Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 132933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 665(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 665(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
“A short modeling stint,” Eliot emphasizes, his face reddening. He sighs. “Ben isn’t even here to be upset that I’m mentioning Aloriam. You’re more likely to see my little brother these days than I am.” Hurt flashes through his face.
Ben is a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania in Philly, an Ivy League where I’m also picking up college courses. He had the option to move to New York and be with his brothers, but he turned them down. I know the rejection still stings for Eliot and Tom, who believe they’re trying their best to pull him into the folds.
From Ben’s perspective, I think he still feels oceans away from all four of his brothers, no matter what they do.
“Tom will like Cody,” Eliot returns to the setup. “…I think.”
He thinks.
I blow out a breath and focus on my computer. “You’re on your own with that one, Alice. I’m not sure I’ll add anything to your Pure Intentions.”
“On the contrary,” Eliot refutes, flame in his hand. “You and I have important parts to play. We need him to think he’s attending a friendly get-together, but when he realizes it’s a triple date—he’ll immediately fall into Cody’s arms.” He clicks the lighter closed.
My fingers hover over the keyboard. “Triple date?” Oh no.
“Brilliant, right?” He grins. “The idea came to me after you mentioned Moffy’s triple date.”
Greeeaaat. So this is my doing. Moffy offhandedly told me that he’s going on a triple date with Farrow and Farrow’s two closest friends. Which include Oscar (with Jack) and Donnelly (with whoever Donnelly decides to bring). Apparently that last part is still up in the air.
I try not to think about it.
I can’t.
Instead, I concentrate on the current subject at hand. “You want me to be a part of this triple date?”
My stomach knots. I don’t bring my hookups places. I usually go to them. Hang out at clubs. It’s easier that way.
“Who else?” Eliot says like I’m being absurd.
“Who are you bringing?” I can’t imagine Eliot having an easier time with this than me.
“That’s a surprise.”
Eliot loves his surprises. I don’t press the subject because another thought pops in my head. “I shouldn’t be a part of this, really, Eliot. I don’t bring people together.” I frown. “And neither do you. You have zero experience being cupid.”
If there were a cupid hierarchy, my mom would be at the very top.
She has set soul mates in motion multiple times by unintentionally helping them cross paths. It’s a subconscious gift. One of her many superpowers. She was even the one who requested Farrow to be my brother’s bodyguard, and now they’re married and expecting a second baby through a surrogate.
My dad once mentioned he’s the Reverse Cupid—a very DC Reverse-Flash thing for him to say—but he didn’t make that connection, and he truly believes he forces people away.
Maybe that’s me, too. Maybe I’ll be Reverse Cupid to my best friend. I screw up so much, and I can see myself screwing this up too. Only, I’d rather fail at writing than fail Tom or Eliot. They’ve been here for me all my life.
Eliot fixes a wavy misplaced strand of his hair, spotting himself in the full-length mirror, the black frame ornate and lavish. “I don’t have any experience yet.” He seems determined.
I wonder if this has anything to do with Charlie, who was able to unite Oscar and Jack in a cupid-worthy scheme. Eliot would never admit it, but he’s secretly competitive when it comes to his older brother. Even if it’s a one-sided competition, he has a hard time surrendering.
Before I can agree to the triple date, Fanaticon pops up on my computer screen. The fan website has a bunch of different threads for fandoms of TV shows and comic book properties.
I click into Beneath a Strong Sentiment, my favorite show on air right now.
“Whoaaa,” I say into a gasp.
Eliot stops staring at himself and walks over. “Fictitious?”
I shake my head. “No, this is about Bass on Fanaticon.” I’ve gushed so much about the show to Eliot and Tom that they both know the abbreviated name. “My comment has been downvoted really bad.”
Eliot sits behind me on the reading nook. He’s tall enough to read over my shoulder. “Callie isn’t supposed to be likable. She’s not the Chosen One of the show. She’s damaged. The more you hate her, the more it proves the whole point why everyone around her wants to protect her.”
Below my comment, the thumbs down button has over a hundred points. Only three thumbs up.
“I didn’t think that was a horrible opinion,” I mumble.
Eliot squints at the screen. “Who’s Callie again?”
I give him another quick rundown of Beneath a Strong Sentiment. A science-fiction/fantasy about a new genetically evolved human species on Earth that are immune to disease, intellectually superior, age slowly, and live so long they have the potential to be immortal. Humans simply call this superior species the evolved. Except the evolved have a major flaw, they often get “stuck” in one dominant emotion.