Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 124836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 624(@200wpm)___ 499(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 624(@200wpm)___ 499(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Duck wasn’t much of a dancer, but Thandi was coaxing him into it and seeing him loosen up, even just a little, made me smile.
Good God. He is really into her.
Not far from them, Fen stood by the bar, but she wasn’t dancing. She had a drink in her hand and her eyes were fixed on the judge's table—specifically on Chen.
Oh.
In fact, she wasn’t paying attention to anything else, just watching him with a quiet, focused expression.
And the way she looked at Chen, it was like he was the only person in the world.
Hmmm. My cousin may have a chance with her.
That made my heart warm.
I gazed at Chen.
He was still looking at the sky. And all I could think about was that the silly bastard should have fun today. Only God knew what sort of horrors we would face tomorrow.
I returned to looking Fen’s way and waved at her until I caught Fen’s eye.
She looked a little surprised and then touched her chest.
I bobbed my head.
Yes. You.
And then I gestured for her to come over.
As Fen approached, I flagged down a waiter.
He came over. “Yes, Mountain Master.”
“Bring another chair, please. I’m adding a judge.”
The waiter nodded and hurried off to find a chair.
Moni glanced my way. “What are you over there doing, Lei?”
I whispered, “Playing Cupid.”
“With whom?”
“Fen and Chen.”
“That’s an interesting pair.”
“Let’s see.”
“Alright, Lei, but don’t get all of my ladies-in-waiting pregnant.”
I laughed and then paused realizing that. . .the situation could actually fucking happen.
Hu and Lan. Fen and Chen. Duck and Thandi. Oh no.
It freaked me out as I imagined all these babies around the same age that we would have to take care of.
My heart boomed in my ears.
We’re not ready. . .
I began to clench and unclench my fingers.
No. It can’t happen. This would be chaos.
Duck should not be anyone’s father.
Chen well. . .he might have a heart attack before the baby was even born leaving me to have to help raise his son.
And Hu—
“Baby,” Moni studied me and placed her hand on my arm. “You look terrified. Is everything okay?”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have Fen come over here. Maybe, Duck shouldn’t get the dinner reservation either for Thandi.”
“What reservation?”
“It would be too many kids. I can’t be a father just yet and raise Chen’s child because he’s dead. What will I tell his son—”
“Lei.” She squeezed my arm.
“Yes?”
She gave me a sad smile. “You’re high, baby. Very high.”
I considered that for a minute and rubbed my eyes. “No. . .”
“Yes.”
I cleared my mind and focused on my body. And that’s when, I noticed the light buzz—that subtle warmth spreading through my chest and head.
Damn. That sneaked up on me pretty quick.
It was then that Jo leaned forward and chuckled. “Oh yeah. Mountain Master is feeling that shit. Look at his face like he’s on Mars and just discovered water.”
Moni chuckled. “Leave my baby alone.”
The laughter, the music, the chatter of the crowd—became a little sharper, more vibrant. The colors seemed a bit brighter and I could feel the bass from the music thumping through my chest like a second heartbeat.
I turned back to Moni. “Maybe, I am high.”
“You are. Your eyes are popped open.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.”
I looked at Moni and Jo and held out my hands. “Everything feels good, maybe too good, like the world has been dialed up a notch and I am just along for the ride, cruising toward. . .destiny.”
“O-kay.” She chuckled.
“Eh Yo.” Jo hit the table and started laughing. “Bro turns into a philosopher when he gets high.”
Moni smiled. “We’re going to get you some water, baby.”
I gazed up at the sky and my God it was fucking breathtaking—a stunning canvas as the sun set. “Yeah. . .I might need water.”
I leaned back in my chair and now I understood, in that moment, why Chen had been so fascinated by the sky earlier. There was something about it—so peaceful, so vast—that made everything else seem small and far away.
I turned my head to look at Moni and it felt like I was seeing her for the first time. “You’re. . .you’re beautiful, you know that?”
"Thank you, Lei. You’re quite handsome too.”
“I’m going to marry you one day.”
“Uh. . .okay.”
“Big diamond ring.”
Moni laughed.
“Lots of kids.”
She widened her eyes. “Okay. We really need to get you some water.”
Fen reached us just as the waiter returned, placing the chair next to me and making a surprised Chen scoot over.
“What’s going on?” Chen spotted Fen and looked terrified and pleased all at the same time. “Oh.”
I pointed at the now empty chair next to me. “Sit, Fen. We could use another perspective here. You’ll probably judge the food better than us.”
Fen grinned. “Thank you, Mountain Master.”
When she lowered into it, I leaned in closer and whispered, “By the way, Duck accidentally got Chen high.”
“Oh no. That’s why he has been looking up the whole time?”