Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 65683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
She nodded seriously. “Wise man.”
“Thank you.” He put a hand on his chest.
Her amused smile was all I needed to relax as she walked off. I took another sip of water and stared into it. “Wait a second, what else is in a Duck Fart again?”
“Whiskey,” he said.
I groaned into my hands. “You know what whiskey does to me.”
“Oh, I hope it does you dirty, Tru. Plus, it’s your birthday dinner. Drink all you want, and I’ll hold your hair later.” He held up his hand, and on it was his trusty rubber band, the one he used to carry when he was stressed and snapped. He had it on. He had it on for me. “I have you covered.”
He was dangerous like this. I started scooting my chair away when his hand jerked out, and I grabbed my chair, only to pull it even closer to his. We were thigh to thigh. “What are you doing?”
“Ceasefire. It’s your birthday night. My apology night. No past. No future. Just us, right now. I think we both deserve that, don’t you?”
My eyes filled with tears. “You want me to just forget?”
“You think I can?” he countered.
“No.”
“Never.” He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “Sealed. No takebacks.”
I kissed him back. “No takebacks.”
Another throat cleared. What was she, a ninja? “Here are your shots. I’ll go ahead and give you a minute to go over the menu.”
“I know what I want,” Vaughan said, then locked eyes on me. “And you? Do you know what you want, Tru?”
“The same,” I whispered. “Whatever he’s getting, I want.”
I wanted so much.
With a desperation and hope that terrified me.
“Two cheeseburgers, extra fries, extra fry sauce, pineapple on the side, two pickles, and if you have any of that coleslaw, let’s add that. Oh and two more shots.”
“What shots do you want?”
“Patrón.”
Oh no. He was mixing whiskey and Patrón?
“Coming right up.” She walked off while I glared at Vaughan.
“What?” he asked.
I smacked him on the shoulder. “You know what tequila does to me!”
“You suddenly find yourself very uncomfortable in your own clothes, but you love tequila. I promise I won’t peek, and I won’t let any other bastard so much as breathe in your direction.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.” We both clicked our glasses and took our Duck Fart shots.
It might have topped every birthday I’d ever had, and it was just getting started.
CHAPTER 33
VAUGHN
Now
I was starving. I ate so much food I thought I was going to be sick, and to add insult to injury, we’d had some pretty sugary shots and were now just drinking straight tequila.
It had been three blissful hours, and we were getting slightly tipsy.
I pulled out my wallet right when the servers gathered around us and sang a version of "Happy Birthday" to Tru.
Her face couldn’t have been any more red.
I squeezed her thigh when she blew out the candle on her chocolate mousse cake and grabbed a fork. “I know it’s your birthday, but you have to share.”
She held up her fork. “Or what?”
“A duel.” I held up mine and smacked her fork to the side.
She tried to beat me by shoving her fork in the mousse first, so I used my free hand to grab some whipped cream and smear it on her mouth. “I slipped.”
“My ass!”
“No, not my ass. My hand slipped upward. It happens.”
She glared.
“Hey, no need to get upset. I’ll fix it.” I grabbed a napkin and held it to her mouth, then decided to lean in on the Patrón shots, grow a pair, and go for it. I leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek, then trailed her bottom lip with my mouth, cleaning up the whipped cream. Slowly dragging my tongue, I outlined her lips before biting down on her bottom and sucking, then her top.
When I pulled away, her mouth was swollen, her eyes closed. “Did you get it all?”
My heart hammered in my chest.
"Missed a spot.”
“Thought so.”
“Yup.” I kissed her again, and again, the dessert was forgotten. Somehow I was able to pull my card out without looking when the server came by again.
She could have robbed me blind, and I wouldn’t have known.
We broke apart, chests heaving. “We should walk,” I blurted.
“Walking’s good.” She nodded three times, then touched her mouth, then her hair, before standing up and looking out the window while I signed the bill and tipped.
Once everything was back in my wallet, I reached for her hand and led her out of the restaurant, nerves firing on overdrive.
Everywhere I looked was so public.
I wanted more time with her.
Privacy.
As luck would have it—a downpour started. The only place other than another bar we could go to was the arcade.
I pulled her in. “I think our night was just cut short.”
She looked around. “I’ve never been.”
I blinked. “Never been where?”