Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 129207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
“Uh-huh,” he says, taking a quick glance at the phone. “Whatever you say.”
I groan, and realizing that not even screwing Ezra on his tattoo table is going to change this guy’s mind, I roll my eyes and make my way out of the shop. “Hey,” I say, quickly answering the call before I miss it.
“Where are you?” Ezra asks. “I’m at your place. I thought you’d be here.”
“I had to duck out for a minute, but I’ll be home in . . . maybe twenty,” I say, trying to get a good idea of how long it’ll take me to walk my ass all the way back home. “You need something?”
“Nah, not really,” he says. “But I’m hungry, so I figured we could head out a bit earlier instead of waiting for tonight. If that’s cool with you, of course. Just didn’t wanna have something now and then spoil my appetite later.”
Oooh. I’m not going to say no to spending extra hours with Ezra. He’s been at some big meeting today with the whole band and the label, so I’m sure he’s dying to unload everything that went down. “You know I’m always good to eat,” I tell him, having a healthier appetite than Axel does. “I’m close to that diner that has the really good burgers and cheese fries if you want to meet me there. Save me having to walk all the way back.”
“Consider it done,” he says, his voice softening in a way that sends shivers through my whole body. He only ever talks like that with me, and I love it more than anything else in the whole world.
Ezra ends the call, and I turn on my heel to head in the other direction. The diner isn’t anything special, and while I was hoping to go home and get my hair and makeup done and maybe pick out something a little risqué to wear for a special night together, this is just as good. Having extra hours alone trumps a good outfit any day.
I make it to the diner in record time and find a booth as I wait for his car to pull into the lot. It doesn’t take long, and the moment I see the familiar car, a stupid grin stretches across my face.
He disappears out of sight, and I wait impatiently for him to walk through the door, only when it opens a moment later, it’s Axel who strides into the diner. My brows furrow as a wave of disappointment floods me. Don’t get me wrong, I love my brother, but having him crash my date with Ezra isn’t exactly ideal.
Ezra strides in behind him, and as he scans the diner to find me, a guilty expression crosses his face. He knows I’m disappointed, but he also knows I’m not about to say anything.
They make their way toward me, weaving through the other tables until finally taking a seat, and I watch in suspicion as they squeeze into the same side, both of them facing me as though preparing for something. There’s a grim expression on both of their faces, and just like that, the excitement about my new tattoo vanishes.
“Just tell me,” I say, my heart racing a million miles an hour.
The boys look at one another as though silently arguing over who’s going to break the news, and my mind races through the worst-case scenarios. Someone’s dead. Maybe Dad got into a car accident and is slowly fading away. Maybe he’s finally pissed off the wrong person and they’ve put him into the hospital. That wouldn’t be such a bad thing because then I’d be able to live freely in my own home without walking on eggshells to avoid his drunk tantrums. He’s never put his hands on me, but I know that has a lot to do with the way he avoids Ax and Ezra. I feel it in my bones, the way he looks at me like I’m weak and insignificant, and the sooner I get out of here, the better.
“We, uhhh . . . We had our big meeting with the label,” Ezra starts as though I might have forgotten, clearly not realizing it’s been on my mind all day.
“Yeah?” I say, a little confused. Judging by the looks on their faces, I was certain they were about to hit me with bad news, but nothing bad could have come from their meeting. They shot to superstardom overnight. It could only be moving forward for them. “And?”
Ezra cringes, so Axel picks up where he left off. “And,” he starts, sounding just as hesitant as Ezra had. “They’re so impressed with how we’re doing that they want to send us on tour.”
“WHAT?” I screech, flying out of my seat, my eyes widening in surprise as the overwhelming excitement claims me. “Holy shit. That’s incredible.”