Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
I’m willing my cheeks to cool when he says, “I heard that you’re quite a foodie, Ava. Is there space on your date calendar to allow me to take you to Mon Bijou?”
“Mon Bijou? It would take months to get a reservation.” Mon Bijou is inarguably the hottest restaurant in a city full of hot restaurants. I follow their social media accounts like a fangirl, but I never even considered trying to get in there.
“I can get us in.” Gray glances at his watch. “Maybe not tonight, but sometime very soon. When are you available?”
Reflexively, I glance toward Erik; now he’s the one filling up on pretzels, his back turned to us.
“Um … anytime next week would be fine, I think.” I have plans tomorrow with Brax, but it’s not as though my schedule is booked out into the future.
“Great. I’ll check availability and let you know which night.”
I squint at him, wondering if he actually knows how difficult it is to get a reservation. If he doesn’t, I guess he’ll soon find out.
“It’s still your turn, Ava,” Erik prompts.
I feel uncomfortable having just made date plans right in front of him. Gray made no effort to include Erik, so dinner at Mon Bijou will definitely be a date, not a gathering of friends. Still, Erik doesn’t sound bitter, and when I search his face, I only see a hint of clouds in his eyes.
He can’t be upset, though. He saw what Gray was like the other night, and he’s the one who gave Gray my number. He said he wanted me to get experience dating, and I am definitely doing that.
Gray leaves me to take the next shot on my own, though his eyes burn into me the entire time. Bent over the table like I am, I’m glad I didn’t decide to wear a skirt today, but it hardly matters, because the way he’s watching me makes me feel naked.
When our game ends, the guys want to play again, but I head for the nearest barstool. “I’m going to take a break. I’ll just watch and learn.”
When it’s one-on-one, the match turns competitive, which is no surprise. I’m glad they’re preoccupied, though, because it gives me ample time to admire each of them as they stretch across the table to take shots.
Prior to today, I had zero interest in playing pool, but it might just be my favorite new pastime—well, watching, that is, not playing.
Even though they’re wrapped up in their game, they don’t forget about me. Erik checks in between turns, and Gray manages to keep flirting with me even while he talks smack with Erik.
As the balls on the table dwindle down to just a couple, things get more serious. Gray proposes a wager, but Erik declines, and it makes me wonder if his church upbringing has anything to do with his refusal. Even though he left the church, maybe, like me, he’s not completely comfortable doing things we were taught were sinful.
Gray isn’t content to end the game with no stakes, though. “Ava,” he calls over to me, “if I sink this shot, will you give me a kiss?”
Erik is shaking his head, but he’s not looking at me and telling me to decline. He’s reacting the way you would to someone you find annoying or ridiculous.
While they played and I ogled them, I had the opportunity to drink more of my whiskey sour, and though I don’t think I’m drunk, I am perhaps less inhibited than usual. Still, I surprise even myself when I say, “I’ll kiss the winner.”
Gray’s laugh is cocky as he puts chalk on the tip of his cue stick. His walk is more of a strut as he paces back and forth, debating the best approach for his shot.
I find myself squeezing my legs together as he bends forward to line himself up, and when he calls out in triumph as he sinks his shot, my skin prickles with goosebumps.
He leaves his cue stick on the table and heads straight over to me. I’m expecting a kiss like the ones I’ve shared with Erik and Brax, but I should have known better.
As soon as he’s in front of me, he slides his hands under my bottom and scoops me up off of the stool, making me squeal in surprise. My hands go around his neck so that I don’t fall, though I needn’t worry, because his hold on me is strong and steady.
We don’t go far, either. He only takes a few steps, then sets me down on the bar’s countertop. When I start to pull my hands back, he stops me and repositions them where they’d been, wrapped around his shoulders. I feel the soft hair curled at the nape of his neck, and I want to tangle my fingers through it, but I won’t let myself. I’m not sure I can move at all, with Gray’s face so very close to mine.