Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 81584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81584 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 408(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
“Lawn ornament,” Lou corrected, sending us into fits of giggles again.
He looked around at us in confusion, still smiling.
I gasped, trying to calm my breathing. “Einstein forgot to buy a propane tank. Can you take her to get one?”
“I can do it,” Lou argued defensively.
“What size do you need?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.
“I’ll just check the instructions,” she countered, slapping them off the counter.
“I’m on the bike,” Brody said. “We’ll have to take one of yours.”
“Mine,” Lou said with a sigh, dropping the instructions back down. “Let me grab my shoes.”
“I’m going to shower,” I announced, picking my bag off the floor where I’d dropped it.
The laughing fit was like a palate cleanser. Not only had it erased any lingering tension between Myla and I, but it had successfully wiped Gray’s grin out of my mind for a few minutes. I was grateful for that.
I got into the shower in an attempt to wash away the rest of the day. It didn’t work, but it did ease the tension in my neck so that it didn’t feel like it was going to snap every time I turned my head. The other things, I’d just have to move past or work through.
As we sat around making fun of Lou’s lawn ornament that night I decided it was time to start searching for a new job. That was one thing that I could do to make my life seem like less of a shit show. My dad was my dad, there wasn’t anything I could do about him except remember that he never followed through and set my expectations accordingly.
The problem with Gray was trickier. I didn’t see him much as it was, so avoiding him would be easy as long as I didn’t call him because I was having some sort of personal crisis. I just needed to figure out a way to stop thinking about him and making our non-relationship more than it was in my head. We’d hooked up once, and he’d been a good friend when I needed one. Sure, he was affectionate—but maybe he was like that with everyone, and I just hadn’t noticed. Fantasizing about some grand love affair would just fuck with my head, and honestly, I didn’t need that on top of everything else.
“You’re quiet,” Brody said, dropping down beside me on the daybed. “You good?”
“Glad it’s the weekend,” I replied, stretching out to rest my feet on his lap. “I’m going to sleep until noon tomorrow.”
“Bullshit. You never sleep in.”
“I am tomorrow.”
“Uh-huh.”
“What’s up with you?” I asked, poking him in the belly with my toes. “Anything new?”
“Nothin’,” he replied, shoving at my foot. “Work and home, rinse and repeat.”
“You need a girlfriend.”
“Yeah, like a hole in the head.”
“You never bring anyone around.”
“What, so you bitches could scare her off?”
“We would not,” I argued, poking him in the belly again. “We’re nice.”
“Lou’s nice,” he corrected. “Myla could go either way, dependin’ on how happy she is with Cian that day. You?” He shook his head.
“If she’s good to you, I’d be nice!”
“If I find someone worth puttin’ through the ringer, I’ll bring her around.”
I dropped my head back against the pillows. “Great, so we’ll never meet anyone.”
Brody laughed and bent one of my toes, making it twinge so bad that I shot up.
“Ow, quit!”
“Such a baby,” he teased, dropping my foot. “Keep your toes to yourself then.”
I curled my feet back protectively.
“How’s shit goin’ with Scott?” he asked, too nonchalantly to be believable.
“Scott is Scott,” I replied, wrapping one arm around my knees as I reached for the joint I’d left on the table. I didn’t smoke all the time, but I’d found myself at the dispensary more often than usual over the past couple of months. “I’m dealing with it.”
“You want me to deal with it?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Sometimes it takes assholes like that more than words to make them back off,” he warned.
“Scott’s a puke, but I don’t need you to beat him up.”
“Who said I’d beat him up?”
I shot him a look of disbelief as I lit the joint. After taking a drag, I held it out to him.
“You know you would,” I answered, letting the smoke roll out of my nose as I side-eyed him. “But don’t. I’m handling it.”
“Up to you,” he said with a shrug, handing the joint back.
I went to bed that night full of half-burned steak courtesy of Lou, who hadn’t quite figured out how to grill them, and a fuzzy head courtesy of the excellent joint I’d shared with Brody. It was a good night. I hadn’t realized how badly I’d needed a chill night at home with my best friends, just joking and laughing and being weirdos.
I knew with absolute certainty that if they’d known all the shit swirling in my head, we wouldn’t have had that night. Their concern would’ve been overwhelming. No one would’ve been thinking about the way Lou had looked at me when I’d informed her about the missing propane tank. Myla wouldn’t have heckled me about the way my hair dried in little horns on each side of my head after my shower. Brody would’ve stormed off before dinner even ended, rounding up the boys while I tried to call them before he could so I could talk them out of whatever stupid shit they were about to do.