Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
A whole fucking lot.
Growth. I’m growing. Maybe I am an adult?
With a wink and a wave, I turn and walk away.
Nope. Still a horny teenager, because the only thing I can think is that there better be someone at this wedding with whom I can ease the regret of walking away from Tennessee.
Chapter Two
Tennessee
“Why didn’t you give him your Snap?”
I shrug as I put on my eyeliner, and I hate how her simple question makes me feel inadequate. I meet Josie’s gaze as I press my lips together. “I don’t know. I mean, it was line after line. If he was interested, he would have asked for it.”
Lindy stands beside me, curling her long blond hair. “Tennie, men aren’t dumb. Men don’t chase women anymore, and a guy sure as hell won’t make a move unless he knows you want him.”
“For real. And are you sure he was talking to you?” Josie asks, and Lindy makes a face.
Anger sparks inside me, but I swallow it before acting like I’m looking for something in my makeup bag. I was hesitant to go out with them, but I knew I really didn’t have any choice. When my mom suggested she’d get a hotel room for me to celebrate, I knew that she meant for us.
I grew up with Lindy and Josie. Our moms were sorority sisters, they all bought houses on the same cul-de-sac, and bam, I had two instant best friends. We did everything together; our families were always together, and everyone just assumed we were three peas in a pod.
I love them. I do. Yeah, kids can be cruel and I wasn’t built like Lindy and Josie, but they never made me feel different for it.
But then college happened. Things really changed. We were no longer in our small town, where everyone knew everyone.
Like our moms, we went to UT, and we got into the sorority together. The only difference—I was now the fat one. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was on the outside. I was the one to drive everyone home when they were drunk because I didn’t need the calories from the drinks. Since guys were never interested in me and they always saw me as a friend, I was the one sent to find out if a guy was interested in either of them. We shared a room, but I never felt like I was a part of anything. They shared the bunk bed, and I had a full-size bed in the corner. I knew the only reason I was even in the sorority was because of who my mom was. She had been the president of the sorority and sent a lot of money to the school. Too bad I was a disgrace to her legacy, and too bad I didn’t give two shits.
I love my mom. I love her with all my heart—as well as my dad—and while they’d never say I didn’t live up to what they wanted for me, I know I didn’t. They wanted me to go into finance like they did, but I wanted to go into medicine. I wanted to help people. I also carry weight, unlike them, and sometimes I felt like they had an issue with that when I was growing up. But I have to think that was my own insecurities.
Now, though, I don’t care what they think. I am happy with how I look, and I refuse to let anyone make me feel less for it. Since everyone at home tends to do just that, this new job of mine is my ticket out of this fucking state that I share a name with and everything in it.
I glance over Josie as I unclip my hair. “Well, he was looking right at me and no one else was around, so I assume so.”
She shrugs. “I’m just saying, that’s real forward for someone who didn’t even ask for your Snap.”
“For sure,” Lindy adds. “I feel like if he wanted to take you upstairs, he’d have asked for your number at least, even if it was just to lose it later.”
Why am I here? I shouldn’t have come; I should have just started packing, even though I don’t leave for another two weeks. “Well, that’s real fucking rude, asshole,” I say, meeting Josie’s gaze, and she waves me off, laughing.
“I’m only joking.”
Which is always her response. That’s the thing about Southern folks; we can be real passive-aggressive. I ignore her as I comb out my hair, and Lindy says, “We should have done your roots before we left.”
I sigh deeply. “Y’all are starting to piss me off.”
Josie snickers. “Oh my. Tennie gets a big-girl job and has a hot guy hit on her, and now she’s too big for her britches.”
I know she doesn’t mean it the way she says it, but it still pisses me off. Maybe I’m about to start, or maybe they are just being bitches today. I reach for the curling iron and start on my hair as they do what they do best. Ignore me.