Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 80102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
“See the guy behind me on the other side of the room with the dark hair and permanent stubble?”
“Oh. Is he an ex? You’re only here to make him jealous? So, you’re using me. Right. Got it.” He lowers his head.
Damn, this guy has some self-esteem issues.
“He’s not an ex at all. I made a fool of myself in front of him last week … and the week before that. I kinda prefer not to do it again, so I don’t want him to see me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Definitely. I’m here for you.”
He seems to believe me, but when I remove my hand, his face falls again.
I am so out of my element.
5
Rainn
Whit is the weirdest person I’ve ever met.
I have no idea what he’s doing, but it looks like he’s on a date. An incredibly awkward date.
Why did he dive behind the host’s station and do this weird walk toward his table?
I want to know because who the fuck does that? He’s walking proof that good looks don’t always equal charm.
“Who are you looking at?” my blind date, Kelly, asks.
She seems nice, but there’s no spark. I get the impression the feeling is mutual.
“No one. Just this guy I know.”
Kelly puts her napkin on the tabletop and gets a serious look in her eye. “I think you’re great, but—”
“But Sommer is the worst matchmaker ever?” I should’ve known better than to trust my cousin when she said she had an amazing woman to set me up with. She has the worst taste in men. Apparently, women aren’t her strong suit, either. Not that there’s anything wrong with Kelly. She’s just all wrong for me.
Kelly laughs. “Sorry.”
“I get it.”
“Split the check?”
“No, it’s my treat,” I insist. I may only have twelve dollars in my bank account, but it’s how I was raised. Men pay for dates.
“Thank you. Friends?” she asks.
Even if the gesture is empty, I take it. “Friends.”
I don’t have many friends anymore. Everyone moved on with their lives when they graduated. I’m still here in Burlington hoping something in my life will change without actually taking any steps to change it.
It’s a real mystery why Kelly’s not interested.
She has drive and ambition. She has spent half the night talking about her plans to move to a bigger city once she finishes her grad program to do … umm … something. I probably should’ve listened harder, but I’ve been distracted. Ever since Whit walked in, I haven’t been able to pay attention to anything else.
He’s like a train wreck. I don’t want to see it, but I can’t look away.
Kelly kisses me on the cheek as she leaves me to finish off the wine we ordered.
I give my credit card to the server and wince as I sign the slip.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Whit get up from his table and move toward the bathrooms. I have the sudden urge to follow and check in on him.
I was hoping he’d come to V and V again after his game last night. Every time the door opened, I glanced up from the bar and was filled with surprising disappointment when it wasn’t him.
It got to the point where I checked his hockey schedule to see if he had an away game. Which he didn’t.
And then I realized I was looking up hockey schedules for the first time in forever without feeling sick to my stomach.
There’s something about Whit that’s hard to process. There’s a bond with him like I used to have with my teammates. And maybe that has to do with our hockey connection, but since my injury and finding out my dreams were shot to shit, I haven’t wanted anything to do with that world.
It’s why I never finished my sports management degree. It’s why I don’t talk about hockey, watch hockey, and avoid everything hockey related.
Except for Whit, it seems.
Maybe I’m taking pity on the guy. I know that if we had been the same age and went to college together, we would’ve been friends.
He’s a wide-eyed puppy you can’t help but find adorable when he trips over his big paws.
If I follow Whit into the bathroom, I have the chance to make two friends tonight. Though I don’t actually think I’ll see Kelly again.
I find him hunched over the restroom’s sink, splashing water in his face.
“Bad night?”
He jumps at my voice. “Could be worse.”
“Is it as bad as my date telling me the moment she finished her meal that she’s not into me?”
Whit’s mouth curves up at the edges. “That makes me feel a little better. My date keeps telling me I’m out of his league and better-looking in person.”
“Oh, the horrible problems attractive people have,” I say dramatically. “Wait, in person?”
“We met through an app.”
My lips turn down. “We scared you off at the bar so much that you’ve resorted to online dating?”