Chapter Ten
"Thatwassoawesome. I didn't know we had so many local authors," I say as I put all my new signed books in the passenger side of the Jeep.
"I didn't know either. I'm excited to start reading one."
I turn towards him as he looks at the spines of the books. "Which one do you think you will read first?"
"Not sure. What about you?" He looks up. His hazel eyes are so beautiful.
"Probably the romance."
"Ah, yes. Maybe I'll read that one too."
I twist my hands together when an idea comes into my mind, but I'm not sure how to ask. I've done this with other friends of mine, but they are all girls.
"You okay? Your hands seem to be fighting."
"I was, um, wondering if you might want to buddy read?"
His eyes grew wide, and a smile slowly slides across his face. "I would love that."
I think my heart actually skips a beat. "Really?"
"Yeah. That would be great. I've never done it before, and I think it would be a lot of fun to have someone to talk about the book with while I'm reading it."
"Yes! I have a couple of friends who buddy read with me. We usually go to my place and read the first five chapters together and then discuss."
"When do you want to start? Do you want to do the first five-chapter thing or read them separately?"
Do I want him to come over and read with me? Oh, gosh. We usually all sit in my room, on my bed. That would be weird. Wouldn't it? I mean, I do feel like I've known him longer than I actually have, and he doesn't give me any weird vibes.
"We should start tonight, definitely. Do you want to come over?" I bite my lip, feeling extremely shy.
"Sure…um." He looks back at his truck. "Want me to follow you?"
"That works."
He nods, then turns to walk away. I watch him for a second, gathering my nerves.
He follows me the few miles to my house and once we are inside, my heart starts racing. I didn't realize Kelly was going anywhere today, but her car isn't in the driveway.
"We can go to my room. My roomie’s couch isn't very comfortable." Oh god, why did I say that? He probably thinks I'm trying to get him into my bed.
"I'll follow you."
He sits on the edge of my bed while I slip my boots off and climb into my normal spot at the head of the bed. If I were to stretch out my legs, they would be in his lap.
"You can get comfortable," I murmur.
"Right, of course." He slips his shoes off, then sits at the opposite end on the other side. I stretch my legs out and he does the same.
I can't help the giddy grin that crosses my face as I open the book to the first chapter, and he does the same. We read in silence for what feels like an hour. The chapters are on the longer side, and I don't read super-fast.
"Are you done?" I ask him.
He looks up from the book, his hooded eyes smiling at me. "I have a few pages left. You?"
"I just started the last chapter."