Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
“Well, boys, should we give him the good news?” Thatch questions around a bite of his omelet. “Or should we wait until after we eat?”
“Nah,” Cap refutes, even flashing a wink my direction. “No need for suspense and drama. I think we should tell him now.”
“All right, Mackie,” Thatch announces as he pulls a check out of his jacket pocket and slides it to me. “You officially have four investors for your music foundation.”
Kline, Wes, and Cap follow suit, all sliding over a check of their own. And from what I can tell, between the four of them, I have over a million dollars in investment money for Music in Motion.
I should be over the fucking moon. I should be jumping out of my seat and shouting my excitement from the rooftop of this restaurant. But it feels like a Herculean effort to even give them a smile when I say, “Thanks, guys. This means a lot.”
For fuck’s sake, dude, pull your head out of your ass and stop thinking about Katy!
“We’re happy to be a part of this, man,” Kline says.
“Congrats, Mack-a-lack!” Thatch exclaims and slaps a hand to my back. “You can finally fulfill your music foundation dreams.”
“Wow,” I say, clearing my throat to try to cut some of the roughness in it. “This means a lot. I really appreciate your support.”
“Uh…” Thatch snorts and turns in his seat to look at me. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Mackadamion nut, but I’d hate to see what you’re like during the big O. We dudes just handed you a milly, and you look like my cat took a shit in your pocket.”
“You have a cat?” Cap asks, to which Kline shakes his head and puts a finger to his mouth.
Shit.
“I am. Really.” I try to force a little oomph in my voice, but I mostly just sound like a monotone puppet. “Very excited. Very thankful. I…well, I—”
Good grief, any second, they’re going to be taking their checks back, bro.
“Hold on…” Cap pauses, and I can feel his scrutinizing gaze on me. “Holy shit, guys. He’s got that look.”
“What look?” Wes asks.
“The look,” Cap repeats. “The look we’ve all had before. The look that can only involve one thing.”
“Oh shit!” Thatch bellows. “He does have the look. I can’t believe I missed it.”
“I don’t have a look,” I insist, shaking my head pathetically. “There’s no look.”
“Yeah, you do, Mackie,” Thatch counters. “You have the look of a man who is so far deep in love with a woman, he can’t tell the difference between his mouth and his asshole.”
“That’s an incredibly specific look,” I retort, even though a big part of me is shocked at how close to the truth they’ve gotten.
“I bet it’s that teacher he went on spring break with,” Cap suggests, and I kind of want to pick up one of the sausages on my plate and throw it at his big fucking head.
“Oh, for sure, but I think it’s more than that,” Kline adds. “I think something has happened, and he doesn’t quite know how to solve it.”
Kline’s words draw everyone’s attention back to my face.
“You’re right, you wise motherfluffer,” Thatch says, and immediately, he pats a big hand to my back again. “C’mon, Mack, you’re in the circle of trust, bro. You can tell us anything, and we won’t judge.”
“Normally, I don’t condone Thatch’s bullshit, but he’s right, Mack,” Wes concurs. “You gotta tell us what’s up. Group support is the only way to fix whatever problem you’ve created. Trust me.”
I look around the table, noting that everyone’s attention is still on me. But more than that, these four men don’t look like they want to razz me or give me any crap. They mostly just look genuine in their offer to give me some advice.
And boy do you need some fucking advice right now.
“I think I might be in love with Katy, and I feel like I’ve managed to fuck it up somehow.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. It’s like these bastards have hypnotized me or some shit.
I wait for their outlandish reaction, preparing myself for them to shout things like “I told you so” and “If you’d have listened to us…” But it never comes.
“I know you won’t believe me right now, but I’m telling you, dude. This always happens.”
Kline and Wes nod in agreement with Thatch, their faces serious.
“Have no fear,” Cap states. “We got your back, bro.”
“First things first,” Thatch announces and puts two elbows to the table. “You’re going to have to lay out all the facts. All the details on your current situation and how it came to be. We’re certified deep divers, but even we can’t make it back up from depth without the proper equipment.”
Cap, Wes, and Kline all nod in agreement.