Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 52957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
My voice came out a bit loud by the end, but it did piss me off to have my integrity questioned.
Mason rubbed his face so hard it stretched out a bit before he slapped his cheeks, then let out a harsh breath. “Right, sorry, but it had to be said. Now, with that bit of nastiness over, let’s talk clothing and character. Who are you going as?” Sitting back, Mason recrossed his long legs in the opposite position as he gave me a critical look.
“What are you talking about?”
“Your character.” Mason held his hands out to me with his eyebrows raised. “This is a theme week, my friend. The good old 1980s. These people take their Spirit Week themes seriously. I’ve been working with a student council volunteer group that helps host this event. They have invested a lot of time and effort into making sure our events are up to their standards. When you walk into Spirit Week, you’re supposed to feel transported to whatever time period this year’s event is. I swear I have told you this before.”
“You have.” I sighed and placed the heels of my palms against my eyes. “Sorry, my brain is fried.”
Mason gave a heavy sigh, as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders and he had to explain something obvious to a moron. “If you don’t blend in fashion-wise, you won’t stand a chance of winning your fair maiden’s hand. And you need a haircut.”
I ran my hands through my hair, now reaching past my ears and down almost to almost my jaw. “I don’t like to get haircuts in the winter. You know this. It makes my head freeze.”
Rolling his eyes, Mason drummed his fingers on his knee as he returned to examining me. “What role are you going to play? You’re a Dom so you can pretend to be teacher if you want, but it might limit some of the social situations where you’d find your bratty Middle. You could be a Senior. Maybe one of the burnout crowd.”
“The what?”
“You know—metal t-shirts, muscle cars, sneaks out of class to drink and get high.”
I shook my head, pretending I didn’t see him smirk as I had to brush my bangs out of my eyes. “I rarely drink and even more rarely get high. Besides, it doesn’t matter what the state of Montana says about legalities. Drugs are absolutely forbidden on Ranch property and cause for immediate dismissal.”
Mason gave me an innocent expression. “No need to preach to the choir here. You do your job, and you do it sober and well.”
“Right, so you think I fit that role?”
Mason’s broad shoulders rose up as he shrugged. “I have no idea. That’s up to you to figure out. I will say that these role-playing crowds tend to build their own personas for the event. You might want to come up with some kind of role play that ties you to her in some way. Like you’re next-door neighbors or some shit. I don’t know. That’s for you to figure out.”
Leaning back a bit, I grinned as I considered a bunch of different characters I could play with Ivy. “It’ll need to be something original. Something she’ll find fun. I could be her professor, or maybe her dad’s best friend.”
Mason shook his head. “You could, but that might work better for a Little. Try being like her tutor, or her older brother’s best friend. Damn, I’m jealous of you now. You’re going to have two weeks of fun while I slave away here, covering your ungrateful butt.”
Not feeling sorry for him in the least, I grinned. “Yep.”
“And she’s a redhead,” Mason said with a mock sigh. “You know I love redheads.”
Something pinched in my gut and I gave him a hard glare. “Hands off, she’s mine. Besides, she’s kinda more blonde than red. But either way, hands off.”
“No worries there. If she’s a brat I have no interest. I have enough almost teenage drama to deal with at home from my daughter, thank you very much.” He briskly clapped his hands together. “Speaking of which, it’s time to head out. You coming with? I can hook you up with some clothes at my house. Everything you have is either corporate or grungy from working around the Ranch. If you’re going to fit an 80s theme, burnout is your best bet. Luckily for you I have quite the collection of 80s metal band shirts and black hoodies. Add some jeans to that, style your hair a little different, and you’ll be good. June has some magnetic earrings, you want one of those? The earrings are a pair of baby blue kittens, but I’m sure no one will notice.”
“Ha ha. Who’s cooking tonight? You or your aunt?”
When Mason had become a single father, his favorite aunt had moved in to help him with June when she was a toddler. Aunt Ginny ended up getting a job at Rawhide working in the catering division and stayed. Now she came over a few nights a week to Mason’s place and fed us “proper” dinners. Proper meaning she buried you in good food until you were too stuffed to move.