Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 70980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“When you weren’t snoring, just so you know.”
“I don’t snore.”
“If you say so.” I go to take the phone from her, but she is already in my messages.
“Do you message your ex?”
“Absolutely not.”
“If I find out you have been texting her, her legs are to be broken too. An eye for an eye.” I shrug, seems fair, really.
“Done,” I tell her, nodding. She looks at me in disbelief and then goes back to searching the phone. When she is happy, she hands me the phone back.
“I hate you.”
“But you would still fuck me, right?” She crawls into the bed without an answer, I order the food after leaving the room, and when it’s done, I walk back in to find Lottie asleep, the sheet pulled over her lower body. She moans, and I realize she isn’t snoring, but she is clearly asleep. Walking over, I pull the sheet up and over her entire body. She turns in her sleep, gripping the sheet, leaving her back bare. Leaning down, I kiss the side of her lips and slide in next to her.
When I do, she touches me, her hand finding mine, and I wrap my fingers with hers, gripping her the same way we were before I moved out. Lottie’s become a sort of comfort for me, but it’s snuck up unexpectedly, and I didn’t want that, those nights away from her, were torture. She was a means to an end, and now all she will ever see in me is someone who blackmailed her. How could she ever love someone like me?
I don’t regret what I did, and I will still go through with my plan—no matter what. But what I didn’t expect is to have feelings for this woman.
This shouldn’t be happening.
Closing my eyes, I grip her tight.
I don’t have nightmares that night, but when I wake, she’s gone.
And it’s as if she were never here to begin with.
I walk to my car and ring Lottie, but she doesn’t answer. It’s no surprise. I didn’t think she would after she snuck out.
Calling Barry, he answers straight away. “So, you fucked her again,” he says.
“What the fuck?”
“She told Emma. I may have been listening in.”
“Did she say anything good?”
Barry goes silent. “She said something along the lines of ‘a means to an end,’ and you ‘both have needs.’ And that you fucked up my favorite drummer, dude, that’s not cool.”
“Well,” I say, smiling.
“Then, she said she still hates you, even if the sex is good,” he adds.
“Hates me?” I ask him.
“Oh yeah, she then proceeded to call you a lot of names. None which I can repeat, of course, since I am a gentleman.” He laughs then starts, “Fucker, dick head, asshole…”
“Okay, enough.”
“But I’m not finished,” Barry whines. “Blackmailing prick—” He stops. “Oh, hold on, that may have been Emma who said that.”
“This isn’t helping, Barry.”
“She’s at work if you’re looking for her.”
“Thanks.”
“Whiskey…”
“Yeah…”
“What color are her eyes?”
“Green. There as vivid as a see-through lake,” I answer.
“I’m sorry, man. Real sorry.”
“For what?”
“That this plan of yours is going to fuck you over more so than her. Because it’s you who’s fallen harder.” He hangs up.
I shake my head.
No. What? Just because I know the color of her eyes? No, it can’t be.
I call her again.
Lottie doesn’t answer.
I drive to her bar, and when I arrive, I see her smiling.
Maybe Barry is right.
Maybe that’s the reason I pull away without getting out.
Maybe that’s the reason I won’t see her at all today.
CHAPTER 29
LOTTIE
“Lottie babes.” My regular Dash, who I haven’t seen in a few months smiles at me as he sits at my end of the bar. It’s not busy yet, but it will be when the band I got to fill in for Shane’s band arrive to play. Then I won’t have time to breathe.
“Dash,” I say, smiling, walking up to him. “Usual?” I ask.
Dash always makes me smile. I used to think he was the only decent guy out there. Maybe he still is, he and his wife have the perfect relationship and to be honest I’m a little envious.
“You know it.” Dash winks as I slide his drink to him. He goes to pull out money, but I stop him.
“Nope, it’s on the house.”
He tips the glass bottle my way and looks around. “Hasn’t changed much.”
I smile, it hasn’t. “Still the same, except now we’re booking bands.”
“Nice.”
“How’s Sarah?”
“Pregnant, hence why I haven’t been here, and why she hasn’t been with me. She is working late and meeting me after, so thought I’d kill some time and see my favorite bartender.” He winks. “We are friends, right?”
“Yes.” I smile.
“Sarah wanted me to invite you both over, we had read that you were married. Would you be—”
I tense at his words, and he notices and stops.
I think about it for a second or two and answer, “Sure, I’d love to.”