Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
“Next!”
I blinked out of my fantasy as the attendant hollered for us, and spun around, following the path to the very front cart of the coaster.
I slid into my seat easily, pulling the harness tight over my shoulders as I clicked in. Ajax had a little harder time getting strapped in. He was massive—which, yeah, I’d already noticed—but watching him try to bring the harness down over his muscles was almost comical. His massive thigh pressed against mine in the small cart, his warmth and scent radiating into me like the sweetest shield.
My heart kicked up a few beats, and I couldn’t tell if it was excitement over the ride or excitement over Ajax, but either way, I was here for it. This was what I’d been missing all my life. Somewhere between foster care and college, I’d forgotten how to live in the moment, to enjoy the little bursts of energy that made me feel awake for the first time in years.
Fuck, I hope we don’t die.
There are fail-safes for these rides, right?
I think I’m having a heart attack.
Voices tumbled into my mind, the anxiousness enough to make me clench my eyes shut. A wave of apprehension settled over me as the voices mounted, and a pain throbbed behind my eyes. I rubbed my temple, then splayed my hand over my chest and collarbone as I tried to calm my breathing.
“Grace,” Ajax said as he slid his hand over mine, his fingers grazing the skin of my collarbone, sending chills across my skin. “Grace, open your eyes.” I did, turning my head slightly to look at him. Two little lines formed between his brow. “What’s wrong?”
“The voices…” I stopped myself, taking deep breaths through my nose, and did my best to focus on no one but him. Slowly, my heartbeats buried the voices until all I could see or hear was Ajax, all I could feel was his hand on mine—
The ride jolted, shooting forward like a bullet out of a gun.
I gripped Ajax’s hand as we catapulted forward, climbing straight up in the air for what seemed like ages.
“Holy shit,” Ajax said as we crested the top. The night sky stretched out before us, close enough that I imagined reaching out to touch the thin wisps of clouds decorating the starry sky.
A blink, and we hurtled downward, a free fall like no other stealing any scream I may have managed. I threw my hands in the air, a smile stretching wide as we kept falling, the wind biting my cheeks as we soared forward.
I turned my gaze to Ajax, noting a grin on his face too, a wild sort of twinkling in his eyes as we spiraled upside down and forward again until we finally leveled out. The coaster brought us to a halt so sharp I felt it in my chest, but I couldn’t stop laughing as Ajax helped me climb out of the ride.
“That was amazing!” I bounced on the balls of my feet, feeling the rush jolt through me, my heart racing. All those years, I’d been afraid something like this would kill me, and here I was, exhilarated and thrilled and craving more. “Let’s do it again!”
Ajax grinned. “Whatever you want,” he said, only further proving that he wasn’t real. I mean, what kind of stranger would indulge me for this long?
Two hours and way too many coaster rides later, Ajax lingered outside my car in the parking lot. While waiting in line, I’d learned that he was in collections, but he wouldn’t tell me what kind of collecting he did. From the look of him, I imagined him as a bounty hunter, but then again, I also could easily see him being an angel of death here to collect my soul, so it worked out either way. I also discovered he was a fantastic listener with a quick wit who had a weakness for reality shows. He also loved snacks as much as me. Yeah, I was leaning toward him being too perfect to be real.
But I couldn’t remember a time I’d had more fun.
“Can I text you sometime?” I asked. “Unless you plan on stalking me all the way home, angel?”
Ajax took my phone from my extended hand, typing a little aggressively on the screen before handing it back to me.
I grinned down at the contact name he’d given himself. Grace’s Grim Reaper.
“Nice touch,” I said, hating that I didn’t have the courage to say what I was thinking—that I wanted him to come home with me.
Three months.
That’s all I had to live as much as I could, and I knew one night with him—hell, one hour—would be truly living.
But just because I knew I was dying didn’t mean I could easily change my entire personality. I was still the shy Grace who felt more comfortable lost in a book world than in the real one. I enjoyed studying minds as long as they weren’t my own, and I drank coffee at midnight because I hated sleeping. And nowhere in that list of qualities did I find the courage I needed to ask him to come with me.