Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 499(@200wpm)___ 399(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“I have, like, a dozen people at my house right now, so I can’t speak,” Pandora said with a shrug.
“Ignore Tate if he says anything dense,” Victor said as he led Pandora up toward his door. “He can be a bit of a git. But he gets all the leftover food at the restaurant he works at, which means we basically don’t spend anything on food, so we put up with his crap.”
With that, Victor led Pandora into his living room. A.k.a. Tate’s bedroom. It wasn’t a large space and it was dominated by a blue couch covered in pillows, a sheet, and a duvet. As well as its occupant, Tate.
He was average height and build, with wavy, messy blond hair that had an indentation from his headphones.
He was sitting on the edge of the sofa in boxers, a rumpled white tee, and socks with holes in both big toes. A bowl of sugary cereal was in his hands as he watched the rugby game on the telly.
“Tate, Pandora. Pandora, Tate,” Victor said as he closed and locked the door.
“Right. The fiancée we never heard about until, like, two weeks ago.”
“Didn’t want to scare her off by letting her meet you,” Victor said, eyes dancing as his hand went to Pandora’s lower back, guiding her toward the hall.
“I’ll put my headphones on. Won’t hear a thing.”
If Pandora could blush, she would be crimson right then. Victor simply ignored him, though, as he led her to the last room in the hallway, right past the center bathroom that was remarkably clean, considering how many guys lived there.
“This is me,” Victor said, opening the door to his bedroom and stepping inside.
It was a small space dominated by an extra-long twin-sized bed and the antique writing desk butted up under the window, which served not only as the work station but also the nightstand.
Instead of a headboard, there was a row of shelves overflowing with dozens of books. Across from the bed itself, there was a telly mounted on the wall beside the wardrobe.
Otherwise, the space was neat. His backpack was hung on the door. His desk was organized. His bed was made.
Clearly, he was on a limited income but he was making the best of it.
Though, in her opinion, the whole space would feel a lot more alive and cozier if he had some hanging plants in front of the window.
“Is everything all right?” Victor asked once they were behind a closed door.
“What? Oh, yeah, fine. I just wanted to pop by. I, um, have something to give you,” Pandora said, suddenly kicking herself for not concocting a convincing story on her way to his flat.
“To give me?” he asked, pulling the chair out from his desk and turning it to sit.
“Yeah, it’s … it’s kind of a family heirloom,” she told him, proud of her quick thinking. “I was hoping you could start wearing it. You know, like, daily? That way, if we happen to see my family, they will see it. And it might …”
“Help sell how serious this is,” he said, making Pandora’s shoulders relax slightly.
“Yes, exactly.”
“What is it? Some kind of jewelry?”
“Yeah, it’s a pendant,” she said, reaching in her purse to produce the chain. “It’s not too crazy. You know, given my family’s sort of eccentric taste.” She let the pendant fall into view.
“Yeah, that’s not bad at all,” he said, reaching for it.
“Here,” she said, snatching it back. “I’ll put it on for you.” She wedged herself into the small space behind the chair, then opened the chain to slide it on for him. “There.” She caught herself starting to rest her hand on his shoulder, then pulled away. “Just make sure you always have it on, OK?” she asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.
Victor looked puzzled at that but he nodded. “OK. I don’t have to worry about damaging it?”
“No. It’s pretty well-crafted,” she said.
The silence stretched long enough to get uncomfortable. “How have things been at home?” he asked. “I still can’t believe I got so drunk so fast,” he added, looking embarrassed.
“My family’s wine can be kind of potent,” Pandora said, feeling guilty about his embarrassment. And the fact that her cousin had taken advantage of his mind. “No one noticed.” Since, by the time he’d got back to the table, he’d been pretty much back to normal. “We’ll just water it down next time or something.”
“Yeah, I …” A litany of curses came crashing through the walls from the living room. “Sounds like he switched from rugby to video games,” he said. “Want to go for a walk? Get some air?”
Pandora knew her mind was going to go into an inappropriate place if they stayed in his room. With a bed in it. That she would love more than anything to pull him down on, claim his lips with hers, feel his hands sliding down her …