Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 207(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 207(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
I closed my eyes as mortification slammed into me. A one-night stand was not something I did… like ever.
More pieces from last night filtered into my mind. God, I should have been more responsible in my drinking. But I’d been feeling nice and buzzed, my worries and the fact that none of my interviews had panned out slowly fading away as pleasure filled me. I’d been enjoying Pope’s company. Not only was he attractive, he was also funny, and I felt like he was genuine. Those were qualities in a person I especially coveted. But no doubt this little escapade had ruined any chances for a second date.
I was off the bed and grabbing my clothes from the dresser a second later. My stomach and head protested from my sudden movements, but fuck it, this was a weird situation I needed to get out of.
When I heard footsteps approaching, I turned toward the door quickly, feeling my eyes widen and my heart race. And then I heard him knock on the bedroom door, and I stopped getting dressed, my body bent over as I was about to pull my dress up. My heart was thundering and, as I was still bent at the waist, the blood rushing to my head, the pressure became even worse.
I hauled ass in pulling the dress up, but before I could reach to the side and zip it up, the door was being pushed open.
I straightened and nearly lost my balance but reached out and gripped the edge of the dresser for support. Pope walked in wearing a snug white T-shirt and a pair of loose-fitting sweats. The white drawstring swung slightly as he stepped into the room. He held two coffee cups, but I was focused on the way his dark hair was messy… sexy.
And his body. I couldn’t breathe, because even first thing in the morning, he looked good enough to eat. With hard muscles and definition that couldn’t be hidden beneath his clothes.
I looked to the side at the mirror attached to the dresser. The woman staring back at me looked like she should be living in the woods waiting for Hansel and Gretel to show up. I was just missing the pointy hat and the wart on my nose.
A witch, yeah, that’s totally the appearance I was going for right about now when Pope looked like… well, when he looked sexy as sin.
“Morning,” he said in that deep, slightly scratchy voice that I remembered all too well from dinner and how it made me feel. God, even thinking about it now, I felt tingles race up my spine.
I cleared my throat and looked at the ground. “Hey.” That lone word was nothing but a mumble from me, and I wasn’t even sure he’d heard me at all.
“Coffee?”
I chanced a look at him, his arm still held out, the coffee calling to me. I took a few steps forward but kept my gaze down on the ground as I took the cup from him, our fingers brushing together and making this little gasp leave me. I could feel him staring at me and looked at him from the fall of my rat’s nest hair.
God, he looked incredible, whereas I looked like I’d crawled out from under a rock.
For a second, we just stood there, neither one of us speaking, the awkwardness strong. The chilled air moved along the strip of skin exposed where the zipper still wasn’t pulled up.
“Uh,” I said uncomfortably. “Did we…?” I glanced at the bed, feeling my face burn like it was on fire. How bad was it that I couldn’t even remember having sex with him?
He cleared his throat, and I knew he was about to speak. I held up my hand and shook my head.
“You know what?” I looked at him, straightening, holding my head high. “We won’t even get into that. It is what it is.” I brought the cup to my mouth and took a long drink, watching him over the rim, trying to act stronger than I actually was. The fact was, I was so damn embarrassed by this entire situation. When I guzzled down the coffee, I started to feel a little better. “Listen,” I said and handed him back the cup, giving him a grateful smile, “I just want you to know, even though it probably doesn’t even matter, I don’t ever just go home with random men.” I swallowed roughly. “Like, I’ve never done that. This is so uncharacteristic for me, and I’m mortified that you had to see me like that.” I rubbed my temple.
“You know…” He started to speak, but right now, I couldn’t even handle whatever he was going to say. I couldn’t handle any pity he threw my way.
“I know that’s not an excuse,” I said, cutting him off from saying anything. “And I’m sure anyone in my position would have said the same thing.” I stared into his dark eyes, willing myself not to get lost in them. “But in my case, it’s the truth. I have never done a one-night stand.” The slow smirk he gave me shouldn’t have had every erogenous zone in my body lighting up.