Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 129460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 647(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 647(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
“You,” Jess mutters, her tone ear-piercing. “What are you doing here?” Her last set of words is whispered like we’re being eyeballed by more people than a muted Octavia.
With my mouth refusing to work, Octavia takes up the slack. “Jess, this is my cousin I was telling you about. Cal—”
“Caleb is your cousin? The guy you said I’d be perfect for… hence, me not inviting you to Movie Marathon for almost a month.”
I don’t know whether to watch Octavia’s throat work hard to swallow or grin at Jess’s statement when the last part reaches my ears. She sounds as commitment phobic as me, and that makes me like her even more.
When our conversation reaches a stalemate, Octavia interjects again, “I said you’d guys would get along. I didn’t mention anything about commitment. Only you two are acting as if that’s in the cards.” I snap my eyes to Octavia when she mutters under her breath, “Or has already occurred.”
Hating the disappointment flaring through her eyes that I’m about to pinch another one of her scarce number of friends, I shove her through the gap Jess’s tiny frame can’t hog, then enter Jess’s apartment uninvited. “I met Jess when I went to speak to the building supervisor. She’s also annoyed about his lack of diligence.”
Octavia takes my bait hook, line, and sinker. “I don’t care what Mrs. Grant says. Lou just wants rent relief.”
“I know, right,” Jess agrees with her. She gives me a long stink eye, unappreciative of my denial about how we met before twisting to face Octavia. “But Mrs. Grant won’t say a bad word about Lou since he services her rusty pipes every Tuesday without delay.”
“Lou is a plumber?” Octavia is asking a question, but she doesn’t give Jess the chance to answer. “Because we have a leaking pipe under the vanity sink. I wedged a towel under it, but that won’t hold out for much longer.”
“She means Lou services Mrs. Grant every Tuesday, Tiv. He isn’t a plumber.”
Confusion crosses Octavia’s face a second before revelation. “Ohhh…” She screws up her nose. “Eww.”
“I know, right?” Jess mutters again, her tone picking up along with her smile. “Out of all the geriatrics in this building, she picked the second most hideous one.” She stares me straight in the eyes during the last part of her statement.
I could take her stab at my ego like a man, but I don’t. “Are we early? Or did your endearing personality scare everyone away?”
With her eyelids so narrow I’m shocked she can see, Jess snatches the bag of burgers out of Octavia’s hand, then moseys into the kitchen. “My couch only has two seats, so I hope not all your backend assets were reversed for your attitude.”
I laugh at her underhanded comment that I’m an ass until a disturbing fact smacks into me. We fooled around without protection a month ago. Is that long enough for a mistake to crave lumps of fat and carbs?
“Why did you need twenty-plus burgers if you were only expecting one guest?” My stomach’s gurgle is louder than my shocked gasp. “Are you having cravings or something?” When Jess continues for the kitchen like I didn’t say anything, I follow her. “Seriously, Jess, why so many burgers?”
“Caleb,” Octavia mutters, shocked by the rudeness of my tone. After warning me to calm down with an angry glare, she widens her eyes then shifts them to Jess. “Ignore him. He’s stingy when it comes to sharing food.” Hoping to defuse the situation, she asks, “Have you picked the movie, or are you still leaving that to me?”
“Since you are my guest, it is only fair that you pick—”
“And feed everyone,” I interrupt as my eyes lower to Jess’s stomach. It looks smooth, but that’s not unusual, right? Women don’t pop until six or so months. That’s how my mother hid her pregnancy from my grandfather for so long.
Like she is older than dirt, Octavia grips me by the ear and pulls me into the living room. Since this apartment is a replica of ours, she knows the exact spot to drag me to so Jess can’t see or hear us. “What the hell is wrong with you? If she wants to eat a dozen burgers, let her eat a dozen burgers. It isn’t our right to judge her, Caleb.”
“She’s tiny. I doubt she could put away a single burger.”
“So you ogled her long enough to take in her frame but not long enough to notice her pantry is as empty as ours.” My stomach gurgles for a completely different reason this time around. “Or to ask how well her intern position at Seattle Socialites pays.” She slaps my chest two times. “You can be a really insensitive jerk sometimes.”
Since I can’t deny her claims, I remain quiet.
It angers her more. “Maybe you should go. I don’t need you to save me from the bullies when you’re the bully.”