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)
“It does, doesn’t it?”
The conversation lapsed for a moment, and the sound of his parents’ laughter from across the tub and his siblings’ playful arguments filled the air.
“What about romance prospects?” I asked Tristan, hesitating only a little. “When you visited last month, did you meet any cool, single women that you were interested in?”
Tristan’s eyes fell to a spot in the water in front of him. He furrowed his brow and shook his head. “No. I don’t know. I mean, I guess there was one woman I met at a bar one night while I was here. She was beautiful, no doubt. But when she asked if I wanted to go home with her, I… just couldn’t do it.”
“Weren’t in the mood?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Not with her. I’m pretty sure the only reason I started talking to her in the first place was because she had a sunflower tattoo, and it reminded me of you.”
I snorted, feeling my cheeks heat a little bit. I often forgot I had a single, little tattoo on my shoulder blade—one that matched Tristan’s over his own shoulder blade. We’d gotten them together, on one of our first big nights out together. In retrospect, it was nuts. I never should have gotten a tattoo with a guy I’d only known for a few months at the time.
But that was the power he had over me. Somewhere in my heart, I had known, even then, how special he was. I’d thought I’d get a tattoo in a million years, but now I loved having one that was the same as his.
It was a physical representation of my connection to him. We’d have each other marked on our skin, forever. No matter where we were.
“Sounds like that date was a bust,” I said. I couldn’t stop staring at his lips, and I wanted to talk about anything else other than his dating life. Why the hell had I brought that up?
Tristan let out a long sigh. “Sometimes I think I prefer hanging out with you to dating, anyway.”
“That’s a crazy thing to say,” I told him. “It’s apples and oranges.”
“I know, but still,” he said. “When it really comes down to it, life is about spending time with the people you love the most, right? And it’s just a simple fact, Blue. I love you the most.”
Fuckin’ hell.
My heart fluttered. Tris had a way of saying things that weren’t meant to be deeply meaningful at all, but turned out to be the most beautiful things I’d ever heard.
His eyes sparkled above the purple-toned water as he looked at me, his thick lashes wet with droplets of water. I swore I could have melted right into the hot tub at that moment.
“Well, that’s silly, but I feel the same way, you know,” I said, trying to brush it off.
He sucked his lower lip into his mouth. “I know you do.”
Don’t think too hard about his lips. Goddamn, his perfect fucking lips.
My mind, my heart, and my dick were threatening to go crazy if I looked at him for another moment. I took a deep breath, raking my fingers through my hair.
“I’m kind of starting to overheat. Might be time for a quick rinse in a cold shower and bed for me.”
Tris nodded. “I agree. I’ll head inside in a few, okay?”
I nodded once, barely looking at him as I jumped out of the tub.
“Jolene, Bruce, this is already one of the best trips I’ve ever taken and it’s only the first night,” I said. “I’m going to head to bed, but thank you so much for the warm welcome.”
“We really mean it, our home is your home while you’re here,” Jo said with a nod. “Happy to have you, Jack.”
“And make sure you get some good sleep before tomorrow,” Shawn said, giving me a little salute. “We’ve got a ton to show you.”
“Night, everyone,” I said before toweling off and heading into the house. Jo and Tris had shown me where the downstairs guest room was earlier tonight, which was the room Tristan and I would be sharing. All of his siblings were taking different guest rooms upstairs tonight after drinking, so Tristan and I had offered to share a bed.
I rinsed off quickly in the shower and dried off before heading back into the room. Tris was just walking through the door as I came out of the bathroom with a towel slung around my waist. I nodded at him and he nodded at me as he crossed into the bathroom to rinse off, too.
By the time he’d gotten out of the shower I was all toweled off, tucked into bed under the sheets, and feeling even cozier than I did in my own bed at home. The only light in the room was a dim glow that the little light above one of the nightstands, and after Tris had dried off and pulled on his sweatpants, he turned it off and slid into the bed next to me.