Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 90827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90827 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
I’d been running that scene in the kitchen over and over again in my head all day, observing it from different angles and asking myself the same question.
“He doesn’t like me,” I replied quietly, shrugging as I met her eyes for a moment. “It’s not even that he’s angry or that he left. Either of those two things would hurt my feelings, but I could forgive him. But he really doesn’t like me.”
“He’s a dick,” she snapped.
“That doesn’t make him a dick,” I replied. “It’s just a fact. He doesn’t like me. You can’t help who you like and who you don’t. It just is.”
“And he couldn’t have figured that out five months ago?” she asked. “Before he practically moved into your house?”
“It hurts,” I mumbled, almost embarrassed at the admission. “But it also kind of helps.”
“How is that?” she asked, jerking back as the water spigot sprayed us a little while I struggled to wrap a water balloon around it.
“When I think about the what ifs, I remind myself that he doesn’t like me,” I replied. “He genuinely doesn’t like me as a person. So there’s nothing I could’ve done differently. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Of course you didn’t do anything wrong,” she said softly, bumping me with her shoulder. “And I like you.”
“I like me, too,” I said simply.
“What’s taking you so long?” my niece Rebel yelled as she came up behind us. “Dad’s team is winning because we’re out of ammunition!”
“God forbid,” I replied, gasping dramatically as I handed her a couple of full balloons. “You can have those, but only if one of them flies straight toward your Uncle Tommy.”
“But Uncle Tommy isn’t playing,” she replied in confusion, trying to hand one of the balloons back.
“He is now,” I said, winking at her.
I grinned as she raised her eyebrows and nodded.
“He’s going to kill you,” Lily said as Rebel ran away. “You won’t escape the water balloon war now.”
“Worth it,” I muttered. I looked over at her and lifted up the bucket of full balloons. “Man the battle stations,” I said seriously.
“Aw, shit,” she whined, jumping to her feet. “We’re going to need some cover.”
A few minutes later, we’d constructed a barricade out of lawn chairs just far enough from the spigot that we could attack anyone trying to reload.
“This was a horrible idea,” Lily screeched as a water balloon exploded against her chest. “Do you know how long it took me to iron my hair?”
“Should’ve never cut it,” I shot back, leaning around the edge of the chairs so I could lob a balloon at my oldest brother Will. “Then you could’ve braided it.”
“I thought you liked my hair?” she shot back, handing me another balloon.
“I do like it,” I replied, throwing the balloon at the ground in front of the little person running toward our encampment. It exploded when it made contact and Lily’s stepson Gray squealed happily. “You’re the one bitching about how long it takes to style it.”
“I wasn’t bitching,” she bitched. “Ceasefire!”
I leaned back on my heels as Gray slid behind the barricade.
“Are you coming to help us?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.
“No,” he replied, a sly grin pulling at his lips. Before I could stop him, he threw balloons at both Lily and I. We were in such close quarters that the balloons bounced right off us and landed on the ground, but Lily still screeched indignantly.
“You little sneak!” she yelled, chasing him as he ran away. “No ice cream for a month!”
Gray giggled as he sprinted across the yard toward his dad. Leo was laughing his ass off and I was pretty sure I knew exactly who’d given Gray those balloons.
“You’re about to be overrun,” a voice yelled from behind me. I jerked my head back toward the spigot and my eyes widened in horror as I realized that Gray had been all the distraction my brother Tommy had needed to keep me occupied while he connected the hose.
“Oh, shit,” I yelped, scrambling out of my spot. I grabbed my rescuer’s hand and we sprinted across the yard as the cold water sprayed against our backs. By the time we’d reached my parents, I was laughing and gasping and I could feel water running down the backs of my thighs.
“When did you get here?” I asked Kara as I let go of her hand.
“Right before Tommy won the war,” she replied, wrinkling her nose.
“Only the battle, toots,” I said with a laugh, throwing my arm over her shoulder. “I’ll get him later.”
“Hi, Kara!” Rebel yelled excitedly, running toward us. “It’s my birthday!”
“I know,” Kara replied, grinning as Rebel pulled her into an exuberant hug. “That’s why we’re here.”
“You came for my birthday?” Rebel asked, pulling back to look into Kara’s eyes. “You’re the best!”
“I brought you a present, too,” Kara said conspiratorially as Rebel hugged her again.