Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 133224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
My stomach twists in jealousy. This is a living fucking nightmare.
The waiter arrives with our drinks, and he passes them out. “Thank you.” Blake smiles as he gives them out to us and then holds his glass up. “I would like to propose a toast.”
We hold our glasses to his.
Blake’s eyes go to Kayla. “To new beginnings.”
He taps his glass with hers, and they smile softly at each other as they take a sip.
I bite the inside of my cheek so hard that I taste blood.
“To new beginnings.” Gregory smiles. I take a sip of my wine as his eyes hold mine.
His eye contact is getting a little bit intense, so I turn my attention back to Kayla and Blake.
“So, where did you two meet?” I ask.
“Where did we meet?” Blake smiles and narrows his eyes, as if trying to remember.
“Years ago,” Kayla replies. “Funnily enough, it was on another double date. Blake was dating my roommate at the time.”
I begin to hear my heartbeat in my ears. “And you had that instant thing when he was with your roommate?” I act casual, as if the answer doesn’t matter.
“Funnily enough, I knew I liked Kayla right away, so I went home and broke up with her roommate with the intention of hopefully being able to ask her out one day.”
“You said funnily enough before.” I fake a smile.
Nothing is funnily enough here, fucker.
Blake’s eyes hold mine with a mischievous glow. Wait a minute . . . Does he know that he’s annoying me?
“And then we worked together for a couple of years.” Kayla smiles.
“Where do you work, Kayla?”
“I used to work at the children’s hospital with Blake, but now I work at the children’s cancer hospital.”
“You work with children with cancer?”
“Yes.” She smiles. “It’s hard some days, but bringing happiness to the children has really been life changing for me.”
I smile sadly. Kayla is a good person.
I sip my wine and decide that I will not say anything more. If Blake likes this woman, it’s for a reason.
The night goes reasonably smooth. Gregory is kind and funny and very interested in everything I say. But I really don’t pay much attention to him at all because I am too busy eavesdropping on what Blake is saying to Kayla.
They’ve laughed and whispered, and at one stage, he even kissed her cheek. We’ve had dinner and dessert and a few more drinks, and the four-piece band is starting up. “Let’s dance.” Blake stands and holds his hand out for Kayla. “I want to spin you around the floor a little bit.”
Kayla smiles up at him as if he’s a rock god.
My heart sinks into a puddle on the floor.
He really likes her, I can tell.
“That’s a great idea,” says Gregory. “Let’s dance too.”
Really, Gregory? I am not in the mood for dancing right now.
He leads me to the dance floor regardless.
It’s a band, and they’re playing an older song. I’ve heard it before but can’t remember where or who sings it. Gregory looks down at me. “You look beautiful tonight.”
“Thanks.”
I glance over to see Blake smiling down at Kayla. She says something, and he laughs out loud.
Ouch.
“You know, when you accepted my message request, I never envisioned that you would be so beautiful.”
I feel my cheeks go red with embarrassment. “Well . . . you’re not so bad yourself.”
Gregory is tall, and he looks down at me as we sway to the music. “How do you think tonight’s gone?” he asks.
“Honestly, it’s been great.” I smile. Not a lie; it has gone really well.
We turn as we dance, and I peek over Gregory’s shoulder just in time to see Blake softly kiss Kayla. His lips linger over hers.
My heart sinks.
I can feel the electricity between them from here.
They kiss softly again and again, and she says something, and Blake smiles as he leans with his cheek to hers.
This is it; she’s the one.
I’m not doing this to myself. I don’t want to sit around here all night and watch Blake make out with his dream girl.
I snap my gaze away from them and drag it back to Gregory’s handsome face. “Do you want to get out of here?”
“Really?” His eyes dance with delight. “Where do you want to go?”
“I know this really great little dessert bar on the other side of town.”
“Shall we ask the others to come?”
“No, I want you all to myself.” I take Gregory’s hand in mine and lead him from the dance floor and back to our table. “Let’s just pay our half of the bill and leave them to it.”
“We are going to say goodbye, though?” Gregory asks.
I glance up to the dance floor just in time to see Blake kiss Kayla, not a peck but a full-on tongue kiss, and I watch in horror as his eyes close, as if he’s totally lost in the moment.