Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73817 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73817 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“I will pay you back,” he states, still staring at the box. He hasn’t even opened it yet to look at the actual phone.
“I know you said your original phone was stolen back in San Antonio. It’s been an idea on my mind for the past couple weeks now, wanting to get you your own phone.”
“Hey, I can text you if I’m gonna be late again. And … And you can text me, too. Now incidents like tonight won’t happen again.”
“Sure, that too.”
He turns to me. “I don’t know how to thank you, Coop. I wasn’t expecting this. Not even a little bit.”
The sweet and adoring look in Sean’s eyes right now is payment enough. “You deserve to have it, Sean. I love you. And I want to take care of—”
My throat closes.
What did I just say?
The car is pierced by a terrifying silence.
Then Sean smiles back, leans over the center console, and kisses me. When he pulls away, our eyes lock on each other’s. He looks on the verge of tears. I can’t blink.
I feel a world of unspoken emotion passing between us right now.
Did I say the right thing?
Will all of my fears die a quick death in this car?
Are my unanswered questions at last going to find their answers?
In the dreadful silence, he finally parts his lips to reply.
He says: “Thank you so much, Coop.”
I continue staring at him.
Staring and staring and staring.
And staring some more.
Then: “O-Of course,” I choke back in reply.
He settles back into his seat with a manic chuckle. “I can’t believe it. You really did catch me by surprise, Coop. I thought sharing a midnight dessert from an upscale place in your car was the big special plan. Wow …” He stuffs his mouth with another bite of fudgy cake.
I smile blankly back at him, glass-eyed, frozen.
He didn’t say it back.
Chapter 16 - Seany
Honestly, I’m feeling great about everything.
My living situation. My new career. The friends I made in Toby, Vann, and my regulars at the college. Now and then helping out at the bar. Everything feels like some kind of perfect design falling into place.
A design I never dreamed I’d ever call my own.
It’s Saturday morning, one of the last weekends of the summer, and as I gaze at Vann’s artwork—now hanging in Cooper’s living room—I can’t seem to believe the life I’m living. I’m not a movie star. I’m not taking baths in cash. I’m simply well-adjusted for the first time in years.
I’m happy.
Ding! My phone chimes at me. It’s such a new sound, it startles me every time. I can’t believe I have a phone that can chime at me again.
VANN
Got another gig for you tonight. You OK with taking off your shirt?
I grin down at the message and tell him that’s fine with me. When he replies with a thumbs-up and tells me he’ll pick me up later, I pocket my phone. Whistling to myself, I head out the door and lock up behind me. Under a bright blue sky with the sun shining overhead, I pop on my shades and stroll down the street.
I feel like king of the island.
“Nope, that’s cheating,” states Mars.
“It’s not!” cries Toby through his laughter. “Perfectly legitimate special moves are not cheating.”
“Looks like cheating to me.”
“Call it what you want, I’m still winning.”
Mars and Toby always bicker like brother and sister at the arcade. When it’s my turn, I jump into the game, taking over for Toby, and Mars finally scores her first win in the past hour. No one stands a chance against gamer god Toby, so when Mars and I play each other, it feels like a leveled playing field.
“What time does Vann come back?” asks Mars while the three of us cool off at the Desert Moon Diner, finished with gaming for the afternoon.
“Late tonight, I think,” answers Toby, “but I think he’s swinging by to pick up Sean here for a thing.”
“Always picking up Sean for a thing,” sings Mars. She eyes me. “You’ve had a lot going on lately, huh?”
My mouth is full of chips and salsa. “Yep,” I mumble through my mouthful.
“Hope you’re getting paid well enough.”
“Yeah, of course.” I swallow my bite, then nudge Toby. “You ever pose for your boyfriend’s art? He just said the gig tonight requires me taking my shirt off.”
“Not intentionally,” admits Toby after a sip of his soda. “I’ll be relaxing in a chair on my phone or something, and I catch Vann with his sketchpad drawing me from across the room. He’s never not working.”
“Oh, you artists,” sings Mars with a sigh, crossing her arms on the table to lay her head down. “What a life.”
Toby chuckles. “What do you mean?”
“I’m terrible at drawing stuff,” she says. “I don’t even know how you begin.”
“Well, it’s simple. You just have to look at something with enough honesty to see its essence. Then you put that onto paper in a creative way. I think it’s why Vann draws demons and monsters all the time. He likes to think we’re all hiding a demon inside of us, and the more we suppress it, the more good we seem.”