Hate Notes - Page 91
He was probably around eighteen or nineteen and could have been a younger version of myself with dark hair and chiseled features. Good-looking kid.
I nodded. “Hey.”
Previously oblivious, he turned to me. “Hey.”
Feeling like I needed to say something more, I said, “Nice day, huh?”
“Uh . . . yeah.” He half smiled, seeming like he had a dozen better things to be doing than talking to me.
“Just out enjoying the weather?” I asked.
“No . . . uh, actually, I’m waiting for a Tinder date.”
Oh?
He must have noticed the look of surprise on my face when he squinted. “What? You think someone in a wheelchair doesn’t have game?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Yeah, well, the look on your face did.”
“I’m sorry if I looked that way.” A few moments of silence passed. I looked up at the sky, then turned to him. “So, Tinder, huh? It works for you?”
“Oh yeah. You wouldn’t believe the number of chicks who want to play the hero with me. I mean, I hook them with my face initially. We connect, and then they find out I’m in a wheelchair after the fact. You think they’d run? Fuck, no. That’s actually what seals the deal. It’s like they think they’re gonna save me or some shit. Meanwhile, I just want some ass. And I get it. Every single time. So it works out for everyone. So take that sorry look and save it for yourself. I’m the one getting laid today.” He leaned in. “Sex on wheels.”
Sex on wheels.
I bent my head back in laughter. Something told me I would never forget this kid. So much for preconceived notions. This dude was badass.
A few moments later, an attractive redhead walking a small dog approached.
“You must be Adam.”
He wheeled himself toward her. “Ashley . . . you’re even more beautiful in person.”
She blushed. “Thank you.”
He looked over at me with a slight smirk, then said to her, “Shall we get going?”
“Absolutely.”
Adam nodded once. “Nice talking to you, man.”
“Yeah. Take care.” I watched them until they were out of sight.
Here was this guy, living what was basically my worst nightmare, and he was happier than a pig in shit. It proved that attitude is everything in life. He exuded confidence and wasn’t missing out on anything because he believed he deserved more, and he chose to live, not hide.
It was funny how sometimes the universe placed something in front of you that was exactly what you needed to see at exactly the right time.
God, I sounded like Charlotte.
Pointing my index finger up at the sky, I said, “Damn, you’re good. Almost have me convinced.”Fiddling with my watch in Iris’s office, I asked, “Have you heard anything from Charlotte?”
“No, but she sent me a file with her itinerary in case of emergency so that I’d know where she was.”
“And?”
“Well, I happened to look at it and noticed that she’s going to be taking an overnight train from France to Italy in a couple of days.”
“You mean . . . like a sleeper car?”
“Yes.” Her expression turned sullen. “Reed, I’m not so sure she’s traveling alone.”
My pulse sped up. “What makes you say that?”
“Just a feeling I have. I think that Blake man might be with her.”
Then it hit me.
The item on her Fuck-It List.
Make Love to a Man for the First Time in a Sleeper Cabin on a Train Ride Through Italy.
Panic started to set in. What if Iris was right? What if Charlotte wasn’t alone? She wasn’t in her right mind. Charlotte was too vulnerable to make smart decisions. Not to mention, she didn’t understand how I really felt about her. What if she was taking this trip with Blake to spite me for sleeping with her and flaking? She’d been distant lately, and she’d never mentioned that things were exactly over with him.
Charlotte had no idea the level of impact she’d had on my life, the depth of my feelings for her, because I’d never told her. Who could blame her for thinking she had nothing to lose at this point? Fuck, if the roles were reversed, I’d be on a sleeper train with Blake, too.
I’d been bullshitting myself and Charlotte for months. She believed the man who wrote the note was mostly gone. But the truth was . . . even if it she wasn’t with another man, I wanted to be the one to make love to her on that train.
“Are you okay, Reed?”
I was speed-talking now. “No. No, I’m not. I’m afraid I really screwed up with Charlotte. I thought I could live without her, but I can’t. Now it may be too late to fix things. One of the items on her Fuck-It List is to make love to a man for the first time in a sleeper cabin. If she’s with this Blake, then she’s going to sleep with him on that train.” I stood up and paced.
Source: readsnovelonline.net