Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
By the time everything came to a stand-still, no one was hurt, but the kitchen looked like the site of an industrial accident. We all stared at the mess for a beat, and then I pulled my phone from my pocket and announced, “I’ll order pizza.”
JoJo said, “Good idea,” as she brushed some chopped tomatoes out of her platinum blonde hair. I had no idea how the salsa had made it all the way across the kitchen. I was certain of one thing, though—Embry was pure mayhem, and we were all doomed.
Over the next few hours, we all cleaned up the kitchen, ate pizza, and hung out with our new housemate. He was actually very nice, for a chaos demon.
In the early evening, I went upstairs to get ready. After I requested a ride share and hauled my luggage downstairs, I told my housemates, “I have to get going. I’m spending the night with Malcolm at his hotel, since we have an early flight in the morning.”
Embry asked, “Where are you going?”
“To Vancouver. I’ll be back in a little over a week.” I wondered if I’d have a house to come back to, or if my new housemate would have leveled it by then.
Half an hour later, I arrived at the suite, loaded down with a huge rolling suitcase, a garment bag, a backpack, and a laptop case. As Malcolm held the door for me, he asked, “Why didn’t you get a porter to help you?”
“Why, when I could do it myself?”
“Because it’s literally their job.”
I stacked my things in the foyer and grinned at him. “Well, I managed to make it here without my spindly little stick arms snapping clean off.”
“It’s not a bad thing to ask for help.”
“I know.” When I gave him a hug, he felt rigid in my arms. I let go of him and asked, “Is everything alright?”
“It’s fine. I just get nervous before I fly.”
As I followed him into the living room, I nodded. “My brother Donny is like that. He gets so worked up ahead of time that he makes himself nauseous. Since he has to do a lot of traveling for work, he always has to make sure he has Xanax with him.”
“That’s not an option for me.”
“Oh. Right.” I’d been so busy rambling on that that hadn’t even occurred to me—of course someone who was clean and sober wouldn’t take a potentially addictive drug. Forget about in-flight cocktails, too, which was how I usually stayed calm when I flew. “So, what do you do?”
“I white-knuckle it and try not to embarrass myself. At least it’s a short flight, a little under two-and-a-half hours.”
“Have you always been afraid of flying?”
“No. I actually used to enjoy it. But when I was in my mid-twenties, I was on a private jet whose landing gear malfunctioned. Everyone survived, but that landing was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever experienced.” He tried to laugh it off as he added, “It’s ridiculous, I know. I should be able to toughen up and move past it.”
I asked, as gently as I could, “Whose voice is that, your father’s? Mine used to give me messages like that, too—toughen up, be a man. But it’s bullshit. You have a legitimate fear, based in trauma. The fact that you’re even able to get on a plane after something like that is remarkable, Malcolm.”
He glanced at me, then quickly looked away again. After a moment, he changed the subject by asking, “Do you feel like going out and doing something tonight? I know it’s late, but this is our last chance for a while, since this next week will be spent in the wilderness.”
“It’s only nine p.m., and I’m down for literally anything. What sounds good to you?”
I didn’t expect his answer. “Someplace with loud music and dancing.”
“Like…a club?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Yes, absolutely. Let’s go do that, before you change your mind.”
I turned and headed for the door, and as he followed me he asked, “Why would I change my mind?”
“Because you might suddenly remember you’re a homebody, and a total introvert.”
He grinned a little. “Even introverts need to get out once in a while.”
“I guess.”
“So, is there a place you like to go? Admittedly, I haven’t gone dancing in quite a while, so I don’t know what the hotspots are anymore.”
I glanced at him as he pulled the door shut behind us. “I usually go to a club in the Castro, called Thrust. There’s a lot of drinking and partying that goes on there though, so I’m not sure if you’d like it.”
Malcolm shrugged. “I’ve never really cared about what people around me are doing.”
We rode the elevator downstairs and cut through the opulent lobby before climbing into a cab. Malcolm still seemed a bit off on the ride across town, but I attributed that to worrying about our upcoming flight.