Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 107673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
“Look, I’ve been getting a lot of attention lately. I think I should drive the back roads to your house. It’ll take us longer to get you home. If I get caught and give my dad any more bad press, I think he’ll disown me,” I said, trying for humor.
“I don’t wanna get you in trouble…”
I wasn’t going to allow him the out. “I’m kidding. My dad’s a good guy. My whole family’s pretty good. Like Joy, they play hard…” I stopped before anything negative tumbled from my lips.
Chae and I had cut him off from his escape in the darkened shadows of the trucks’ headlights. Since I’d noticed everything about him, my concentration zeroed in on the way his jewel-toned amber gaze flickered. The small gold flecks gave a natural depth. He was truly beautiful to me and clearly physically fit. He had to play a lot of sports, all the time.
“They play hard?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I finally said and let that be enough. I ducked my head then nodded toward the car. “I don’t think anyone’s paying attention to us. We could take off now.” I pivoted to walk toward Joy’s car. The panic my decision created wanted me to look over my shoulder to ensure Beau followed. I fought the urge as my head and my heart battled to the death inside me. What I should have done was to get behind him and push him to the car.
The forty or so feet I walked might have been the longest of my life. But if I dug deep, the connection between us held strong. Somehow, I knew he was following. Only at a much slower pace.
Surely, he fell somewhere under the LGBT umbrella.
My step stumbled.
I had zero indication that assumption was true. What if he was straight or even homophobic and offended by my attraction?
No, the world wasn’t that mean.
As I got closer to the car, I reached for the key fob, pushing the button as I pulled it from my pocket. The unlocking mechanism snicked on the driver’s side door, and I hit it again to unlatch all the locks. Once I’d opened my side, while on the verge of sitting, I finally ventured a look in Beau’s direction.
He was still a good distance away, maybe twenty steps or so behind me, but I counted it as a win that he was still walking toward the car. I dropped down in the seat and reached to turn off the interior overhead lights then pushed the headlights button off before I started the car. I kept watch on him with every step he took.
I read about the intensity of love at first sight. When you see someone from across a space and every instinct connected you to them. I didn’t doubt such a thing happened but never considered I’d be on the receiving end.
Suddenly, I experienced a deep sense of vulnerability. At the same time, a comforting warmth spread through me. I brought my other leg inside the car and shut the door. I needed the minute alone to try to gain perspective.
The worry of driving without a license no longer mattered. Let the consequences fall where they may. I’d drive anywhere as long as Beau was in the seat next to me.
So much for taking it slow.
The passenger door opened, and he took a seat, shutting him inside. My head swam with his scent, all guy mixed with a spicy, clean cologne. I held my tongue that wanted to confess how much I dug the way he smelled and started the engine, putting the gear shift in reverse. I needed to put distance between us and the party.
“Where do you live, and how familiar are you with the back roads?” I asked. “Can you get us there?”
“Probably,” he said. “I’ve spent summers here for most of my life, but that isn’t sayin’ a whole lot.”
In the silence, my body soaked up the rich tenor of his voice. Beau felt like home. A place I needed to be… Stop.
“This is my first time in Sea Springs,” I said. “Joy has a GPS in the glove box if we need it.”
Beau didn’t reply as the car bounced down the trail, hitting each deep rut and oversized rock in the way. After we took the first of two turns that hid the field from the road, I flipped on the headlights. “The only rule given to us about the party was to turn the headlights off and not draw any unwanted attention. Think we accomplished it or will I have some angry cowboys after me?”
The trail came to an end, having me drive the last leg through a field. The night was much darker out here than I was used to. I couldn’t see too far in front of me, requiring the lights to guide my way.