Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
“Come on. Let’s head back out.” My hands find their way to her hips, and I lift her from the island and place her back on her feet. I reach for her hand and realize what I’m doing. She’s not mine, so why in the fuck am I acting as if she is? Instead, I place my hand on the small of her back and lead her outside. As soon as the door shuts behind me, I drop my hand, not needing more nagging from the peanut gallery than I’m already going to get.
“Just in time,” Sloane says, standing from where she was sitting on Baker’s lap. “Dance party time.” She wiggles her hips, and I grin because I know what she’s doing. Sloane and Corie used to have dance parties all the time when they were sad growing up. It’s something that my mom started with them when they had a bad day or a boy broke up with them. Mom used to say that it was time to dance away the pain, or sadness, or anger, whatever they were feeling, and groove into the happy.
Corie squeals as she launches herself off Knox’s lap, and the three of them move to the other side of the patio. She shimmies as she connects her phone to the outdoor speakers, and as soon as the first notes of Pink’s “Get This Party Started,” I shake my head. My sister and Sloane used to dance to this all the time. I can remember our mom using a spoon as her microphone as the three of them would bop around the kitchen.
Sadness washes over me. I miss my mom so damn much, Dad, too, but he’s been gone much longer. It’s just not the same without them here, but I have Corie, and she gave me a brother in my best friend, and one day, they’ll have kids. And if I’m ever lucky enough to find someone to love me for who I am and not what I do to earn a paycheck, I’ll add to that list too.
I want what my sister and Knox have. What our parents had, although their time together was cut too short. Anyone who knew them, hell, you didn’t have to know them… all you had to do was be in their presence with one another, and you could feel the love radiating off them.
Corie and Knox are like that, too, and it’s nice to see my sister and my best friend so happy. One day, I hope I can feel that kind of love, but until then, I’ll work on having a couple of nieces or nephews—at least one of each—to spoil rotten.
“What was that?” Knox asks me as I take my seat.
I don’t take my eyes off the girls. “What was what?”
“Come on, Reynolds,” Foster says. “Are you into her?” He nods toward the dance party.
“She’s been through a lot. I could tell she needed a break from all eyes being on her, and I helped her with that. Nothing more. Nothing less.” Except for the fact that I wanted to be near her, and I held her for a brief moment with my cock nestled between her thighs. Oh, and let’s not forget wanting to taste her tears—whatever the fuck that was about. Other than that, it was just another day in the neighborhood.
“Well, I don’t know about you all, but there’s a dance party happening, and I’m all in.” Baker stands and drains his Gatorade. “There’s very little in life right now to dance about, but maybe Corie and Sloane are onto something.”
“Their mom started it,” Knox explains, and something in my chest eases. He knows my sister so well, and I love that she’s shared pieces of our mom and, I’m sure, our dad with him.
“Yeah,” I agree. “It was something they did. If any of us were sad or had a bad day, Mom would tell us to shake off the negative, the bad, or the sad, and groove into happy,” I tell them.
Reid nods. “Momma Reynolds knew her stuff.” He stands, and so does Foster, and they move to the beat, joining the girls in silly dance moves. When Reid busts into the sprinkler, I can’t stop my laughter.
“We’re going to have to watch her,” Knox tells me.
I will. “We will.”
“I still think we should talk to Coach.”
“She doesn’t want that. We can keep him from her, and if the time comes when he’s not taking us seriously, we’ll tell her that has to be our next step. She’s just left a life behind of him controlling her. I don’t want her to feel as though we made this decision without her input. Let’s watch her, keep eyes on him, and see how this plays out.”
“That’s not going to be enough for someone like him, and you know it.”