Total pages in book: 191
Estimated words: 182070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Boogie burst out laughing, slapping a hand over his face. “What is wrong with you? Wait until you get in your car to do it.”
“I’m trying,” I groaned. “But it hurts.”
I really was trying. I’d overdone it eating both sausages and not just one.
My cousin was still laughing and still had a hand over his face as he said, “Try harder.”
“You used to fart on me and around me all the time, you hypocrite. It’s a totally natural bodily function. There’d be something wrong with me if I didn’t need to pass gas, Boog. It’s just as natural as a burp. As a period. But it comes out of your butt instead.”
My prude cousin closed his eyes, shook his head like he always did, and changed the subject. I loved him. He really was the best. He never wanted to talk about periods or bodily functions or fluid—unlike my sister who would give me an in-depth report on her period and any unusual bowel movements she might have—but I knew if I needed a tampon, he’d go and buy me ten boxes for every flow. He just wouldn’t make eye contact with me afterward. “Changing the subject. Thank you for going to find him. He said someone had his phone and he’d forgotten all about it.”
For one second, I thought about the nice, pretty blonde who had known where his bedroom was. Then I stopped thinking about it. Good for him. At least she’d been nice and not like the last girlfriend I’d had the unfortunate luck to meet. Because fuck that girl still, even ten years later.
“Yeah, there were a bunch of people over at his house when I showed up,” I said. “I let myself in and had to walk around to find him. Awkward.”
He snorted. “Did you surprise the hell out of him?”
I shrugged against his side just as the doors opened and an older woman stepped inside the elevator too. “Yeah, he didn’t recognize me. I told him my name, but it didn’t click until I used yours.”
That had Boogie glancing at me. It hadn’t been the first time someone hadn’t recognized me. We’d had a good laugh about it before, especially when our aunt had gasped and just about lost her shit years ago. It had been after I’d been in North Carolina for a couple years.
Then she’d said some other backhanded compliment and ruined it, but oh well.
“Anyway, I’m glad I got to see him.” I was glad. It was one thing to see him on TV, but it was totally different in flesh and blood. Better. He had seemed happy and fine, despite his thing with the Thunderbirds, before I’d given him the bad news. What more could you ask for?
“I told you he’d be happy to see you.”
He had. Years ago. But I still lifted my shoulder. “Well, you know, it’s been forever.” I fought the urge to clear my throat.
He knew part of what happened. A very, very small part. He’d known I had a crush on him that had sprouted out of nowhere—even though that wasn’t really true—and that I’d struggled with it. I’d pleaded with him not to say anything and to just let me get over it on my own. But that was it.
It wasn’t like I had ever doubted that my cousin loved me the most, but he’d proved it to me that day and every day after when he’d respected my wishes.
Boogie made a face I could have probably seen from down the hall. “You know we’ve both had to work on keeping a friendship after all this time, and it hasn’t been easy, especially not when I was in London for a while. I’m busy. He’s busy—”
“I know,” I cut him off, not needing—or wanting—him to make excuses. Not wanting to hear them, honestly. What was the point? “It’s all right.”
I understood. I really did. I couldn’t imagine how many people he’d met. How many people wanted something from him.
And I was just… his best friend’s cousin. The girl known as Peewee back in the day. The kid who had “saved his life” like he’d reminded me about a thousand times over the years, even though I couldn’t remember doing it. And I was his fan because I didn’t know how not to be. I was a lifelong fangirl, even though he’d forgotten about me.
Because I understood.
I knew what we’d had as kids had been real. He had loved me like a little sister, and I had loved him in more ways than one. I would always have that.
And I hoped he felt the same way.
Selfishly, I knew it helped that I hadn’t spent the last ten years pining away.
I didn’t need to glance over to know my cousin was sliding me another look.
I scrunched up my nose back at him, and fortunately, that seemed like the right thing to do because he dropped it. At least for now. Maybe always. You never knew with Boogie. He’d let me get away with not contacting Zac for years after I’d insisted.