Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 41373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 207(@200wpm)___ 165(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 207(@200wpm)___ 165(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
Like I was sitting here next to my person.
Which I knew should have been an off-limits feeling, but when I was surrounded by kind people, beer, and had Rowen at my side, how else could I even feel?
We started to get up and slowly cycle through playing rounds of pool with our little group and a nearby table of college guys who had challenged us to a few games. After Rowen easily creamed one of them in a quick game of 8-ball, he walked over to me, giving me a high-five with both hands before leaning in to kiss me.
“Nice job, babe,” I said as he leaned back, smiling at me.
I wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling him in close for another slow, gentle kiss.
“I think we’re doing really well, by the way,” he said quietly near my ear a moment later. I was still holding him close.
“I think so, too.”
He slid his arm around me as we watched a couple of other people from the theater group play a round of pool. For a while, Rowen made small talk with one of the guys, getting to know him a little better.
“It must have been wild out there in New York,” the guy said to him, whistling as he made eye contact. “I’ve heard some gnarly stories from my other friend who made her way out there.”
“It’s cutthroat,” Rowen said. “Sometimes I feel better off being away from that scene for a while.”
“Did you hear about that acting school in Manhattan?” the guy said, lifting his eyebrows at Rowen. “Soren something. Sorinelle, maybe? Two owners, a married older couple. I don’t know much else about it. But they swindled hundreds and hundreds of students out of money.”
Rowen just hummed in response, but someone else nearby nodded.
“Crooks,” the other guy said. “They’re in jail now.”
Rowen’s face was downcast, listening idly to the conversation the other two guys were having. All night, he’d seemed happy, almost a little blissful to be here with me and pretending to be boyfriends.
But now, his expression was stony.
He really didn’t seem to enjoy hearing things about New York.
My fears were confirmed a minute later when he slipped his arm off of my shoulders.
“Need a break,” he said, giving me a nod and heading off in the direction of the side patio of the bar. At this time of the year, it was cold enough that most people didn’t use the outdoor patio for longer than a few minutes.
Julia came over and offered to play a round of pool with me. Every couple of minutes, I found myself checking the side doors of the saloon, hoping that I’d see Rowen come back inside. But by the time Julia and I had finished, he still hadn’t come back inside.
I cleared my throat, setting my pool cue against the rack after Julia narrowly beat me in the game.
“Do you know much about what Rowen’s life was like back in New York?” I asked Julia.
She glanced up at me, a thoughtful expression on her face. “I don’t know anything about it, really. He didn’t seem to enjoy it.”
“Definitely not,” I said.
“Rowen’s only been in our little theater group for a short while,” she said. “He doesn’t talk about his life over there. I’m always busy, because I have a full-time job outside of acting.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m a family and divorce lawyer,” Julia said.
My eyebrows shot up. “You’re a lawyer?”
She just nodded casually. “I’ve always loved doing as much acting as I can in my free time, which isn’t very often. But I’ll never give up my passion.”
“Wow,” I said.
Julia smiled gently. “A lot of people come through our little theater group from all sorts of different backgrounds. I don’t pry. Rowen hasn’t seemed comfortable talking about much more than plays and movies, so I don’t ask.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “He’s been outside for a good twenty minutes now, and I know it’s chilly out there. I’m going to check on him.”
She nodded. “Give him hell, Shane. It’s been really nice getting to know you.”
“You, too,” I said.
When I stepped outside, I didn’t even see Rowen on the patio at first. I squinted out past a few empty tables to finally see him on the edge of the railing, leaning over and looking out toward the street.
“Hey,” I said gently, walking over.
He seemed surprised, turning quickly to see who it was. He lifted the heel of his palm to his cheek as if he was wiping away a tear, but if he’d actually had one, he did a great job of hiding it.
“I love that I can see you from a mile away with those light-up overalls,” he said, smiling softly as he looked me up and down. “So damn cute, Shane.”
“Are you okay, Rowen?” I asked, joining him against the railing of the deck.