Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 133(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Corey doesn’t even blink an eye.
“But I’m vaccinated and so are you, right?” he asks. “So it’s not a problem.”
Oh fuck, oh fuck. Nothing else comes to mind, and finally, I just give him an apologetic smile.
"Thanks for the offer, Corey, but I have to pass. I’m just way too behind on my homework and my grades are slipping. Like I said, I’m just trying to get through senior year so that I can graduate, and my parents have me on a tight curfew too. It leaves me no time to go out because I’m buried in schoolwork. So yeah, I wish I could, but I have to decline."
I can tell by the look on his face that he isn’t buying anything I’m selling. The teenage boy isn’t taking this well because honestly, he’s probably never been told ‘no’ in his life. His expression turns down in a spoiled pout.
"Seriously? You want to ditch me to do homework?”
I try to explain again.
“I know it sounds crazy but I’m barely passing my classes, so it’s not really a choice. If I want to get out of Cedar Toms, then I need to get my academics in order.”
Corey’s face is turning red and I can see him getting worked up like a pot quickly headed to an overflowing boil. I need to get out of this hallway, stat.
"Um yeah, so thanks for the offer but I’m going back inside, now," I say in a rush. " I won’t tell anyone about this, so don’t worry about it getting out. No one needs to know. I’ll see you around, Corey!" I sing before scampering back into the crowded cafeteria. I don’t even look back because I don’t want to see what the teenage boy’s up to. Hopefully he finds someone else to distract him so that he can get out of my hair for good.
Relieved, I sit down across from Sam and blow out a long breath.
"What happened?" she asks in a curious tone. “That was random.”
I shake my head.
"Yeah, he’s my neighbor so I guess he just wanted to talk about some neighborly stuff.”
Sam squints.
“Neighborly stuff? Like what?”
My head whirls because honestly, all this lying isn’t easy. But I make something up on the fly.
“His cat was killed recently, and he wanted some flowers from our garden as a tribute,” I say in a small voice. “It’s sad, but true.”
Sam blinks a few times.
“Okay. Well, I’m sorry to hear about his cat’s passing.”
I nod.
“I’ll let Corey know the next time I see him.”
With that, we go back to our lunches, and I pretend to read the Wuthering Heights Cliffs Notes as an excuse not to chat. But my mind zigzags as I stare sightlessly at the guide before me. Oh god, that conversation with Corey was so awful, and I hope he bought my excuse. I just wish he’d go away more than anything, and I’m beginning to think my involvement with Ed is dangerous. What’s going to happen if Corey finds out? What’s going to happen if my parents find out? Hell, Malcolm and Victoria are already so upset with my big sister Prim, so more than likely they’d banish me to Siberia to avoid a repeat of her disastrous runaway bride wedding.
Either way, this thing with Ed is a ticking time bomb. After all, how long will a forty-five-year-old man stay interested in a eighteen-year-old girl? Sure, we get along great, but maybe it’s just the newness of it all. Or maybe it’s the forbidden aspect. Or maybe it’s the sex. I shake my head. Oh God, is it only the sex? I sincerely hope not because I’m already falling for the older man, and I only hope he feels the same about me.
6
Ed
I’m humming to myself, getting ready in the master suite when a message pings from Magnolia.
Are you ready? she texts.
I’m always ready for you, sweetheart, I text back.
It’s true too because we’ve been spending a lot of time together, and I always welcome her company. Of course, all of this is on the sly. Maggie sneaks over to my house late at night, and then we have frenetic sex before things calm down a bit. Then we talk, cuddle and kiss for the rest of the night. I should be exhausted from getting so little sleep, but instead, I feel energized. That’s what being with the sweet girl does for me.
But now, Maggie and I are going on our first real date because I’m sick of sneaking around. I’m fucking forty-five years old, and I want to take her out like a real man. I want people to see us together, and if they think we’re a father daughter duo, then fuck them. It’s time to come out into the open.
But Maggie was still hesitant, so she fed some bullshit to her parents about hanging out with a friend called Sam, and now, she’s sneaking over. I hope this whole sneaking around shit can end soon because like I said, I’m fucking sick of it.