Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 81252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81252 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Brittany Hammond
I flopped back against the couch cushion with a sigh of relief. I wasn’t fired. I was expected to come in tomorrow. So far, graduation was still on my schedule. I had to keep it that way now. I typed a thank you message back before tossing my phone back on the coffee table.
“Feel better now?” Hannah asked me with a bright smile.
“Much better,” I said before tipping back my wine cooler, tasting the sweet, bold flavors. “Still have to worry about running into Mr. Grump in the hallway, though.”
“Don’t let that jerk scare you,” Nick told me.
I jumped up to my feet, feeling a surge of boldness take over me. Nick was right. Tyler probably only acted like that to make people fear him. I wasn’t going to be one of the many people quivering at his feet. I was a professional like him, even if he had a few more years on me. I deserved respect like he did.
“He called me clumsy and incompetent,” I told them. Alcohol sloshed around in the glass bottle as I moved my hand around. I was neither clumsy nor incompetent. Accidents happened because we were human. He seemed too stuck-up to be human, though. He probably thought that he was perfect, and I somehow tainted him.
“Wow. What a jerk,” Hannah scoffed before biting into her pizza. She chewed a few times, tucking it in her left cheek. “He’s probably not even that cute.”
“The only person that’s cute to you is that IT nerd you keep drooling over,” Nick smirked at her.
I crossed my arms over my chest, cocking an eyebrow at Hannah. I remembered her mentioning an IT major that she met at some party. He blew her expectations. Smart and hot, evidently. “What’s his name? Landon?” I asked her.
Hannah shrugged her shoulders, looking down shyly. “Yeah. He fixed my laptop when it wouldn’t hook up to the school’s Wi-Fi,” she replied.
“Is that the only kind of hook-up that happened?” Nick teased her.
Hannah lightly kicked him in the knee. “He doesn’t even know that I like him. The sorority girls want to eat him alive,” she muttered.
I set down my drink and walked over to her, leaning down so that we were at eye level with each other. “Hey, you’re a catch. If he doesn’t see how great you are, it’s his loss,” I told her, not wanting her to lose sight of how amazing she was. She was sweet, caring, and smart. Any guy would be lucky to have her, but only one would be lucky enough to keep her. I wanted her to find the right one. “Out of Nick and me, you have the best chance at happily ever after.”
“Hey,” Nick said, faking a pout. “We were making fun of your boss. How did this turn into making fun of me?”
Hannah cracked a smile as she looked between us, visibly brightening up. “I thought your dad basically set you up with your future wife,” she said to Nick.
Nick grimaced and shook his head. “My dad thinks he knows what’s best for me. He picked the college I attended, my major, and now he wants to pick my wife. I think she’s the daughter of some rich bank CEO,” he replied, looking completely uninterested.
“You need to run far away,” I told him with an amused smile. I couldn’t imagine being told what to do all the time, including who to date. Maybe I needed a little guidance, though. I hadn’t been on a date in a minute, and the guys who did approach me were cocky frat guys or borderline incels. I was a magnet for disaster. The one guy that was actually nice to look at was a complete jerk to me.
“Trust me, I’m planning on it,” Nick replied.
I smiled and crashed back down on the couch between them. We were all a mess in some form or fashion, but at least we had each other. At the end of our horrible, chaotic days, that was the only thing that mattered. Tomorrow could always be better. I needed it to be.
“Thank you for coming over. I really needed this,” I said warmly as I looked between both of them. They were always there for me when I needed them. They helped me practice interviewing for my internship. They took me into town to distract me while I waited for the call about whether or not I got the internship. I wouldn’t have been able to get through college without them.
“Oh, shut up,” Nick smirked as he bumped his shoulder against mine. “We’re your emotional support.”
Honestly, he wasn’t wrong. I didn’t like calling my parents up just to complain or fret. They wanted to know how my grades were and if I was eating enough fruits and vegetables. They didn’t need to hear about my early-twenties crises. I didn’t want them to worry about me either. Most of what I worried about went away in a week or two.