A story of love and heartache proving that life is not always fair, but it’s worth the pain to get the moments you’ll treasure forever, Lauren Runow’s upcoming standalone novel is releasing on 9 Jan 2018, and I have a sneak peek for you.
Excerpt
“Someone get the door. It’s probably Steve,” Chantel yells from her room.
We’re heading out for drinks, and she invited a guy she recently started seeing.
I hop off the couch. “I got it.”
“Hey Ste—” I stop short when I see it’s Connor, dressed in a fitted white dress shirt with a skinny black tie that I have the sudden urge to grab so I can pull him near me.
“Are you expecting someone?” he questions, and I swear I see disappointment cross his face.
“Oh, no, not me. Chantel’s new guy is coming over. We thought you were him. Want to come in?”
“Um, nah, it’s okay. I didn’t get home till late last night. I was, um, seeing about getting my jacket back,” he says like he’s slightly uncomfortable.
“Ah, crap. Sorry. Let me go get it. Come in.” I motion to him before I run to my room.
I ended up wearing his jacket the entire day, loving the smell of his cologne that lingered on the collar. I was tempted to sleep in it and would have if I hadn’t thought it would wrinkle too much.
When I return, he’s nervously tapping his hands and searching for what he should do. I want to laugh. This is so different from the cool Connor I always saw while growing up.
“Here you go,” I say, handing it to him as Katy exits her room.
“Hey, Connor. You coming with us?” she asks, walking past him to the kitchen.
“I, um, no, I was just getting my jacket,” he stutters, unsure what to say.
“Come with us! We’re going for drinks to celebrate Kenzie moving in. It’s only fitting you come too,” Katy says making my eyes go big.
Connor turns to me, and I quickly recover my expression.
“Well, I mean, I don’t want to impose,” he says directly to me.
I wave him off. “Stop. Of course you aren’t. Come with us.”
He looks around before shrugging and says, “Why not. Let me go change.”
“Please don’t. This shirt and tie thing you have going on is hot. Give our girl here some eye candy while we’re out,” Katy replies, winking at me, and I want to kill her for it.
He tilts those sexy lips up into a half smile, and my heart pitter-patters at the sight.
“Let me get my purse.” I excuse myself so I can hide the embarrassment creeping up my face.
We walk to the corner bar with the girls and Steve in front of us. Connor hangs back with me.
“How are you liking it so far?” he asks with his hands in his pockets.
“I really like the girls. I can’t thank you enough for setting me up with them. How was work today?”
“Same ol’, same ol’. My brain is fried, and a drink sounds really good. After you.” He holds the door open, smiling at me as I walk in.
The girls grab a table in the corner, and I know they purposely left the two seats up against the wall and across from each other for us. I glare at Katy, knowing this was her doing, and she grins. Any other seats would have felt normal but these two are tucked away, giving you only one view—the one in front of you.
A waitress comes, and Robin yells, “We’re celebrating our new roommate, so shots all around. What do you think, a little Sex on the Beach or a Screaming Orgasm, or how about we all do Blow Job shots? That is, except Connor and Steve.”
She laughs and they join in, chanting Blow Job. I’m going to die from embarrassment.
I glance up and have to close my eyes when I see the look Connor’s giving me. His cocky smile along with the way his eyes darkened made the temperature in here feel sweltering.
When I open them, he’s still staring and raises one eyebrow at me in question.
I bow my head, laughing at the situation, knowing I’ll have to give in to the drink.
The shots quickly arrive, along with Connor’s Sierra Nevada and Steve’s rum and Coke.
“Okay, girls, hands behind your backs,” Chantel announces.
My eyes widen. I’ve never done shots, especially ones where you can’t use your hands and instead wrap your mouth around the glass, taking it back. To my surprise, Connor comes to my rescue.
“Wait. I want to be part of Kenzie’s first Blow Job,” he states, getting up to round the table and stand next to me.
The girls cheer, and I’m positive this will be the most embarrassing moment of my life. I make a mental note to add another box to my list to check off.
Connor struts up to me, pulling my chair out so I’m facing him, and picks up the shot, bringing it to his mouth first where he licks a tiny bit of the whipped cream.
“Sweet, like something else I remember” He winks at me.
I turn bright red, covering my eyes, but he pulls my hands down.
“’kay, girls. One, two—” Robin counts.
“Three,” Connor finishes, holding the shot up to my mouth, placing a hand behind my head, tilting it back, and pouring the liquid down my throat.
I swallow and raise my head. When our eyes meet, he stares directly into them before moving his thumb across my lips to retrieve any leftover whipped cream, then licking his thumb.
I sit, speechless as he winks and returns to his side of the table. He’s trying to seem unfazed but I notice his need to adjust himself.
Robin’s eyes go big and her smile even bigger from what she just witnessed go down. Literally.
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