Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
“This is going to be delicious,” my friend smiles. “Seriously, these guys are going to worship us after they eat our food.”
I smile at her.
“Well, I think Travis worships you already,” I manage in a droll tone. Halsey merely giggles again, not even embarrassed.
“Oh, were we loud last night?”
I roll my eyes.
“Girl, you definitely woke the neighbors. It wasn’t just me and Travis who could hear. I think the upstairs and downstairs neighbors will definitely be filing noise complaints today.”
Halsey just giggles again while pressing delicate thumbprints into the edge of the pie crust.
“It wasn’t that bad, was it? But yes, Travis is soooo virile and I love when he takes me from behind. He gets in incredibly deep that way, and I swear, I forget my own name when I’m on my hands and knees. But not hands, actually. He had me gripping the bedpost last night so that he could really give it to me hard.”
I merely giggle and pause in my work. Fortunately, Travis and Curt decided to play a round of golf before our late-afternoon Thanksgiving feast, so they’re not present to overhear our titillating girl talk. But I stare at my friend.
“Yes, but isn’t it weird for your stepdad to overhear? Like embarrassing?”
Halsey merely shrugs while continuing to work on the sweet potato pie.
“Not really. I mean, I’m nineteen now, so it’s not like I’m some underage jailbait. Not only that, but Curt and I have always been really open with one another. You know that he used to bring women home when I was in high school, and trust me, he had those women moaning up a storm during the night. I’d even have breakfast with them the morning after sometimes, so it got to be normal, if you can believe it.”
I stare at her.
“Normal? Are you serious?”
My pretty blonde friend merely shrugs.
“Anything can become normal if you do it enough times. By the time I left for college, it was plenty normal. I mean, don’t get me wrong. These women would slink out of his bedroom clad in nothing but a silky robe in the mornings, and then they’d see me at the breakfast bar and shriek. But I’d introduce myself, and offer them a mug of hot coffee. That always helped break the ice. Pretty soon, some of the women got so relaxed that after breakfast, they’d go back into Curt’s bedroom again and the two of them would start another round of bed-shaking sex. They didn’t care that I was in the apartment anymore.”
I gasp, my heart racing.
“Does he do that a lot?”
“Do what?” Halsey asks, a twinkle in her eye. “Bring women home?”
“Yes!” I squeal. “Is your stepdad catnip for the ladies?”
Halsey nods, but then pauses for a moment.
“I mean, he was back when I was in high school. I think sleeping with a lot of women casually helped him over the divorce. Not that he and Lynn were getting along by the end,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “But yeah, my stepdad used to be a male whore because he’s good looking, so he can, you know? Ladies love that gun and badge, not to mention the fact that he works out like a fiend. But I don’t think he does it as much anymore.”
I try to look normal, even as my pulse races. This is valuable dirt on Curt, and I’m so curious that I feel like my heart’s going to beat right out of my chest.
“What makes you say that?” I ask in what I hope is a casual tone. “Why would he change?”
Halsey shrugs.
“I don’t know. Maybe he just got sick of it. Too much of a good thing can wear a man down, I suppose. But yeah, I don’t think he’s hooking up right and left anymore. Maybe all those bimbos got tiring after a while, and he’s taking a break.” But then, Halsey shoots me a playful look. “Actually, I think you should go for it, girl.”
I pause and stare at her.
“Go for what?” is my slow reply.
“You know, go for Curt,” she says in a light tone, like nothing’s the matter. “You’re exactly his type, Annie, and I think he could use a good woman.”
That makes my jaw drop because is my friend actually encouraging me to hit on her stepdad? This Thanksgiving is just getting more and more bizarre.
“You must be joking,” I say in a low voice. “Why would Curt be interested in a woman like me?”
Halsey merely shrugs while shooting me another sly smile.
“For a lot of reasons. You’re young, beautiful, and exactly his type. My stepdad likes them curvy, Annie, and you’ve got plenty of junk in the trunk. Besides, I think he could use a girl with a good head on her shoulders. Some of the ladies he brought home in the past had rocks for brains,” she says with distaste. “Seriously, I couldn’t even have a conversation with them. They were so distracted all the time, and probably couldn’t even spell their own names.”