Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 48601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 243(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
I groan. “Dad, drop it.”
“Sorry, nope,” he growls. “I’ll sit here while you drink my booze like some sort of cliched sad bastard, but I’m not going to let you wallow. Talk to her, son.”
“Dad, you do realize who we’re talking about.”
He nods.
“And?”
He shrugs “And what?”
“And she’s going to be my stepsister, dad.”
He rolls his eyes. “Jamison, you’re not seven. You’re a man. You’re an adult, and so is she, meaning you can both make adult decisions without worrying about what people think or say. You think I have anything to say about you and Ramona? You’d be lucky to have a girl like that. And she’d be lucky to have a guy like you.”
“Yeah?” I mutter. “And Celia?”
“Celia would agree with me!”
I frown, shaking my head. “We’re too different.”
“I disagree.”
I look away as I grab the bottle and take another drink.
“Alright, I lied,” dad says quietly, reaching over and plucking the bottle away from me as I frown.
“You’re allowed to be as sad as you want, but I’m not going to watch you drink yourself sick.”
He stands, nodding slowly as he rakes his fingers over his chin.
“Talk to her, son. Look, a spark is a spark, and I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t always happen. If you felt it, you gotta chase it, and you don’t fucking stop chasing it until you know. Alright?”
He smiles as I look up at him.
“I love you, son. But stop being a stubborn asshole and talk to her.”
“And if she doesn’t want to talk to me, huh?” I growl.
He shrugs. “You think Celia wanted to talk to me the first time I tried?” he winks. “Sometimes, you should be a stubborn asshole.”
He steps around the table and puts a hand on my shoulder.
“I love you, Jamison.”
“Love you too, dad,” I mumble, watching as he walks out.
The booze is coursing through me hard as I stand on unsteady feet, stomping over to the liquor cart again and grabbing a different bottle. I tuck it under my arm as I blindly storm from the office and make my way back upstairs to my room. I kick the door in and stumble in, taking a big pull from the bottle before I turn and flop down on my back on the bed.
I groan, the room spinning a little as my heart twists. I’m aware of time slipping away, but it’s not until it grows darker outside that I hear the gentle knocking on the door. I bolt upright, my heart racing, my eyes struggling to focus with all the liquor coursing through my veins
“Ramona?”
The knob turns and the door opens, and suddenly, there she is, moving towards me.
“Fuck, baby,” I groan, my head spinning. “Fuck, Ramona, I’m so glad you’re here.”
“I’m here, baby. I’m here.”
I frown. A voice inside my head is yelling about something, but the roar of the alcohol is drowning it out as I struggle to focus. My hands reach out and take hers.
When did she start wearing rings?
“Ramona—”
“I’m here, baby,” she coos again. Her lips brush my cheek, and my eyes close for a minute as she steps away. Her fingers find the hem of my shirt, tugging, and I grunt as I tear it off and throw it away. I blink through the blur and the spin of the room as she steps back, peeling her own shirt off and dropping it next to us.
“You want me, baby?” She purrs seductively, my brain barely even registering her words with how fucked up I am.
“Yes,” I hiss.
“Then take me. I’m aaaaallll yours.”
And suddenly, just like that, I freeze. I blink, forcing myself to focus as I look up at her. And slowly, as the hazy mist and light halos clear, I start to focus.
Oh fuck.
Ramona is not standing in front of me in her bra.
…Melissa Cruz is.
“What the fuck!?” I hiss, jumping from the bed and pushing her away from me before I groan as the room spins widely.
“Shit,” I grunt as gravity comes up to grab me, yanking me down across the bed.
Melissa giggles.
“Oh please, like you don’t want me?”
“I don’t,” I hiss. “Get the fuck out—”
There’s a knock at the door, and I my head snaps up.
“I’ll get it,” Melissa purrs, winking at me as she twirls and pads for the door.
“No,” I growl. “Get the fuck away from—”
The door swings wide, and suddenly, my heart just breaks. Because standing there with a look of horror on her face as she takes in the sight of me shirtless on the bed and Melissa standing there in a bra, is Ramona.
“Ramona,” I mumble, struggling to get to my feet but failing as I collapse onto the bed again.
“Oh hey, sweetie!” Melissa chirps brightly, leaning against the door frame. “So, we’re a little busy right now, kay?”
“Ramona—”
But her face goes white, her eyes going wide as they slide past Melissa to focus on me.