Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87863 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87863 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“Kinda silly. They’re too small for you.”
“Well, they look cool on you,” Ky assured him.
“Thanks,” Oliver replied weakly.
“What’s the matter? Don’t you believe me?”
“I guess.” Oliver stared at his ice cream, twisting the plastic spoon in a circle.
Ky shot a concerned glance my way. I couldn’t telepathically communicate the entire situation, so I bit my bottom lip and made a funny face. And maybe it was warped wishful thinking, but I could have sworn he lingered on my mouth longer than necessary before sucking in a deep breath.
“It can’t be the glasses. What’s the real problem?” Ky asked.
Oliver didn’t reply immediately. When he did his voice was barely audible. “Nothing. Stupid kids and school junk. Sometimes I wish I was homeschooled. My parents are too busy, though. They’d probably hire someone lame, and then I’d go to high school and be a super geek instead of medium geek. I have to get through nine more years of this stuff before college.”
“What stuff? Is someone bullying you?”
“I don’t know. Whatever. I don’t really have any friends. I switched schools to be closer to Dad’s house. I thought it would be better than last year, but it’s not. And now this.” He wagged the frames on his nose. “Glasses are gonna ruin my life. My social calendar’s a doomed wasteland.”
Ky snickered. “You spend a lot of time with Charlie, don’t you?”
Before I could defend myself or agree that I probably wasn’t the best role model for the average kid who wanted to fit in with his peers, Oliver spoke up.
“Charlie’s my best friend. He’s super smart and he doesn’t let anyone mess with him. Not even the principal at my school.” Oliver flashed a bright grin as he wiggled in his chair, tucking his knee underneath him. “You should have seen him last week. He came to pick me up in Dad’s convertible and he was in a sad mood, so he was playing Del really loud and—”
“Adele,” I corrected with a sigh.
“Yeah, so Mr. Connelly asked him to turn it down and Charlie turned off the car and pulled out a feather thing—”
“A boa,” I supplied.
“And he put it around his neck and stood on the seat and asked Mr. Connelly a million questions until he wanted to be Charlie’s best friend.”
Ky swiveled in his chair and chuckled. “What kind of questions, Char?”
“What’s your favorite color? What’s your sign?” I replied as I spooned a bite of ice cream. “The basics.”
“First date questions. Nice touch,” Ky snorted. “Did he ask you out?”
I paused for a moment, then nodded. “Yes. I respectfully declined.”
“Gee, why?”
“Cover your ears, Ol,” I instructed. I waited for him to obey before glowering at Ky and whispering, “This isn’t supposed to be about me, so quit trying to make me squirm. I hate it.”
Ky chuckled softly. “Liar. You fuckin’ love it. And I’m too curious to let it go now. Why’d you turn down the principal?”
“He’s not my type.”
“Can I listen now? Is it safe?” Ollie asked, swiping his forearm across his nose.
“Yeah,” Ky said. “But I have three more questions for Charlie.”
“Thank you for your interest, but I’m not currently taking questions,” I huffed, squeezing his knee.
Ky yelped. He swatted me under the table, then captured my fingers before twisting his pinkie finger around mine. His grip was too tight to be mistaken as an attempt to hold hands, but it was still oddly thrilling. At least my dick thought so.
“Nothing too tough, Char. Question number one…what’s your favorite color?” Ky asked.
“I’m not telling.”
“He likes red,” Oliver blabbed.
Ky smiled at my tattletale brother and turned to me. “What’s your sign?”
“Don’t tell him,” I warned.
Oliver inclined his head and made a zipped lips gesture. “I don’t know what that means anyway.”
“It’s another way of asking when it’s your birthday,” Ky said.
“Oh. My birthday is July tenth.” Oliver pointed at his chest, then at me. “Charlie’s is September twenty-first.”
“Remind me never to give you the password to my bank account,” I groused.
“When’s yours?” Ollie asked, ignoring me.
“March eighteenth. So Charlie’s a Virgo.” Ky let go of my hand and pulled out his cell.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m gathering important data here. Gimme a sec. Oh. Very interesting,” he singsonged, casting a speculative glance my way. “It says here, Virgos are smart, efficient, and dependable.”
“Like a good vacuum,” I huffed.
Ky snickered. “There’s more. It says you’re a hard worker and you never forget anything.”
“Like an elephant,” Oliver chirped.
“Fabulous.”
“It also says you’re stubborn, uptight, and picky. Yep. Sounds about right,” Ky teased. “I’m thinking you turned down the principal based on principle and something specific…something kinda picky. What was it? Oh, and that’s question number three, by the way.”
Oliver the traitor chuckled merrily on his side of the table. But thanks to Ky, he looked a million times less miserable than he had earlier. I figured the least I could do was play along.