Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 81176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
The car pulled out and I dropped my head back and groaned.
“That brutal, huh?”
I jumped and spun around to see Wes leaning against the building.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as I made my way over to him.
He smiled as he regarded me. “How was the date?”
My hands went to my hip. “How long have you been waiting for me?”
Winking, he replied, “Not long, I figured it wouldn’t be a long date.”
“I’m tired, Wes. I slept like shit last night thanks to you. The only thing I want to do is go upstairs, take a shower, and relax.”
He held up a bag. “I’ve got Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia and a six pack of beer.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why do you come bearing such gifts?”
He lifted one shoulder. “I feel bad about last night, and this morning with Mandy.”
“Is the ice cream laced with something?”
He pressed his hand to his heart. “You wound me, Clare.”
Glancing around, I focused back on him. “Is Mandy watching or something.”
The smile on his face faltered for the briefest of moments. “No, of course not. I’m just trying to be a friend here. I’m tired of us always bickering.”
I exhaled. “Fine, but I get to pick the movie.”
“I didn’t know a movie was required to eat ice cream.”
Laughing, I said, “Oh, you have so many things to learn, Wes.”
He grinned and held the door open for me.
Once we were in my apartment, I showed him where the bowls and spoons were.
“You don’t want to just eat it out of the container?” he asked as I took one high heel off then the other.
“I’m totally fine eating it out of the container if you are.”
“I’m a guy, Clare. That’s the only way I know how to eat Ben & Jerry’s.”
Laughing, I walked into my bedroom and shut the door. Quickly changing into yoga pants and my brother’s long-sleeve Boston Red Sox 2018 World Series shirt.
I slipped on my fuzzy slippers and made my way out to the living room. Wes was on the sofa, both ice creams on the table as he flipped through the stations.
“I know you said you wanted to pick the movie, but the second Jumanji is playing, and I really love that movie.”
My eyes went from Wes to the TV then back to Wes. “What?”
“If you’ve never seen this movie, you have to watch it. Kevin Hart is hilarious. I mean, they’re all funny. ‘What is this on my back?’” he started to laugh. “You’ll laugh your ass off, I promise, and something tells me you need to laugh.”
Smiling, I sat down and grabbed the blanket and put it over my legs. I reached for the ice cream and said, “I love Jumanji. The second and the third are my favorites.”
He turned to look at me. “Are you serious?”
I nodded. “Yep. ‘Where’s my phone? The fact that I’m not Instagramming this right now is insane.’”
Wes tossed his head back and laughed. “What are the odds we’d both like those movies?”
Taking a bite of my ice cream, I shrugged. Had I told him this was my favorite ice cream? Or that this was my favorite movie?
After staring at him for a moment too long, I focused on the dessert in my hand.
We both settled in with our ice cream and beer and ate in silence as we watched the movie. When Wes leaned over and took a bite of my ice cream, I didn’t say a word. He then offered for me to try the brownie something or other that he had.
“No, thanks. I’m a Cherry Garcia girl.”
When I couldn’t eat anymore ice cream, I took mine and Wes’s and put them in the freezer, grabbing us another beer before settling back on the sofa.
“Do you have another cover?” Wes asked.
“Here,” I said as I spread it out over both of us. “It’s big enough to share.”
It was then that I noticed how content I felt. At ease and happy, I hadn’t felt like this in a very long time.
I turned to look at Wes who was engrossed in the movie. Was it because it was Wes sitting here? Would I have felt this way had it been Alex?
Turning back to the movie, I bit down on my lip. No, because Alex would have wanted to drink wine and listen to jazz. Gag.
“Do you like jazz music?” I asked out of the blue.
He turned to me with a perplexed expression. “Random, but okay. Not really. I mean, I can go to a jazz bar if friends want to listen to it, but I can also do without it.”
I nodded and we both went back to watching the movie. Ten minutes later, I asked, “Do you drink wine?”
This time he kept his eyes on the TV. “Only when forced to.”
I couldn’t help but smile. Turning to face him, I asked, “Favorite TV show?”