Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
And just, you know, a few days to stress myself the hell out about it.
CHAPTER TEN
Sabrina
I had to give Daphne credit. For a kid whose style definitely ran toward the casual herself most of the time, she really knew how to pick out a date outfit that was both pretty and warm.
We mostly had my late-night impulsive shopping habits to thank for the whole ensemble, though. I’d bought the skin-tone wool-lined leggings on a complete whim when I saw how much they looked like you weren’t wearing anything at all as I thought I might wake up some day a different person who actually wore skirts and put that much care into their appearance.
Needless to say, those leggings had sat in the back of my underwear drawer for about two years. Still in their packaging.
But they finally had a chance to be worn. And I was cozy warm in them and the borrowed black and white plaid skirt Daphne had lent me. It was paired with a long-sleeved shirt under a roomy black cardigan.
The shoes selection was where I’d put my foot down and insisted I not be in heels, since I had no idea how much walking this date might involve.
So I’d put on a pair of my old combat boots from when I was Daphne’s age, pleasantly surprised they still fit. And feeling oddly just a little more like myself with them on.
“No, use the good stuff,” Daphne had said, ripping my cheap drugstore perfume out of my hand.
‘The good stuff’ was the very pricey perfume she’d bought me for mother’s day that she’d paid for by working a seasonal job over the holidays. I’d thought she’d just blown the money on fun stuff until I’d opened my mother’s day package.
“Mom, if there’s ever a time to wear the good perfume, it’s on a date with a hot guy,” she said.
And, well, the kid had a point.
So I used the good stuff, fluffed my hair, then slipped my jacket on.
“What is this?” I asked when Daphne held out a small crossbody bag out to me. With an emphasis on small. Minuscule, really. My wallet wouldn’t even fit in it.
“I know you love your mom-bag. But I don’t think Callow needs to see those depths of hell,” she said. “This has your phone, cash, a card, and breath mints. You don’t have condoms,” she added, looking disappointed in me.
“What?” I squeaked, eyes widening.
“I mean, for all the safe-sex talks I’ve gotten over the years, it seems hypocritical that you don’t have any condoms.”
“I’m not going to need any,” I insisted.
“Aren’t those the famous last words?” she asked. “Is that what you said when you ended up with me?” she added. “Not that I’d mind a baby sister. That might be fun. But, you’re kinda old…”
“I’m thirty-three!” I objected. “I’m hardly one foot in the grave. Actually, I think thirty is the average age a woman has her first kid these days. Not that I’m having kids. I’m not.”
“I’m sure Callow has condoms. Guys like him are usually prepared.”
“And how would you know that?” I asked, slipping right back into mom-mode. It wasn’t like I expected Daphne to come home and tell me when she made that big step. But, I don’t know, I guess I figured I would know.
“Because he doesn’t have any kids?” she said, brows furrowed like she didn’t understand my reaction.
“Right. Yeah. I’m sure he is always prepared. But he won’t need to be prepared. It’s only a second date. Alright,” I said, checking the clock. “I need to get going. Do you have everything you need? Should I leave more money for emergencies?”
“Mom, this is not the first time I’ve been home alone,” she reminded me.
“I know.” Though I’d stocked the fridge like I’d be gone for weeks not hours. And left an extra hundred in our hidden emergency cash stash. “Okay. Keep your phone charged and the door locked,” I said as I moved out of the door.
“I will,” she said, then shut and locked the door in my face. Like she knew I was going to stall if she didn’t.
I would have.
Nerves were jangling in my bones as I walked down the hallway and into the elevator. I don’t know what I was so nervous about. We’d had a great date at She’s Bean Around. Of course, I hadn’t known it was a date at the time. So there’d been no pressure. Which was likely why things had gone so effortlessly. There was romantic pressure now.
No.
Nope.
I wasn’t going to let my mind go there.
To drown out my thoughts, I cranked up the music in the car, getting lost in the music I used to nearly blow my eardrums with when I was younger.
And with each mile down the road toward the Henchmen clubhouse, I felt a lot of the stress slipping away.