystal purple color for tonight.”
He set the color and then turned on some music.
We hopped into the hot tub and Bruce refreshed all of our drinks. The night air had just cooled off enough to make the hot tub a perfect temperature, and Tristan was sitting right next to me—so close that his body was touching the side of mine, actually, even though the hot tub was plenty big enough that he didn’t have to do it.
I was starting to get addicted to his touch. With my slight buzz, I finally began to let myself relax into the evening.
“Okay, I’m convinced. This place is paradise,” I told Tris.
“It is pretty magical, isn’t it?” Tris said. “Wait ‘til you see the property I’m purchasing. We’ll go check it out tomorrow. The house itself ain’t much, but the land around it is just like this.”
Shawn, Nathan, and Linsday were across the tub on the other side, chatting about a potential home they wanted to buy and flip down in Denver. They were steadfast about wanting to flip homes in an ethical way, not just using cheap materials to tack a higher price onto a house. Bruce and Jo were discussing what seemed to be a piece of town gossip: whether or not an elderly woman named Ethel was newly dating a 90-year-old saxophone player named Ricky.
The night sky above even seemed more infinite here. So many stars were visible, glittering above us, and on the horizon, it was possible to just make out the dark line of the mountains where they met the sky. Steam filled the air in front of us. Tristan leaned over, whispering close in my ear.
“I am so fucking happy that you’re here with me, Blue,” he said, his voice almost a purr. It was unfair how sexy he sounded. I wasn’t drunk, but I sure as hell wasn’t sober enough to ignore how much I liked feeling his mouth so close against me.
“Okay, you’ve got to give me the downsides of this place,” I said, trying to lean back a little so that I didn’t end up with a hard-on from the proximity to Tris. I looked over at him, seeing the water droplets collecting on his shoulder blades, making the rose tattoo on his shoulder look like it was glistening. “There have to be some negatives to it, right? I like to look at this rationally. You know that.”
Tris gave me an adorable lopsided grin. “Let’s see. There are bears in the forests, sometimes. I suppose that can be a downside. But if you know what to look out for, and what to do if you see one, you’re definitely going to be fine.”
“All right. Bears. That’s a logical downside. What else?”
Tristan looked up, lost in thought. “Um, sometimes you get so lost in the natural beauty of the mountains that you forget all of your responsibilities?”
I gave him a little sideways shove with my shoulder, the water rippling between us. “Very funny.”
“Fine, fine,” he continued, leaning back on the ledge of the hot tub, the water line stopping over the top of his chest. “I wasn’t kidding about the snow shoveling. That stuff can be physically taxing.”
“So even on a cold, snowy day, you have to go outside and get sweaty and hot and work on your muscles?” I asked.
“Well, when you put it that way, it just sounds like a massive turn-on,” Tris said.