Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 60950 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60950 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
“None of that shit matters now. Guess I just wasn’t as quick as you thought ‘cause I obviously didn’t get out of the way fast enough,” I said, whistling while I lit a cigarette.
Bear and King exchanged a knowing look. “What?” I asked, smoke coming out in puffs as I spoke.
King shook his head. Bear smiled. “Nothing, Preppy,” King said, patting me on the back and giving me a short squeeze on my shoulder. I passed King the joint. “Not a damn thing.”
“Good,” I said, looking out over the water on the lights of the town. The town I loved. The town where I lived with my family. My girl. My son. “Now can we get fucking high or what?”
“You mean higher?” Bear asked. “I’ll be awake until next Christmas after tonight.”
Bear and King changed the subject and soon we were all laughing about some dumb shit we did as teenagers.
Thank fucking God.
They didn’t need to know what really happened that night. I’d never admit it anyway. If the roles had been reversed I knew they would do the same thing for me.
Nobody needed to know I took that bullet for King.
That’s just what family does. They protect one another.
At least, that’s what THIS family does.
“Anyone want to make a gator run?” I suggested.
“No,” King groaned.
“Fuck you,” Bear said.
But when their eyes met mine they told me a different answer. Within seconds we were all racing toward the water, splashing through gator-infested waters like the idiots we were.
When we were safe on shore, breathing heavily, I looked over to my friends and we all broke out in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Bear was still going when King leaned behind him and tugged on my arm to get my attention. “Thanks, Prep.”
I didn’t know if he meant for taking the bullet for him or for the excellent blow I provided for the evening, but either way I nodded and we went back to the debauchery at hand.
Because that’s what family does.
We live for one another.
We die for one another.
“Wanna go again?” Bear asked. The three of us didn’t hesitate, racing back into the water, pushing each other over in the process.
We act like complete fucking idiots with one another.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Dre
“It’s great to see you again, Andrea,” East said, enthusiastically shaking my hand.
“You can just call me Dre. The only person who calls me Andrea is my dad,” I replied.
“I was so glad to hear from you last week. Hopefully we can find you exactly what you’re looking for.” He smiled warmly, revealing two bright white perfect rows of what I would bet were veneers.
“I’m ready to find out,” I responded nervously.
East had come by the house earlier in the week and dropped a list of available homes in the area that were in need of renovation. Of the fifteen or so on the list I’d only asked to see one. The second I saw the picture and read the description something about it spoke to me.
Which was why I found myself standing in the driveway of that house with East, the realtor who’d also assisted with the sale of Mirna’s house, about to go inside and check out the possible first project of for my new venture. Preppy had dubbed it Dre’s Digs, a complete home renovation and design service focusing on reusing and recycling furniture and fixtures.
“Will your husband be joining us?” East asked as I surveyed the yard and street.
“I don’t think so,” I smiled. “Last night his friends threw him a bachelor party so chances are they’re either sleeping or still up to no good.” I almost laughed out loud as I recalled Preppy’s middle of the night phone call to slur ‘I love you’ into the phone while Bear, King, and Kevin threw stuff at him in the background, eventually taking his phone away.
“His bachelor party? I thought you two were already married. I’m sorry, I’ve been calling him your husband this entire time,” East said, sincerely as if the error were his.
“No. We are married. It’s a long story,” I answered. “A really long story.”
“Ah, well we all have a few of those, don’t we,” East said.
“Understatement of the year. So, tell me, what are the yearly taxes?” I asked.
East rattled off some numbers from the print out in his hand. I nodded. It added up with what other similarly valued homes in the area were paying.
“Let’s go on inside,” East said. I followed him to the front door. “As you already know, the house is two stories and about eighteen hundred square feet of living space,” he said, rattling off facts from the listing as I followed him up the cracked driveway. “It’s very cozy on the inside. It has a lot of potential though, just needs some love.”
“So what you’re saying is that it’s small, shitty, and needs to be overhauled?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow at East.