Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 25941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
“If I want to see properly.” I actually love my glasses, and these are new. I haven't had a new pair of glasses in years. I don’t need them all the time, but oddly they give me this level of protection. I know it’s not real, but I sense it, and when I take them off I feel bare.
“You’ve got contacts, though, right?”
“I have some.”
“You should wear them.” He puts his car into drive and takes off. I’m not sure how to respond to this. The contacts irritate my eyes, and it’s creepy putting them in. I think it’s something I’d have to get used to. “I’m having a party tomorrow. You can come if you want.”
“Okay.” Does he want me to come? It doesn’t sound like an invitation but more of an offhanded comment.
“I’m hosting so I might be busy most of the night, but I want to end it with you.” He winks at me as he puts his hand on my thigh. I tense, but he doesn’t seem to notice. Thankfully his phone rings, so he removes it to answer. “Yo,” he says loudly. “Nothing just hanging.” He’s quiet for a moment. “Nah, I’m staying in tonight. All right, later.” He ends the call and I notice he doesn’t mention me.
“Staying in?” I ask. “I thought we were seeing a movie.”
“We are. At my place.”
“At your place?” I ask, but he’s already turning the music back up.
It's cool, Nadia, it’s only hanging out. This is what normal people do. I glance over at Kyle and my eyes go to his mouth. I don’t feel any desire swirling inside of me to know what it would be like to kiss him. Maybe I read too many romance novels. What else could it possibly be? Every girl in Harvest High swoons over Kyle. What is wrong with me? Could my vagina be broken? That’s not likely because sometimes I get turned on when I read.
I don’t know anything about dating, but what I do know is I’m not so sure I want to waste my first kiss on Kyle. Then again, what if this is my only chance?
Chapter Two
WALSH
Fuck, it’s been a long day. After a delayed flight that caused a missed connection and having to catch a late flight, I’m kicking myself for wanting to leave early. Sure, I could have stayed in Cabo until I was scheduled to come home, but I’d had enough sun and sand. I’d also had about enough of my best friend and his vacation hookup banging their headboard against my wall all night. He swore to me it was going to be just the two of us scuba diving and relaxing all week, but the moment I saw the instructor, I knew exactly what was going to happen.
I wasn’t supposed to come home until Sunday night, but when I saw there was an early flight this morning, I jumped on it. Too bad there were three connections, and everything that could have gone wrong did. Thankfully I have my carry-on luggage because who knows where it would have ended up otherwise. The cab pulls up outside my house, and I see all the lights are on. When I get out I check my phone again and see that Kyle hasn’t responded to a single one of my messages.
This is not what I envisioned when my sister sent my nephew to stay with me for the year. When his school kicked him out, my sister said she had nowhere else to turn. Kyle’s dad is cruising the Greek coast with his newest wife, and my sister works as an actress in LA. What choice did I have? She works crazy hours, and it's his senior year. I thought I could bring him up here and give him a fresh start and a chance to go to college in the fall. It’s been nine months, and I’ve yet to see him do anything but make excuses and break the rules. I blame my sister and her frantic lifestyle and also his dad, who keeps telling him to drop out and fly to Greece to be with him.
When I get to the front door, I can hear the music blaring even from here. I flex my fingers around the handle and close my eyes. “Deep breath, Walsh.”
I should have known this was going to happen. He told me over and over that I could trust him while I was gone, but I knew better.
Walking into the house, I go to the kitchen, and a quick glance reveals an enormous mess. “Great,” I mumble as I drop my bag in the living room and go in search of Kyle.
His room is empty, but there’s a movie playing on the television. I decide to check outside next, but the pool is empty. After I spot some empty beer cans by the pool house, I get angry.