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)
Dash spoke like he used to, filling in the silence until he drew me out of myself. It wasn’t going to be that easy this time. My palms gripped the steering wheel tighter.
It bugged the shit out of me that I couldn’t manage my emotions better where he was concerned. In every other situation in life, I’d kept my feelings locked down. Tucked so far away that no one ever suspected that I had them. I’d been so effective at keeping them secret, I barely registered they were there anymore. I shouldn’t have kissed him like I did. It was just all his prettiness right there in my face. His lips alone were part of my wettest dreams.
My thoughts shifted to Dash’s cologne. Damn, he smelled good.
“Are you listening to me?” His sharp tone snapped me out of my reverie.
The last thing I remembered… I scanned the street signs, trying to gauge the distance I had covered. I didn’t know for sure. Dash caught me unaware, and I couldn’t conceal it.
“I said to take the next exit and turn right at the light.” His patience calmed me, and I did as he instructed.
“What else?” I asked.
“Oh, he speaks,” Dash teased good naturedly. “Stay in the far right lane and take the next two rights. They come fast. My place is the third one down on the right. Let’s see how well you listened.” His sarcastic humor, evident since our first date, spoke of lots of things. Mainly, a happy life, which comforted me. Joyful people were rare to find, and no one deserved it more than he did.
The house resembled Dash. I pulled to the curb and surveyed the neighborhood. It radiated grandeur and wealth. Dash’s home was two stories, maybe three, it was hard to tell.
The front yard was simply landscaped. Two expansive two-story windows took up a large portion of the front of the home. Designer stone, brick, and wood completed the façade. It looked magazine-ready in a contemporary rustic and expensive way. Nowhere near the squalor I’d lived in the last five and a half years.
“Can I park here?” I asked.
“Pull into the right side of the driveway,” he said absently, pulling out his phone. His thumbs danced over the screen at lightning speed as I maneuvered the truck into the driveway. Once parked, his phone vanished into his pocket, now forgotten. His full attention was back on me.
“Come inside. We have a lot to discuss.” Dash popped open the truck’s door then glanced back at me before stepping fully out. “Open your door, Beau. You’re here for a reason. Give us a chance.”
Something intuitive warned me that if I entered that house, I’d never want to leave. I glanced uncertainly at my hands spread on the steering wheel. They trembled. Fear of adding additional pain to my life began reinforcing the impenetrable internal barriers I’d created over my heart.
Nothing had changed except Dash was unaware of exactly how undesirable I’d become.
The sudden opening of my door startled the shit out of me. I clenched my fists as Dash approached, boldly reaching for my arm. “I understand you’ve faced unimaginable situations, but you’re here now. You came for a reason. Come inside with me.”
I looked him straight in the eyes—the hue of my dreams—and spoke my truth. “If I go inside, it’ll only make it harder to leave. You have to realize, I’m not the same person I used to be…”
The shame instilled by my father surged, forcing my eyes shut and my head to bow. It was the jingle of the truck’s keys that opened my eyes. The key fob was gripped in Dash’s hand. All the man unto myself deal faded as my glare pinned him. “Give me back the keys.”
“Come and take ’em.” The cocky words accompanied a swagger-filled pivot as if he held ultimate control. And in a way, he did. He rounded the hood and started up the walkway before glancing back with a sly grin. “Is this where I add, I win?”
I had forgotten how persistent he could be in getting his way. Seemed the trait had only intensified.
“You’re stunning,” Dash called louder from the porch, keeping my retort on my lips. “You’ve grown into a handsome man despite the scowl you’ve worn all the way home. You’re taller and stronger. Do all those muscles on your arms get heavy?”
I had no choice but to leave the truck and follow, my frown deepening. Dash laughed me off, not something people usually did with me. As I drew closer, I added, “You haven’t grown an inch more.”
His response was to lift the key fob to initiate the truck’s locks.
“All the ways I envisioned this to go…” Dash moved closer to the front door under the bright porch lights.
Before this moment, I hadn’t been able to stare openly at Dash. My thoughts drowned him out as he left me stunned speechless. I never imagined he could be any better looking than the young man I remembered.