Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
I told myself if she came back that I’d only watch. Maybe follow her to see where she goes when she slips out the doors of my casino and disappears into the night. Coming down to the casino floor to meet her face to face had never been in my plans. But I find that I can’t help myself. I need to know more about her.
Things that I can’t learn by watching her through a camera. Like the sound of her voice, the scent of her perfume, or the way it feels to have her smile directed at me. I’m finding I want each and every one of those things and so much more. I remind myself to calm down. That I need to take this slowly.
My eyes go straight for her. Quickly I step to the side when she turns her head in my direction, letting a slot machine block me. The fuck? The second I laid eyes on her, she turned her head. I swear it’s as though she sensed me. But I wasn’t ready for her to see me. I wanted to watch her for a bit.
I force myself to settle down. To continue to remain in the shadows. Even though that’s the last thing I want to do.
I swear I could stare at her for an eternity. Minutes turn into hours in a blink of an eye. I’ve taken in every detail of her, etching them into my memory. But no matter how much I watch, I’m still hungry for more. My little Ace has put me in some sort of trance.
Before I know it, she cues the dealer to cash out her chips. A ridiculous sense of panic fills me that she’s leaving. I spring to my feet and head for the same exit she used the last time. I make my way outside and over to the rideshare waiting area. That’s where she was picked up the last time.
I know I said I wouldn’t have any interaction with her, but at this point, all of that has gone out the window.
I’m not letting her slip through my fingers again.
2
ELSA (ACE)
Why do the romance sections of bookstores keep getting smaller and smaller? One day I’m going to buy my own and fill it with only romance books. There would be a million sections labeled with everyone's favorite tropes. Stores keep trying to pretend the genre doesn't sell well, but in reality, it tops sales charts again and again. No matter how much they try to hide it away.
I wonder if it has something to do with how many books a true romance reader can devour. Maybe it’s a save the trees type of movement. That’s the only way I wouldn’t take issue with it. I guess if we all read paperbacks, there would be no more trees in the world, and our homes would be stuffed full of them.
I’m here to treat myself today. Sorry, trees. It’s not often I have extra money. Especially since I found out that my sister had paid a huge chunk of our family bills already. I didn’t know until I tried to sneakily pay some of them myself. Her being my older sister, she handles the family’s finances, which is weird because Dad and I are crazy good with numbers. While my sister has always been the more creative one.
I hate that my sister, Mel, always feels like she has to be the responsible one. She’ll never admit that it takes a toll on her. I wish she could open up to me more, but I’m afraid that she only looks at me as the little girl she has to take care of. I mean, she won’t even tell me how she manages to get all that money to pay the bills.
Mel is always keeping crap from me. I swear it’s her life mission to protect me. I wish she would stop treating me as though she were my mom and act like a sister instead.
When I have thoughts like those, I try to push them down because it makes me feel guilty. Mel has been protective over me since we lost our mom. Then, it only got worse when my father got in a shit ton of trouble that had us uprooting our whole lives. We’d gone from never worrying about money to being on a strict budget.
That’s why I would normally hit the library instead of the bookstore, but today I’ll be splurging. This money is burning a hole in my pocket. Going to get myself a stack of books and my sister some too. She loves romance more than I do.
I can venture out to non-fiction and jump around, but romance will always hold my heart. It’s the only thing my sister will read but always from her Kindle.