Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Equality.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Better Days.
Emmy
Four days had passed since the guys had decided to gatecrash The Vixens’ tour and since that day, it seemed like our house had become some kind of unofficial headquarters. Not a day had gone by when we didn’t have both bands spread out over our living room and deck, and I didn’t want to be rude but half the time, they didn’t need to be there. I mean, we weren’t always discussing tour stuff.
Take today, for example.
“Next question,” Cherry lay across the sofa and folding the page of the magazine over she, read the question out loud. “You can choose one thing to take on a deserted island. Will you choose A) a book, B) a knife, C) matches, or D) a flashlight?”
I watched quietly from the doorway. Hell sat on the ground with his back to the sofa, his arms folded behind his head with his eyes closed. “What the fuck?” His brows bunched. “How is this going to tell me what pizza flavor I am?”
Cherry shrugged lightly even though Hell couldn’t see her. “I don’t know, it just is. Well, which one do you choose?”
Taking in a deep breath, he replied through an exhale., “Well, the book is out. Matches can get wet. I’ll need batteries for a flashlight. So, I guess the most useful one would be the knife.”
“Okay,” Using a pen, she marked down his answer. “Let me just tally this up.” She did the numbers then made a face before dropping the magazine to her chest and chuckling. “Oh no.”
Her sympathetic exclamation had Hell opening one eye. “What?”
But Cherry kept laughing.
Hell spun around and made to take the magazine from her but she quickly held it up over her head. I couldn’t help but notice she always seemed happier on the days we all hung out. Or, I should say, on the days where she let Hell crawl an inch closer. An odd friendship had bloomed between the two where they flirted on occasion but never let it get weird.
“What?” Hell asked, frustrated.
Cherry stopped laughing but couldn’t stop grinning. “You’re a yucky Hawaiian pizza.”
Almost immediately, Hell rushed out, “No, I’m not.”
Cherry nodded and her grin spread even wider. “You are.”
Hell’s brow lowered and he snatched the magazine out of Cherry’s hand. “Gimme that.” He studied the results with a scrutinizing eye and when the results were in, his lips thinned. “This is bullshit.”
Cherry’s body shook with soundless laughter.
Hell stood, taking the magazine with him. “This is going in the trash.”
As he walked into the kitchen, Cherry spoke through her laughter. “Hey! That’s mine.” Anyone could see she wasn’t actually upset. Quite honestly, it looked like she was having the time of her life.
I loved that for her.
A warm body slid into the back of mine and a strong arm circled my waist. His lips tickled my ear and when Connor spoke, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Are these fuckers ever gonna leave?”
Spinning in his arms, I cupped his stubbly cheek with a gentle hand. “Don’t look at me. This is on you.” I quietly reminded him, “You wanted this.”
He groaned and whispered, “But I wanna fuck.”
“Oh.” The apples of my cheeks heated and lowering my eyes, I whispered back, “I have my period.”
Connor’s chin jerked with a single nod. “Okay.”
We stared at each other a while, studying one another’s expression and when Connor gave me a confused smile, I returned it because… what?
His smile grew. So did mine.
What the heck was happening here?
Finally, Connor said, “I don’t care.”
Wait. He didn’t care?
He still wanted to…?
The thought made my cheeks flame. I slapped his shoulder, “Connor!”
He didn’t seem at all bothered. “What?”
“We can’t,” I told him. I couldn’t believe I was having to explain this to a grown man.
So, when he said what he said, I actually died.
Pulling me close, he kissed me softly then put his lips to my ear and uttered, “What’s the point of having a sword if you can’t get it bloody.”
Yeah. He said that.
And my knees gave out.
Luckily, Connor caught me with a “Whoa,” followed by quiet laughter as he held me up. “That’s it, isn’t it?” As I gazed into his eyes with a look that had to have told him I was not only confused but really messed up by what he just said, he clarified merrily, “I finally found your hard limit.”
Yes. Yes, he had.
Later that night, after a make-out session that had my limbs all wobbly-like, my hard limit was explored.
In depth.
It was… umm… interesting.
Five stars.
Some days I wished I could go back to being plain old Emily Aldrich. Unknown. Unremarkable. Invisible. And today was definitely one of those days.
I made my way to the grocery store after spending the afternoon with Nanna and Jim at St. Jude’s. It was normally after being with the two of them that I forgot who I was now and today, I would feel the consequences of attempting to be ordinary. All I needed was a handful of items and it had been so long since I went shopping on my own. I didn’t think about how traumatizing such a mundane everyday chore could be but I would remember how it made me feel for the rest of my life.