Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78007 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78007 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“No, I’m good. Perry’s on his way over.”
“Be sure to leave the door open. You’re too young to be in the room with your boyfriend without adult supervision,” Casey teases, making me roll my eyes.
“You’re an idiot.”
“It’s why you love me—oh fuck. I can’t believe I missed that shot,” he complains at the game, and I chuckle before heading outside.
I mean, it’s nice for a guy to wait outside for his boyfriend, right? I’m not overeager at all. Well, yes, it’s me, so I am overeager, and the thing is, I don’t even care.
Time drags, and it feels like a hundred years before Perry’s car is pulling up to the curb. I head straight for him, and before I can say anything, he throws his arms around me and pulls me to him. “God, I’m so fucking happy, Puppy.”
“I’m happy for you too.”
“I don’t know if I would have done this without you.”
I don’t doubt he believes that, but I don’t think it’s true. Perry would have wanted a relationship with his dad no matter what, and he would have made it happen with or without me.
“Yes, you would have. Come on. Let’s go inside so we can talk.”
I take his hand and head back to the house. Jack and Casey shout hellos, but I keep pulling Perry with me.
“I’m keeping him to myself for now. We’ll talk to you guys later.”
Perry laughs. “Aw, my man is staking his claim. Sorry, guys.”
“Are you complaining?” I toss the question at him.
“No. Absolutely not.” Perry grins.
When we get to my room, I close the door behind us. “Tell me all about it.”
He pushes me to my bed and climbs on top of me. “Can we make out first?”
“Make out afterward. I’ve been stressing out all day.”
He cocks his head, studying me. “Yeah, yeah I know you have.” Perry rolls off me, and we lie on our sides, looking at each other, his hand on my hip.
“It was a little awkward in the beginning. The first thing he did was offer to buy me a new car.”
“Well, that was a mistake.” Most people would love the idea of someone offering them a vehicle, but I know how Perry feels about things like that. He wants to do things on his own.
“Right? He doesn’t know me at all, which is sad, but I think that’s going to change. I told him I didn’t want him to try to buy me, that I don’t want our relationship to be about him giving me things to make up for the past and trying to show he loves me. He said he’d work on it, but that I also need to work on accepting help.”
“He has a point.” I reach up and finger a lock of his soft, chocolate hair.
“Yeah, I know. I agreed to work on that too. We spent a lot of time just talking and getting to know each other, making plans for things me, him, and Ty can do together, but I also told him about me and the tech. I swear his eyes lit up. It’s like he was so fucking proud, so ecstatic to hear I’m into it the way he is. We definitely connected over that. I told him about the progress I’m making on my app, and he seemed really impressed. He asked me to move back to Boston…to go to school there and work for Langley Enterprises.”
I freeze, a sudden hollowness in my chest. Perry keeps going, rambling on about the things his dad wants and how they could work together, him getting close to his little sister and being with his mom again. I smile and nod as he talks, the gaping hole in my chest growing, only to be filled by guilt. Why the hell am I thinking about myself at a time like this? This is an incredible opportunity for Perry—not just when it comes to his future, but for his family. What kind of boyfriend would I be to only be thinking about the fact that I’m going to lose him?
“Wow. That’s incredible. You deserve that so fucking much.” My muscles twitch. I feel too angsty, so I pull away and sit on the edge of the bed.
Luckily, Perry doesn’t notice that I’m being a total asshole and sits up behind me, wrapping his legs around me, his chin on my shoulder.
“It felt good to be wanted that way by him, ya know? Yes, the tech stuff has something to do with it, but…I don’t know, Puppy. He likes me. Respects me. I can tell. I thought he was going to squeeze the air out of me when he hugged me before I left.”
I swallow down my fear, do my best to fight it off because this is what’s important. Perry and his dad. Even if he didn’t admit it or didn’t realize it, he’s been dreaming about this his whole life, and…what? I expect him to stay because some guy he’s only been dating a few weeks is in love with him? He’s not responsible for my feelings, and…maybe I could go with him? Would he want that? Could I afford that? And why the fuck am I getting so damn ahead of myself? As far as I know, the guy isn’t even in love with me, and here I am, wanting to run away with him and live happily ever after.