Page 73 of Wait With Me
“Plotting,” Dean corrects with a wink and takes the beach chair beside me.
Lynsey flops down on the other one, so now I’m sandwiched between my friends with drinks in hand, a far improvement to my state only a few minutes ago.
“You guys are right,” I reply and take a sip. “Maybe a new book idea is just what I need to get my mojo back. Something about a pilot or a series that features British soccer-playing brothers, perhaps! You guys know I love a British accent.”
“Kate,” Dean cuts me off.
“Sorry,” I cringe. “It’d be football if they’re British.”
He rolls his eyes. “We’re not plotting a new book series. We’re plotting how you can get Miles back.”
I deflate instantly and take a sip. “That ship has sailed, my friends. Miles made that perfectly clear.”
“Oh, stop,” Lynsey chastises. “He was upset. Guys don’t like to be made a fool of, and you made him feel like an idiot. He’ll get over it.”
“He’s not returning any of my calls,” I correct. “It’s been two weeks.”
“That’s because you haven’t made your grand gesture yet,” she says, pulling her sunglasses down off her head and over her eyes as she sits back.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Kate!” Lynsey exclaims, hitting the side of her chair in frustration. She flails her hands out to gesture while she continues, “You write this shit, now you need to live it. You need to make a grand gesture that shows your hero you care in a deeply personal way that makes it clear that while you know you fucked up royally, you still know him. You know him and care about him, and the grandness of this gesture will prove that.”
“Wow, that was a mouthful,” I quip and take another drink.
“She’s right, Kate,” Dean interjects, and I look over and see the seriousness in his eyes. “You know he cares about you, so just talking to him isn’t going to be enough. You have to make it big.”
I bite down on a chunk of ice for a moment while pondering this. “In erotica, the grand gestures are usually like a power flip. Like, oh, okay, I’ll let you put a horsetail butt plug in me just this once.”
Lynsey and Dean erupt into laughter, and I frown back at them, stating, “I’m serious.”
They roll their eyes, and Dean says, “Think more romantic, less farm animal.”
I remain silent for a few minutes as I scroll through everything about Miles that I love. Then I think about everything he loves, and my eyes alight when I recall the night we shared in his grandpa’s truck.
“His grandpa has this old truck that he’s dying to fix up. But he’s dumping all his money into house renovations, so he’s holding off on it for now. He said the carburetor needed replacing.”
Dean’s eyes brighten at this revelation. “You just had seven months’ worth of rent open up.”
“You think this is a good idea?” I ask, chewing on my thumbnail nervously. “Can you just buy a carburetor for a car? Wouldn’t he have to like…I don’t know…repair it or something?”
“That’s what Google is for!” Lynsey squeals and reaches out to grab my computer.
“Wait, will this be emasculating?” I say, stopping her mid-Google. “If I buy some expensive part for his grandpa’s truck, is he going to be like, ‘Fuck you bitch, I pay my own way?’” Lynsey and I both look at Dean for an answer.
“Not if you give it to him naked.” He simply shrugs.
My first reaction is to laugh, but when Dean doesn’t join in, my face drops. “Wait, seriously?”
He lifts his brows and pins me with a look. “I’m not even into cars, but if you came at me naked with a carburetor in your hand, I’d probably be all over that.”
I look over at Lynsey, who gives me a shrug as well.
“We’ll figure that part out later,” I state with a laugh. “Let’s find this orgasm-maker!”
“Bro, what the hell is your deal?” my sister, Megan’s voice cuts through the phone line, waking me out of a deep slumber.
I scrub my hands over my face and check the time on my phone. “Jeez, why are you awake? It’s 6:30 in the morning. My alarm hasn’t even gone off yet.”
