Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 88895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
“Perhaps for you. Bear and I both know if the bread consumption outweighs the vegetable one, a nappie transitions from being a possibility to probability in point twelve seconds.”
“And lastly,” hiding the hint of mirth he’s scraped up is more difficult than it should be, “that shit hasn’t happened in over two weeks…” This time keeping my feelings out of my tone can’t be done. “And is likely to never happen again because someone stopped coming over to do that without even bothering to tell me why.”
“You know why.”
“Obviously I fucking don’t.”
“How can you not know?”
“Maybe because your Tom Hardly ass hasn’t told me!”
“I don’t need to tell you shit, Arden!” His body unexpectedly propels itself onto his feet. “You’re the one who went out with her ex-boyfriend while you’re dating me!” My jaw barely has the opportunity to crack open before he’s barking again. “You’re the one who didn’t bother fucking telling me we weren’t bloody exclusive!”
“We’re not dating!”
“We’re not, not dating!”
“Look, I know better English is your second language or whatever, but you have got to know that sentence doesn’t make any fucking sense.”
“Giving you a double negative tends to have better results than practical conversing.”
That’s not true.
Or like…I don’t think that’s true.
I mean…it’s probably not true.
Although…is it not not true.
Shit.
“Arden, no matter how much you want to be and think of yourself as one, you are not just one of the boys to me.”
“I am not not one!”
“We dine together.”
“You were just eating with Peck!”
“We binge films together.”
“You and Cap took his kid to see a movie last week! It even made a family friendly headline!”
“We try new shit together.”
“Didn’t you and Potato try cardoon smoothies just yesterday?!”
“We walk Bear together post games-”
“You…need…the…stretching.”
“We run Bear together pre-pracky.”
“You…want…the…extra…cardio.”
“You wash my pracky gear.”
“I don’t want you to smell like cheap hot sauce and feet at work!”
“And you think Groffee would wash my pracky gear?”
“I’m not even sure Groffee washes his own pracky grear.”
“How about the fact that I learned to cook Father’s famous chicken tortilla soup. For. You.” His entire frame cranes slightly forward. “And then I kept learning to cook different dishes. For. You.” An irresistibly sweet smile graces his face. “For. Us.” He slides his hands into his sweats’ pockets. “You honestly feel as though I would do that shit for the boys?”
Okay, no.
Maybe…not that.
“The only reason you believe we are not dating is because we’re not banging-”
“Which is the only fucking thing you actually want from me anyway!”
“Honest to Gretzky truth, babe, if it was just about sleeping with you, I would’ve buggered off by now. There are much less labor-intensive ways to get laid.”
“Then what is it about, Tanner?” leaks free in a whine. “Why are you so nice to me?! Why do you buy me little things?! Why do you wanna hang around me so much?!”
“I like you.” His shoulder bounces in what can only be described as defeat. “I am not sure how to make that any bloody clearer.”
“I…” my skin suddenly feels uncomfortable to be in, “thought you were just…saying that…to…sleep with me or whatever.”
“I want to sleep with you yes; however, I also happen to really fucking like you.”
“Then why did you stop coming over?!”
“Why did you go out with another guy?!”
“I didn’t!”
Disbelief crinkles his brow. “What?”
“I didn’t go out with Layvon.” Holding his gaze hostage is effortless. “I was actually trying to tell you he asked, but I said no when you went all Prince of Sleeze on me.”
For the first time since the conversation began, he’s left speechless.
“Yeah,” comes out in a cocky, snarky snip at the same time I stomp a tad closer. “That’s right, fuckface. I was gonna tell you that our plans…our…whatever thing…was more important to me than even considering eating in the same building as some tiny dick fuckboy that has to do well on the ice because he damn sure doesn’t in bed.”
His mouth twitches again.
“I was gonna tell you that I couldn’t wait to try the apple BBQ sauce wings you kept fucking raving about on the plane because apparently Applecourt has the best goddamn apples on the planet, which is where A2 gets their best apples from.”
An almost bashful beam is presented. “You actually listen to me?”
“Of course I listen to you, James Fraud! I listen to you about everything! It’s how I know 3P is coming out with that new extreme stick handling aid that’s made for travel! How I know that Wiley wants to retire after this season to take a job working for Wilcox Enterprises in their party planning division-”
“Event planning.”
“And how I know that The King was closer to Shakespeare’s version of events than that of actual history!”
“Alright,” amusement flounces through his tone, “so you really listen to me.”
“I do!” Another stomp closer occurs. “I really fucking do, Tanner! I see you! I hear you! I’m there for you!”