Total pages in book: 244
Estimated words: 236705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1184(@200wpm)___ 947(@250wpm)___ 789(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1184(@200wpm)___ 947(@250wpm)___ 789(@300wpm)
River never calls anyone else cutie but me. He only uses hottie for guys he’s into. Everyone else is just hun.
I’m not sure what the math here adds up to, and maybe I’m grasping at straws, but still, I clutch them. “Why do you call me cutie? You call everyone else hun. I never hear you use cutie for anyone else.”
His eyes flash with surprise, like I’ve caught him off-guard, but then he adjusts to being his easy, breezy self. “You’re questioning why you get a special nickname?”
I am, since I want to know if there’s an answer to his word problem. If the logic adds up. So I stand my ground, push a little more. “Yeah. I am.”
River lifts his mug, takes another drink, his eyes darkening as he swallows. He sets down the cup on the coffee table. “I suppose it’s because I can’t call you what I really want to call you.”
“What’s that?”
He takes his time, like he’s weighing his words, then levels me with a stare that feels a little more than friendly. “Hottie. Like you are.”
Make that a lot more than friendly.
And just like that, it’s impossible to slide back in the friend zone with him, so I choose the riskiest game of all.
“Let’s play . . . Would You Rather.”
Since I’m hoping I’ll learn something from the questions—something about him and me, and whether we could ever move out of the friend zone.
11
RIVER
Games are good. Games are fun. We can play games and then go to sleep.
I brandish the first card. Clear my throat. Adopt a TV announcer voice. “Would you rather only use a fork for the rest of your life or only use a spoon?”
Owen’s nose crinkles. “Please tell me you made that up. That can’t be a real question.”
“Sadly, it is.” I fling the card on the floor, grab another.
“Are there do-overs in this game?” he asks with a laugh.
“Yes. On account of questions that make both of us roll our eyes. It’s my new rule.”
“Fair enough. Hit me with another one,” Owen says.
I read the next question. “Would you rather be a centaur or a mermaid-slash-merman?” I stare at the card like it’s diseased. “My answer? I’d rather play another game.”
“Wait,” Owen says, rooting around in the game drawer, grabbing the box the cards came in, and turning it over. He displays the box. “Ah. The culprit. This is the kids’ version.”
“Does that mean the rest of the questions are going to be about whether I’d rather have donuts or burgers for the rest of my life, or the ability to fly and never eat sweets, because I’d rather watch Game of Thrones.”
“Google Would You Rather questions for adults.”
“My phone’s in the guest room,” I say.
Owen grabs his from the charger, unlocks it, and tosses it my way. “Here you go. Use mine.”
“Thanks, though I have to admit I’m a little shocked you didn’t tell me to Google Would You Rather dirty questions,” I say playfully.
Owen’s lips curve into a grin. “I didn’t say not to Google Would You Rather dirty questions either.”
Oh, well this is getting good then. This is feeling like foreplay. Come to think of it, this whole day feels like foreplay.
Bring it on.
I click on the search bar in Owen’s phone browser when a light blue icon flashes on the home screen for a dating app, along with a notification from the app: Don’t forget to finish your profile soon, Guy With Glasses.
My muscles tighten. I clench my teeth. He’s using the app for finding long-term relationships? A flare of red-hot envy bursts in my chest.
“When did you get on Boyfriend Material?” I ask, and holy shit. Did that come out dripping with jealousy?
Owen scratches his chin. “About thirty minutes ago.”
What the hell?
I point to the floor, like I need to clarify exactly what he means. “While you were here? In the cabin?” My voice shoots up.
He laughs lightly. “Yeah, since that’s where I was thirty minutes ago, River.”
My jaw ticks, and I’ve got to rein in the thrashing dragon in my chest. It’s knocking all my good-guy circuits loose. I’m feeling all sorts of you’re mine alpha-y, and that is not my jam. But right now, it is my jam. “And why did you decide to get on Boyfriend Material then?”
Owen’s brow knits, but he keeps smiling. “It was on my mind. You asked me what I want in one. You asked about Ezra. We were literally discussing relationships. So I was thinking about next steps.” He’s so easygoing, like this is no big deal.
It’s a huge deal.
Owen looking for a boyfriend is a horrifying deal, and I want to rewind time so he can get off that app immediately.
“Yes, and you said, I want to be good to someone. Someone who wants me to be good to him,” I say, repeating the words I memorized. Words that lit up my mind, that squeezed my heart. “I just didn’t realize you were going to do it so soon.”