Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 58992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
“And you are, it seems, since this is kind of like a great second date. In our parallel universe. And I’m curious. What did you want to get to know about me?”
“Anything,” I say, emphatically. “What makes you tick. You said you have a sister. What’s she like?”
That’s an easy start.
Brooke lights up as she tells me about Cara, her bright outlook on life, how hard she studies, her drive to be a special education teacher. “I’m proud of her, especially since she’s almost debt free. I didn’t want her to be like me, weighed down with loans.”
I grimace. “That’s got to be an inevitability of law school,” I say with sympathy.
“It is, but hey, no one feels bad for lawyers. And in a couple years, I’ll have them paid off. But that’s another reason I was in a funk about work when I met you. I thought I’d been passed over. But then it turned out I got a new job and a raise.”
I grin and offer a hand to high-five. She smacks back. This is not the way I want to congratulate her on her promotion. A hot kiss would be better. “That is awesome,” I say, focusing on the positive.
“The flip side is no third date,” she says, sounding a little forlorn.
Womp. Womp.
“For the record, I would have asked you on a third date. And I would also have not ghosted you.”
“Good to know,” she says.
We’re quiet for a bit as we walk into the night, my gaze drifting to her shoes. Sexy red skirt that revs my engine. Those black heels. That tight little waist. “By the way, those shoes? I would have had you leave them on tonight,” I say, in a voice just for her.
A smile sneaks across her face, deliciously dirty. “Would you have?”
“Absolutely. You naked in those heels? Mmm,” I say, enjoying the images my brain is supplying. “I’d put them on my shoulders, around my waist, up in the air.”
She lets out a sexy whimper. “You’re making this hard.”
“Oh, it’s definitely hard,” I say.
“Your hardship,” she says, playfully.
“That describes me when I’m with you,” I say.
She shoots me a knowing look that says she’s onto my dirty thoughts. And she knows the risks of them, since she clears her throat, tsks me, then says, “You mentioned when I met you that you had twin sisters. What are they like?” I suppose it’s good that one of us has the self-control to course correct.
Plus, I’m always eager to share deets on the doubles. “They’re troublemakers and they trick my mom and her hubs all the time,” I say, then grab my phone and show her the mermaid pic.
“They are adorable,” she says, then studies my face for a few seconds, like she’s making sure she has clearance. “You said they were half-sisters…”
An invitation, giving me the chance to fill in the gaps. So far, I like sharing with Brooke. “My dad took off when I was five, then he died when I was twelve—hard-partying lifestyle, drinking too much, driving too fast.”
She squeezes my arm. “That’s hard.”
“It is but I can’t even say I miss him because I never knew him. All I knew was how he left Mom—with all the responsibility.”
“She raised a damn fine son,” Brooke says.
Mom deserves the credit. “She’s a good woman. I have the utmost respect for her. I want to do right by her. She’ll be at my first game.”
“I bet you’ll love seeing her there.”
“And you?” My question is open-ended too, for the same reasons. She can tell me about her family if she wants to or not.
“Mom and Dad are still together. He’s a high school football coach. Cara and I try to see them as often as we can.”
“Nice,” I say, liking that she has similar priorities to mine. “Will they come to the game too?”
“Probably. I called to let them know about the promotion this afternoon. Dad is excited about me working for a football team now.”
“Good man,” I say as we pass a billboard for Sebastian Lowe’s new film, a dark superhero flick I can’t wait to see.
“Favorite movie ever,” I prompt.
“Fake Play, of course,” Brooke says, naming a popular football movie from last decade.
I scoff. “You can’t pick a football movie.”
“Why not?”
“Because we work in football. Sports movies are ruled out.”
“But it’s an awesome movie. And they should not be ruled out.”
“Fine. Then let’s add The Time Out and Par for the Course. Also, Hail Mary,” I add.
“Whoa, reaching way back in the Hall of Fame archives for that one.”
“You didn’t really think I’d pick Field of Green. Everyone picks Field of Green.”
“Of course I didn’t think you’d do that, Drew,” she says. “And I do love all of those. The refurbished cinema off Ocean Avenue—Silver Screen Theater—is showing some of the best sports flicks in a few weeks. Including Fake Play. You can bet I’ll be there.”