Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 65346 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65346 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
“It’s all right, Dad. She may have tried to stop us, but true love can’t get cock-blocked forever, especially not by a woman with a haircut that belongs in one of those black-and-white hairdressers books from the nineties.”
My dad laughed loud at that one.
“You two are together?” he asked.
“We are,” I said, my smile growing wider. “I guess I have her to thank for breaking us apart that first time, but also for pushing us back together this second time. If she never emptied my bank account, I may have stayed in my little dazed-out existence up in New York. Weird to say, but, well, I guess I’m grateful that Sylvia is such a raging cu—”
“No, no! The suitcases with my clothes go before the boxes with my shoes. Rodrigo, listen to me!” Sylvia’s voice drifted to nothingness as she hounded the movers out into the front lawn.
My dad and I looked to each other and couldn’t help but laugh again. It felt like being a kid again, my dad finding me in his office after falling asleep with a book on my chest. Sometimes he’d carry me off to bed when I was too grumpy and sleep-addled to move myself, always tucking me in exactly the way I liked. My mom would come in shortly after and give me a kiss on the forehead, the last but very vital ingredient to a perfect night’s sleep.
I stayed in my dad’s office for a couple more hours, sinking into the leather chair and slipping back into the old days.
25
Benjamin Gold
Kaitlyn and I sat in the kitchen after cleaning up from dinner. A stack of clean dishes sat on a checkered towel, ready to be put away. At my feet, Penelope sat chewing on a bone with Tammy curled up under a sheet of her golden fur. I put a foot on Penelope’s back and rubbed, looking to my sister. She pushed a steaming hot cup of coffee my way which I gratefully thanked her for. It had been a hell of a day, and some extra-strong coffee was exactly what I needed.
“Any word from Rex?”
“Nothing,” I said, taking a long sip. The warmth coated my throat, spreading through me and waking me up with a jolt.
“I’m sure he’s okay.” Kaitlyn’s hopeful smile kept my mood lifted, even though anxiety still coiled inside me like a viper ready to strike, hungry to sink its fangs in a deadly bite.
I took another sip of coffee before saying, “I hope so. Not only did that fucking video leak, but I just don’t know how his dad would take the news. I’ve tried calling him, but it goes to voicemail.”
Kaitlyn curled a strand of brown hair around her finger. “I’m sure he just got tired of all the noise and turned off his phone. I don’t blame him.”
“Neither do I. I’m just worried.”
“I know, Benj, I know.” She reached across the table and put her hand on mine. My sister had been one of the first people to find out that Rex and I were together, and she had taken the news with as much grace and poise as someone who already knew the sky was blue and the grass green. She clearly had seen it coming from miles away, which made me wonder why Rex and I were the only ones who got the message late?
“How ’bout you, Kate? What’s stressing you out today?”
My sister chuckled and sat back in the chair, the wood creaking. She shrugged and looked out the window. “My plate is nothing compared to yours. I’m just stressed about finding an apartment right now.”
My sister was a traveling nurse and usually bounced from spot to spot. It meant I had gone some months without seeing her, so it was nice to have her home for a week or two while she finalized her next steps.
“I’m sure you’ll find one,” I said, reassuring her. “You’re going to LA, not the Amazon.”
She laughed at that, loud enough to spook Penelope. “That is true. Although I wouldn’t mind having a job in the Amazon. I feel like I’d come back with so many stories.”
“Yeah, and so many leeches, too.”
“I’m not going to get in the water, Benj.”
I cocked my head. “Knowing you, that’s the first thing you’d do.”
She laughed again, nodding. My sister had always been adventurous, more so than me or Maverick. Dusty definitely wasn’t one for big adventures, so it usually fell on me, Kate, and Mav to venture off and explore the edges of whatever playground or forest we were in, reporting back to Dusty with whatever we stumbled on.
The door opened then. I sat up, expecting to see one of my moms walking in, or a volunteer coming to check out. It was already late in the day, and now was usually the time they left, although one or two still stuck around.