Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 129881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 649(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 649(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
The crowd erupts, pushing closer to see what’s happened, and someone yells for us to get out of here because “they’re calling the cops, Jake!”
It’s Miguel.
He’s pointing at the guy behind the bar who has a phone to his ear, and all I can think about is Felix when I feel a hand wrap around my wrist, because I know it’s him before I even turn around.
I need to get us out of here.
“We gotta go,” I tell him, grabbing his hand.
He holds on to my forearm as I pull him through the crowd, shoving past people who won’t fucking move until we’re finally out the door.
And then we’re running.
We’re side by side now, and Felix’s hand is sweaty, but he’s gripping on to me just as hard.
I peer into his face.
He’s smiling right at me like he’s not worried at all about the threat of cops. Not even the tiniest bit, and it’s so unexpected, I bark out a laugh.
This is so fucked up.
When I hear sirens, I pull him into an alley to get us off the sidewalk and out of sight.
“Holy shit,” he says, crowding me as I lean back against the cool brick.
We’re both panting.
And then he holds on to my face, his fingers feather soft while he inspects me like I really matter to him.
“I can’t believe you did that. Did you hurt your head?”
“No. I knew what I was doing.”
“Why did you hit him?”
“Why do you think?”
Felix is standing between my spread legs and since I’m slouched against the wall and no longer at my full height, we’re even.
He’s eye to eye with me and inches away. It’s too close.
“Can you say it?” he asks.
His touch moves lower, over my jaw and down the sides of my neck, until his hands are resting on my shoulders.
I drop my head back and just stare at him. It’s all I can seem to do.
And I really wish I would’ve picked an alley that had some light in it.
I’m relying on fading sunset only right now, and it’s not nearly enough. There are too many shadows. Everything is darker. Too dark.
His eyes look black instead of brown, and the curls on his forehead make him look paler than I know he is, and those damn tattoos all over his arms aren’t clear enough for me to make out.
Does this guy own a shirt with sleeves? I’m beginning to wonder what the fuck he does when it gets colder in Alabama.
Maybe he’ll ask to wear one of my hoodies.
“Jake.”
“Mm?”
But it doesn’t matter how little light I have right now because I hear Felix swallow before he asks me again, “Can you say it? Please?”
Can I say it?
Yes. I so very easily can.
“He touched you. Nobody touches you.”
Not like me. Not like I’m doing right now by reaching out and taking hold of his trim waist, and I can try and convince myself that I’m allowing this one moment to keep him back, to keep him from working his way any closer, but I know I’m a liar.
And God help me when I don’t stop Felix at all from moving in in in.
I let him press his hips against my hips, like a moron, and I don’t turn my head when he so slowly inches closer, giving me plenty of time to protest this before his mouth touches mine.
His lips are warm and spit slick.
He groans, and it’s so soft, so weak-sounding, I want to burst.
Felix kisses me like he’s asking for permission, and I allow it. I don’t fight him off at all. But I don’t allow any more to happen than that.
I’m stiff and unyielding against his lips.
I don’t press back or open around his tongue.
I don’t allow my fingers to dig into his waist when I feel the flex of my hands.
I swallow down my own noises and I stand there and take it. I don’t give Felix anything in return, because I remember why I can’t.
“Jake?”
His breath is hot. I want it all over me.
I turn my head and force his mouth to my cheek. “We can’t do this, Felix. You know we can’t.”
I gently ease him back.
And I expect him to protest, or at least argue with me. I want him to. But he knows the truth just as much as I do.
“Yeah,” he says, and he sounds so defeated, it actually hurts to hear it. He pushes the curls out of his eyes. “This sucks so much. You have no idea.”
“Oh, I have an idea.”
“I can’t believe you’re into me.”
Fuck. He really means that.
I blink, pausing and really considering my next move, and then I’m pushing off from the wall and crowding him. I can’t reach him fast enough.
“The only reason I haven’t fucked you yet is because you’re my sponsor.”
His eyes widen, and he’s moving backward as I’m moving forward until his back flattens against the opposite brick.