Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
I didn’t fault her for her emotions.
I envied her ability to feel things so deeply.
Her emotions were her strength, and I loved that about her.
I loved many things about her.
“Cheers to The Holly,” she told me as I held my glass up and clinked it with hers.
“Cheers to you,” I agreed. As we sipped on the cocktail, I felt pride as Holly moaned in pleasure. She liked it. Good. That was all I cared about.
We sat there sipping away at the cocktail, and once we finished, Holly mentioned that we should try all the other ones, too.
I laughed. “You’ll be stumbling home.”
“It’s fine.” She shrugged. “It’s right around the corner, and I’m sure you’ll be able to carry me if need be.” She spun her finger in the air before pointing down at the menu. “I’d like to try The Libby next.”
I smirked. “Your wish is my command.”
As we finished drinking the full specialty cocktail menu, Holly and I walked arm-in-arm out of the restaurant. We swayed back and forth, and she talked to me about squirrels, the moon, and the snowflakes falling over our heads. Everything she said made no sense, but everything she said mattered. I drunkenly listened to her every word, too.
As the snow fell on her rosy cheeks, I watched them instantly melt. It was a good thing she was intoxicated. Otherwise, she might’ve noticed how I looked at her: as if she were everything because she had been exactly that. Holly was everything to me.
I walked her to her apartment as she giggled and collapsed against her couch.
“Kai?” she said, waving her hands in the air.
“Yes?”
“You make strong drinks.”
I laughed as I kneeled in front of her and began untying her shoes for her. “You asked for it.”
“They were amazing,” she exclaimed with her eyes shut. She seemed to be in a moment of complete bliss. Then, she shot up and paused. She placed her hands against my cheeks and locked her eyes with mine. “You are amazing.”
I chuckled. “You’re drunk.”
She flopped back against the couch. “I’m drunk.”
I removed her boots and placed them on the side of the room. Then, I returned to her and unzipped her jacket, removing it from her arms. I hung it up in her front closet before heading to the kitchen to get her a glass of water.
“Drink,” I ordered, holding it in front of her.
“Vodka?” she asked, taking the glass from me. She instantly frowned as she sipped it. “Water.”
“It’s needed.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Why aren’t you as drunk as me?”
I laughed. “I’m a strong man.”
She placed the water on the coffee table, almost spilling it, and then wrapped her arms around my bicep. “Strong, strong man.”
Her brown eyes fell on mine, and I fell even more for her in that instance.
Drunk Holly was adorable.
Sober Holly was adorable, too.
Holly Jackson was adorable.
“Hey, Kai?”
“Yes?”
“I think you’re going to be a better fake boyfriend to me than my real past boyfriends.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because you like me.”
“I do,” I confessed, though I figured she was too intoxicated to read too much into it. “I do like you, Holly.”
Her full lips turned up. “I like you, too.” My chest tightened for a moment, but then she continued. “I would call you my best friend, but I don’t believe in best friends anymore.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because they’re bitches,” she drunkenly slurred. Holly’s hands stayed wrapped around my bicep, squeezing it a little before looking back at me. “Are these real muscles?” she asked, shifting from the best friend bitches comment.
I tapped her nose. “You need sleep.”
She ignored that fact and tapped my nose right back. “You know what we have to do, Kai?”
“What’s that?”
“Kiss.”
My whole body froze as those words left her mouth. “What?”
She sat straighter, nodding her head. “We have to kiss. If we are going to convince my family that you are my boyfriend, we can’t have an awkward first kiss in front of them. So, it only makes sense that we practice kissing before we show up at their place in a few days.”
Did I want to kiss her? Yes.
Did she have a solid point, even in her drunken state? 100%.
Was I going to kiss her that night? Absolutely not. Not when she wasn’t fully there. Not while she was intoxicated.
“It does make sense, but I can’t do that tonight, Holly.”
I saw it—the flash of sadness in her eyes. “You don’t want to kiss me?”
“That’s not what I said. I said I can’t do it tonight.”
“But why?”
“You’re drunk.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t want to kiss you while you’re drunk. There’s a good chance you won’t even remember this come morning.”
“I’ll remember this,” she swore.
“If you remember this, show up at my apartment at noon tomorrow, and we’ll have our first sober kiss.”
“Fine. I will,” Holly confidently stated.
“Good.”
“Good!” she echoed.
I tapped her nose again. “Go to sleep.”