Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“Stay in bed all day and fuck.”
I grinned and nodded. “Good plan. Maybe the day after that, we can go to the animal safari, or whatever it’s called.”
“What’s that?”
“I think it’s kind of like a zoo, but the animals aren’t in enclosures and they drive you through in a truck, like you’re on safari. I could be wrong, though. Also, I realize we just spent about eight hours at a zoo today. If you’re sick of seeing animals, we really don’t have to go and do that safari thing.”
“No, I want to. And I loved today. I can hardly believe I saw real elephants, giraffes, and lions. It was amazing.”
“It’s surprising that you’d never been to a zoo before, although this was only my second time. My brother took me to L.A. for the weekend when I was about ten or eleven, and we visited the zoo and the La Brea tar pits, and a bunch of other cool stuff. My mom wanted to take me, but she was working seven days a week at that point to try to make ends meet.”
“That must have been hard for her.”
“For sure. There’s really nothing easy about being a single mom, but I guess you know that.”
“What makes you say that?”
“You mentioned Art was the closest thing you had to a dad,” I said. “I assumed that meant you were raised by a single mom, like I was.”
“Actually, I spent most of my childhood in foster care.”
“I’m sorry. Are you an orphan?” I shouldn’t have asked, and as soon as the words were out of my mouth I regretted it. There were all kinds of ways a kid could end up in foster care, and none of them were good. It was also none of my business.
But he said, “No. I was taken away from my parents when I was six, because…” He paused and broke eye contact. After a moment he whispered, “Because they hurt me.”
My heart shattered, and I whispered, “Oh god, Marcus—”
I’d started to tell him how sorry I was, but he cut me off by lightly pressing a finger to my lips. “Please don’t make a big deal of it,” he said, as he met my gaze again. There was so much pain in his eyes, but he was making a real effort to keep his expression neutral. “I don’t want your pity, and I don’t want to talk about it. I just…I wanted you to know. Eventually, I want you to know everything about me. But if there are things I hold back at first…please just know I have my reasons.”
“Of course.”
He sat up and said, “I’m not tired yet, are you?”
“Not really.”
“Want to do another movie night? We can order popcorn and candy from room service and watch another of your favorites.”
I got it. He’d shared a bit more than he was comfortable with, and now he really needed to steer the evening back onto solid ground. “Great idea,” I said, as I climbed out of bed. “We can go in a totally different direction with our movie choice. Hey, have you seen Alien?”
“No,” he said, as he followed me to the living room. “I’ve heard of it, though. It’s supposed to be cute, right?”
I flashed him a smile. “I’m not sure what film you’re thinking of, but let’s just say cute doesn’t quite sum it up.”
8
Romy
That entire week at the resort was perfection. Some days were spent going out and exploring San Diego. Others were spent in bed, exploring each other.
It was hard to imagine getting back to real life after this. Marcus and I hadn’t really discussed what we’d do next, because he was determined to live in the moment. But after this magical week, I knew we’d be leaving here as a couple.
On the afternoon of our last full day in San Diego, I was out on the patio, reading an ebook on my phone while Marcus visited the resort’s gift shop. As soon as he returned, I fully intended to coax him back into bed. We’d already had sex twice that day, but I just couldn’t get enough of him.
A message from Pete popped onto my screen, which said: Hey, Romy. I hadn’t heard from you in a few days, so I wanted to check in. How’s life in paradise?
I replied: It’s been amazing. Sorry I’ve been out of touch.
He wrote: No worries, I totally understand. If I was holed up in a luxury resort with a hot guy, I can guarantee I’d be out of touch, too. So, is it official? Is he your boyfriend now?
I replied: He is as far as I’m concerned, but we haven’t discussed it or anything.
Pete’s next message said: Sometimes you don’t need to discuss it, because it just happens. Also, do I get to see a pic of this hottie, or what? I’m super curious about him.