Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 100441 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100441 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
“Calm down. I remember my sister crying over it when it happened.”
“Oh, damn. One day I’ll get you to admit you love Eleven. Even if I have to play our songs randomly until they catch on and you start singing. Next step is dancing, and then you’ll be completely consumed.”
Lyric sits up straighter. “That’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“And that’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to me. We’re not really that bad, are we?”
Lyric lowers his voice and mumbles, “You might not be entirely horrible.”
“Step one complete.” I smile at him, and he returns it, but his next question throws me.
“Did you ever do this with Cash?”
I swallow hard. “Cash?”
“Yeah, like, order food and laugh and give each other shit.” He looks down at his plate.
“Cash and I never did anything outside of the studio. He has the emotional reach of a vibrating dildo.”
“Man, I’m so pissed I threw up on him. Who doesn’t want that?” He laughs, but there’s really no humor in it. “Sorry, forget I said anything.”
I inch closer to him so our thighs touch as we sit cross-legged. “Lyric, I’ve never done this with anyone. You need to understand what Cash and I had was convenience. I hadn’t been with anyone since Kaylee was born, and he was … there.”
“Just like I’m here? This”—he waves his finger between us—“is convenient.”
“If it were that simple, you wouldn’t be here now.”
I’m not trying to be a dick, but I need him to know this is hard for me—that I’m not taking this lightly.
My hand travels up his thigh, but he refuses to look at me, so I take things into my own hands.
Climbing into his lap, I straddle his hips. He lets me. Then he looks up at me with his expressive hazel eyes, and it makes me want to promise things I probably shouldn’t.
“I know I can’t promise much, and I know you’re not entirely okay with that.”
“I’ve been burned in the past by the casual thing.”
“This isn’t casual. I don’t want it to be, at least. I just don’t know how it will work blending with Kaylee.”
“I get it,” Lyric says. “I think. It’s not like I want you to tell Kaylee or the public or hell, even Maggie, but I don’t want to be treated like a cheap hookup either.”
“I’ll never treat you that way. I care too much about you as a friend to do that.”
I catch the way he winces slightly at the word friend, but I don’t know what else to call him.
Instead of trying to smooth that out, I lean down to kiss him again, and I try to put everything I feel for him into it.
I want to taste him and explore him, and as he runs his hands down my back and grips my ass, I want to give him more of me.
“Had enough dinner?” I murmur against his lips.
“Yup,” he breathes.
“Let’s go upstairs.”
“Is that allowed?”
“It’s new for me, so bear with me, okay?”
“We don’t have to rush this. I promise. It’s a Chase day tomorrow anyway, and I should probably go home tonight so I can drop him at school in the morning.”
A million reasons to ask him to stay run through my head, threatening to bubble out of me like a river of rambling words.
“Can you get Brenna to drop Chase off at school? When Maggie brings Kaylee back tomorrow, you can take the Tesla to pick him up.”
Lyric smiles. “Funny how it’s easy to problem-solve when sex is on the table.”
“That’s not … Okay, maybe it is a little bit, but we don’t have to have sex. I just …”
“Just what?”
“I think if you walk out that door right now, there’s a good chance you’ll come back tomorrow and we’ll pretend like this didn’t happen, and I don’t want that. I want you to see that this is different.”
“Different how?”
I hate that his voice is small, but I still struggle to find an answer. “I don’t know that part yet. All I know is I don’t want you to leave.”
“I’m trying to be the bigger person here, Ryder. We’ve already crossed a lot of lines we said we wouldn’t. Going upstairs with you will only mix everything together more. Kaylee. Recording. Us. I want you to be completely sure first. I promise I’m coming back.”
He’s right. I know he’s right.
Reluctantly, I climb off him and land on my ass. “I know I should appreciate this, but honestly, I hate you a little bit.”
Lyric leans over to kiss me. I can’t help kissing him back.
He chuckles into my mouth. “Oh yeah, you hate me a lot.” He stands, and I let out a whine. “We’ll see how you feel tomorrow, okay?”
“I can already tell you. Fucking horny. That’s how I’ll be feeling.”
“I hope so.” Lyric kisses the top of my head. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”