Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
“I’ll bet. We really worked up an appetite last night,” I wink at her.
She blushes before looking inside the bag and pulling out the jam and butter before retrieving a corn muffin. I sit down across from her and grab the other muffin, biting into it.
“What is that?” I ask, seeing the sketchpad she’d pushed away to make room for breakfast.
Renee shrugs. “Just stuff I mess around with.”
“Like drawings?”
Renee nods as she butters the muffin.
“Can I see?”
She looks up at me, surprised.
“I’ve never shown these to anyone.”
“Oh. Well, if you don’t want me to see, I understand,” I tell her. “I remember you were always a great artist when you were a kid. You used to enter those contests online all of the time.”
“Fine. You don’t have to butter me up… you can see them,” she caves, lightly pushing the pad over to me.
I chuckle and wink at her. “See? I know how to get my way too.”
Renee laughs. “I’ll bet you do.”
I open up the sketchpad. The first drawing is of some sort of female super hero.
“Wow, the detail on this is amazing,” I compliment her.
“Thanks. That’s Kerenity. She’s the heroine of a graphic novel I work on from time to time.”
“You’re working on a graphic novel?”
“Just for fun,” Renee shrugs, taking a bite of her now buttered and jammed muffin.
Turning to the next page, there is an equally awesome drawing of a male super hero.
“Who’s this?”
“Jedrek. He reads minds.”
“Rey, these are phenomenal.”
She rolls her eyes. “Kane, it’s just stupid comic stuff. It’s dorky.”
“It’s fucking awesome,” I tell her before flipping through more pages.
Some of the sketches are landscapes, and some are of realistic animals. All of them are equally amazing. I stop at the last page and look at Renee, surprised.
“Oh, that’s what I was working on this morning…” She blushes.
The sketch is of us—naked and entwined in each other’s arms while my mouth is latched onto hers.
“This one’s my favorite,” I wink.
A blushing grin covers her face as she takes a sip of her coffee.
“Caramel?” she asks in surprise.
“I know it’s your favorite.”
She smiles again. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her smile this much or not give any sass back. Happy looks incredible on her, and that thought makes me realize just how unhappy she is about school and her future.
“Rey, does your dad know about your art?”
“He knows I like to draw.”
“Be honest with me… you don’t just like to draw. This is your passion. This is what you should be doing,” I say, pointing my finger at the sketch of us.
She laughs. “Having sex with you?”
I give her a stern, sideways look, and she lets out a deep sigh.
“Dad wants me to be something practical, not some struggling artist.”
“How do you know you’ll be struggling? You have enough talent that maybe you won’t have to.”
“Shut up,” she brushes me off, her sass returning full force.
“And even if you do struggle, who cares? You’ll be doing what you love.”
Renee looks at me, and a bashful smile spreads across her face.
“You seem very passionate about my passion,” she teases.
“I am! Look, I get that school sucks. I got a college degree and am doing nothing with it. But maybe you should go to some kind of art school and pursue this.”
“Kane, that’s nice and all, but I know Daddy, and he wants me to get a degree in business or nursing. He doesn’t want me chasing some dream that won’t work out.”
“That doesn’t sound like my best friend. Back in college, he was a dreamer,” I tell her.
“Well, that was way before my mother broke his heart and crushed his dreams.”
“Sweetie, I know you asked me to talk to him, but have you tried?” I ask, reaching over and squeezing her wrist gently.
“He refers to art as my hobby, Kane. He already has another college tour lined up for me, and I’m pretty sure there are no art programs there either.”
“I still think you should talk to him. He’s more understanding than you realize.”
Renee laughs. “You called him stubborn!”
“I did, but sometimes, he can be reasonable,” I offer.
“Right. Says the guy who’s sneaking around with his daughter.”
“Says the girl who is using my innermost secrets to blackmail me,” I retort.
“I didn’t hear you complaining last night,” she crosses her arms across her chest.
“Eat your muffin,” I say, taking a sip of my coffee.
“Eat yours,” she smirks, spreading her legs wide.
I spit my coffee out, and Renee laughs hysterically. Grabbing napkins to wipe my face and the table, I shake my head at her.
“What the fuck am I going to do with you?”
She stands up and sits in my lap.
Giving me a small kiss on the lips, she replies, “Anything you want.”
I’m in so much trouble with this girl. She’s dangerous, but I can’t say no to her. As long as I’m around, I will do anything to keep her happy, and I’m afraid what that will cost me in the end.