Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64366 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64366 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
As I maneuvered the Rover into the driveway, Mom came running out, letting the storm door catch my dad in the forehead as he tried to follow. “Fuck,” I heard him scream. Mom, turned and fired off one of her laser beam looks of condemnation, and he yelled, “Fudge!”
She grabbed me and pulled me into a breath-stealing bear hug. “Oh, you look so good, baby! I missed you so much!” Ever since she’d emerged on the other side of her double mastectomy cancer-free, she’d been euphoric.
“Mom, have you been dipping into Dad’s office drawer again?”
The woman slapped my face. Like literally slapped my face. It wasn’t a hard slap, but it shocked a yelp out of me. Then, without even acknowledging that she’d assaulted me, she moved on to Kage, standing on tiptoe and throwing her arms around his wide shoulders.
“You gonna slap me, too?” he asked with a grin.
I rubbed absently at my jaw. “Don’t do it, Mom. He likes it.”
“I’m sure he does,” she said, hooking her arm in his.
Kage and I shared a what-the-fuck moment over the top of her head. Then my dad was upon us, giving me a noncommittal man hug before trying to crush the bones of Kage’s right hand.
“Good to see you again, Mr. Atwood.” Kage’s obvious attempt at suburban politeness warmed my heart, even though I knew how badly behaved he was beneath the facade. His duplicitous nature was such a turn-on for me, even with my parents buzzing around us.
The outfit he’d chosen at the mall wasn’t helping matters. He wore a simple white Henley that somehow covered and accentuated his muscles at the same time, and fitted wool dress pants in a bold heather-gray. The cuffed pants bunched just at the tops of his tobacco-colored ankle boots, giving the impression of effortless sophistication. Like his fighting, his shopping style was efficient and accurate— “I’ll take this, and this, and this.” Meanwhile, I’d stressed over my own decisions, waffling between khaki or black pants, dress shoes or ankle boots, button-down or sweater. In the end, he’d chosen for me: skinny black leathers, a navy sweater, and boots similar to his. “I love you in blue,” he’d whispered while the sales girl rang up our purchases. He’d worn his hair loose, an elastic snapped around his wrist on standby.
We looked damn good, and damn out of place, standing in front of my parents’ house.
Dad sized us up and grunted, striking a Superman pose with his hands on his hips. Either he’d lost weight or he was sucking in his gut, because his peach golf shirt didn’t seem to be as filled out as usual.
I patted his belly. “Looking good, old man.”
He shrugged it off, a twitch at the corner of his mouth the only indication that he was pleased with the compliment. Then he wandered around to the back of the Rover, inspecting it.
“What a beautiful SUV,” Mom said. “Kage, is this yours, or did you boys rent one for the weekend? I know Jamie’s car isn’t exactly luxurious.”
“Or safe,” Kage said. “That funeral on wheels is gone. This is Jamie’s new car.”
Mom looked like she’d sucked a lemon. “Don’t tell your fa—”
“What did you say?” Dad was suddenly at my side, his eyes narrowing. “This thing belongs to Jamie?”
“Yeah, Dad. Isn’t it great?” I smiled, willing him to be nice, and pretend to go along with it even though he was probably in the process of mentally disowning his gay-hooker son.
He pulled open the driver’s side door and ran his hand over the steering wheel, then the leather seat. “This thing’s got all the bells and whistles, huh?”
“Just about,” Kage said. “We didn’t get the entertainment package, which was basically a media player and LCD screens. Neither one of us watch movies that much.”
“Smart man. It’s good you didn’t let them sell you something you don’t need. Hop into the passenger seat with me and let me take it for a spin around the neighborhood.”
Without another word to us, the two of them climbed into my SUV and left. Mom and I just looked at each other and went into the house. “I cooked dinner,” she said.
“You wouldn’t be my Mom if you didn’t cook way too much food.”
She slipped her hand into an oven mitt and pulled a casserole out of the oven. “It’s how I show my love, Jamie.”
“I know what it means.” I leaned on the counter and peered into each of the dishes she already had grouped there. “I actually cooked for Kage this morning.”
She turned and stared at me, a goofy smile on her face. “Does that mean you’re in love?”
“Mom.” I rolled my eyes and bit into a biscuit-wrapped lil smokies. Even burning the skin off of my tongue couldn’t diminish the ecstasy. “Mmm, my favorite.”