Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
“Fuck yes.”
“Okay,” she replied, laughing.
“Get back in here and help,” Brody ordered as we reached them. “This ain’t even my house.”
“We’re almost done,” I said consolingly, patting him on the back.
“You can help me with the trim,” Olive told Nova as she sat down in the doorway.
“Oh, I’m not helping,” Nova replied cheerfully. “But I’ll watch you guys.”
“If you didn’t just get off work…” Brody muttered.
“Why the heck did you change then?” Olive asked, going back to her work.
“Because you guys are messy.”
We argued pretty much the entire time but eventually I had a nicely painted laundry room that was all ready for the washer and dryer I’d found used online. After me and Micky had replaced the sheetrock that had been torn out—the house had been repossessed before I bought it and the former owners hadn’t been happy—I’d had to make sure that the wiring and plumbing was all up to code before we’d been able to finish. It had been a pain in the ass and I was glad that it was finally finished. If I never again had to load up my rank ass laundry and take it somewhere else to wash I’d die a happy man.
“Rumi,” Nova yelled from the bathroom as we were cleaning out the brushes and rollers in the kitchen. “I thought you were caulking the bathrooms today!”
“Cocking.” Olive snickered.
“Are you twelve?” Brody asked dryly.
“If you already replaced it,” Nova said, coming into the kitchen. “I’ve got bad news.”
“I waited until you could help me,” I replied, my hands still in the sink.
“You couldn’t do it on your own?”
“I thought you’d like making sure it was smooth.” I shrugged like it was no big deal, but it kind of was. Nova had helped with so many things since I’d bought the house, cleaning it out so I could move in, helping me take loads of trash to the dump, shopping for lumber for the deck, scraping out whatever had been glued to the bottom of the oven, replacing the toilet—I’d saved the caulking because I knew she’d actually enjoy doing it.
Now that I thought about it, it was kind of stupid, but the work was precise if you did it right, and that was the kind of shit Nova was into. Making sure the lines were clean and there weren’t any bumps or bubbles was the kind of thing she got off on.
“You wanna do it tonight?” she asked, coming up beside me, her hip bumping mine.
I glanced at her but before I could say anything, Olive was talking.
“I’m not helping with that,” she announced. “I’ve been here for hours and my arms are sore from painting the ceiling. I’m out.”
“I just got here,” Nova protested.
“Sorry, babe,” Olive replied unapologetically. “It’s not my fault you’re always working.”
“Low blow,” Brody joked.
“I wasn’t being mean,” Olive said with a laugh. “But I still think she should quit her jobs and come work with me.”
“Actually,” Nova said, leaning against the counter beside me. “I’m waiting on acceptance letters to a couple different schools, so I might be working only one job pretty soon.”
“Yeah?” I asked, looking down at her. She smiled proudly. “That’s awesome.”
“U of O?” Brody asked.
“No way.” Nova laughed. “A couple of trade schools. I’m going to be an aesthetician.”
“A what, now?” Brody sputtered.
“She’s gonna do shit to people’s faces,” I clarified.
“That’s what you got from every time I explained it?” Nova asked me accusingly. “Seriously?”
“Like, wash them and stuff, right?” I asked tentatively. I was wondering if I’d somehow gotten it wrong.
“Facials?” Olive asked with a cackle. “Washing people’s faces?”
“I don’t fuckin’ know,” I shot back defensively.
“You gonna wax people and shit?” Brody asked, reaching up to touch his beard.
“Why, you need your balls waxed, Brody?” Olive was still laughing.
“No, but your pits are a fuckin’ nightmare,” he countered. “I was hopin’ Nova could help you with that shit.”
“I shave my armpits!” Olive yelled.
“Once a year?”
Olive raised her arm and started chasing Brody around the kitchen ordering him to look at her armpit. Meanwhile, Nova looked up at me and grinned.
“I should know pretty soon if I got in.”
“You got in,” I assured her. “They’d be idiots if you didn’t. You coulda got into any school you wanted.”
“Maybe right after high school,” she said quietly.
“At any point,” I argued. “You’re smart as fuck and you interview really well.”
“Okay, I’m really leaving now,” Olive said breathlessly as she came up behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Love you and I’ll see you later.”
“Love you, too,” I replied.
“I’m leavin’ too,” Brody called from across the room. “I’ll get ahold of ya tomorrow so we can go get those machines.”
“Thanks dude,” I called back over my shoulder.
They left and then it was just me and Nova and the mess in my kitchen sink.
“I should just throw these away,” I muttered as I rinsed the roller for the forty-fifth time and paint still poured out.