Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 70092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
"Hi." She puts on the fakest smile that I've ever seen on her.
"Were you leaving?” I ask, looking at her with her purse in her hand.
"Oh, no." She shakes her head. “Forgot my phone in the car."
"Do you want me to go get it?" I point back at her car with my thumb.
She shakes her head again. “No, that's okay." She looks down. “You should go in there.” Neither of us says anything else, and it gets super awkward. I don’t want to walk away from her. I was hoping that since we were going to be seeing each other, we would sit down and talk.
“Hi,” Clarissa interrupts us and extends her hand to Presley. “I’m Clarissa,” she says, smiling.
"I'm Presley,” Presley responds, extending one hand, and I see that the hand that is holding her purse, her knuckles are white. "Nice to meet you." She shakes Clarissa's hand for a couple of seconds. “If you will excuse me, I want to get back in there before they run out of food."
My eyebrows pinch together at this comment because there is no way that any of their parties will run out of food. Ever. Presley avoids making eye contact with me as she walks around Clarissa and goes to her car. I take an extra second to watch her, and if it was up to me, I would wait for her to go to her car and come back, but Clarissa says, “Shall we get in there?" I look back at her.
"Yes." I nod my head and turn to walk into the backyard. The minute the gate opens, showing me the party, my mouth almost hits the floor. There have to be about four or five bouncy things set up with kids running all over the place. There are not one but three barbecues set up side by side on the other side of the yard. There is also a small tented area where I see Harlow's grandparents sitting. Her grandfather is the picture of a cowboy. I have never ever seen him without his hat on. Even at their wedding, he wore it. Also one look from him when he's mad, and you know that he'll whip your ass.
"Now this is a birthday party." Clarissa laughs from beside me, and she is not wrong.
"Obviously, it's a ‘go big or go home’ situation." I chuckle as my eyes roam around the yard to see if I see Travis or Harlow anywhere. I also stand close to the gate, secretly waiting for Presley to come back to make sure she is okay. But Clarissa starts to walk farther into the yard, and I have to follow her.
"There you are," I hear from the side and see Travis walking over to me. “Was wondering when you would get here," he says with his lips tight between his clenched teeth.
I fold my arms over my chest. “You just wanted someone in your corner."
He scoffs at me. “No." He shakes his head. “I have Billy." He motions with his head toward Harlow's grandfather. “And I'm sure Olivia wouldn't let them shoot me."
"Clarissa," I introduce, looking over at her. “This is my best friend, Travis."
"Nice to meet you," Clarissa says to him.
"Did you get something to drink?" Travis asks us.
"We just got here," I say, and I look around, trying to see if Presley came back in. “I'll go and get something to drink." I make the excuse to get away. “What do you want to drink?" I ask Clarissa.
"A water is fine," she says, and I nod at her.
"Whatever you do." I lean in and try to whisper, but with so many people here there is no such thing as whispering. “Don't drink the sweet tea."
Travis laughs. “That sweet tea is how I slept with Harlow on my would-be wedding night."
I shake my head. “You can explain that to Clarissa," I say, laughing as I walk through the yard and making my way inside to see if maybe she is there.
As soon as I step inside, I see even more people. I knew Harlow had a big family, but having them all together is over the top. I zigzag through so many people, finally seeing Harlow. “Hey, have you seen Presley?" I ask, looking around to see if she is sitting somewhere, and I don’t see her.
"She went to the bathroom," she says to me, and she's about to say something else when someone calls her name. "Shit," she says, rushing away from me.
I walk to the bathroom and see the door closed. I'm mentally deciding if I stay by the bathroom like a Peeping Tom or just go back to the living room and wait when the door is pulled open. She gasps when she sees me standing here. “Oh my God, you scared the shit out of me," she says, and I love what she is wearing. The blue of the dress makes her eyes pop even more.