Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 109178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
She leaned back in her seat, crossed her legs, and squelched her smile by sucking on the straw of her beverage cup. Then, she began to shimmy her hips as Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Humble’ came on the air. He snuck glances from the corner of his eye when she rocked her hips to the beat of the music.
“I see you lookin’,” she said in her most seductive voice.
“I see you teasin’.”
“If you look, then I charge a fee. I don’t dance for free.”
“I’m not your little ‘only fan’. I’m tryna be your man. If you charge me, then you won’t get the D.” She burst out laughing.
“What are we, Dr. Suess? Both of us are silly!” Moments later, he pulled into an area she didn’t recall ever visiting before. He turned the car off. “What is this place?”
“It’s called Smither Park. It’s a really cool spot. They’ve got all kinds of local artwork and fun stuff.” Before she could respond, he was out of the truck and slamming his door shut. Seconds later, he was once again helping her out of the big vehicle.
“Oh my goodness, look at all of these! Mosaics, right?” She pointed to shiny tiles all over various stone statues and the like. Some of the mosaic creations were adorned with shiny shells, coins, broken pottery, cloth, and what appeared to be costume jewelry. She raced around, touching and studying so many colorful pieces of art. “Even the sidewalk is covered. This is so pretty… Are those bottles? Oh my goodness, they are.” How’d he know I’d like something like this? “I knew nothing about this place, Lennox. Has it always been here?” she called out to him, having run at least thirty feet by now in the opposite direction, her eyes feasting on the funky and cool artistic renderings.
Lennox observed her from afar, a smile on his face and his hands shoved into his jeans pockets. It was as if he was getting pleasure just from watching her enjoy herself.
“I don’t know the exact time this place opened, but it’s been here a while. If I were to guess, maybe 2014. Somewhere around then.”
“How’d you find out about it?” He caught up to her and they stood in front of one another, a large mural close beside them. “My sister. She’s into things like this. I came with her a couple of times a long time ago. Silva told me about this park when we were still on speakin’ terms.” His eyes looked a little bit less bright when the hurtful words rolled off his tongue.
She was getting ready to ask why they don’t communicate anymore, but instead, she placed her hand along his chest and looked up into his sad eyes. She recalled him talking about his little sister often when they worked together. He’d absolutely adored her, and had seemed to be the protective big brother that many girls dream of.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
He looked down at her for a good while, silent, then placed a perfect, soft peck on her lips. When he lifted his head, he was smiling faintly—so unsure and a tad hopeless. But his eyes now seemed full of courage and desire. He shook his head and made his way slowly around her, arms crossed and looking about as if he’d lost something.
Side by side, they viewed the artwork and sculptures together, their steps in unison. To her right, she spotted an arched area, set up like a theater.
“They have plays and things like that in there,” he offered. “I’ve never been to any, but I know that they have them.”
They walked inside and she was impressed by the art that covered every inch of the place, from floor to ceiling. After getting their fill, they left from the theater area and came upon some wide swings. Lennox walked away from her, wrapped his hands around each chain, and called to her.
“Come here.”
She happily jogged over to him, then plopped down into the swing. Her tight jeans crept up her legs ever so slightly, and a nice breeze caught inside of her baggy white shirt. He began to push the swing, higher and higher until she was giggling and screaming bloody murder at the same time. The sun was going down, and now the sky went from blue and pink to orange and muted red. As she pumped her legs, she could see above the world. She’d go up and kiss heaven… fall back and sense the butterfly wings fluttering in her gut, like the kind one experienced on roller coasters.
She slowed down until she was finally level with the ground again, the ride coming to an end. Then, he joined her on that wide bench swing with enough room for two. They pumped their legs in harmony, each one holding on to their side of the swing cable. Her hair blew around wildly in the wind, but she could still see through the whipping tresses. He was looking right at her, gray eyes beneath thick black brows, paired with a suggestive bright smile.