Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
God.
“Take it easy. And stop throwing me the death glare. I’ll be back in no time. Besides, you need to deal with Brody.” She points at me, then turns to flash the barista at the Starbucks a million-dollar smile.
“Thank you.” She takes both the coffees, the guy grins, and I fight the eye roll. I don’t want to be a jerk, but… come on, does he really think a girl like Cher would be interested in him?
“Why do you do that?” I demand as I take my coffee, praying my mother has sent Maria, or better yet has forgotten, and I can take an Uber.
“What? Be a pleasant person?” She smiles at me as we walk.
“Um, no. Be a phony and lead guys on.” I mimic her smile.
“Wow.” She shakes her head, then says, “You need to get fucked, Raven. Hard. I don’t care if it’s Brody or someone else. At this point, anyone with a hard dick will do. Get your V-card punched and maybe you can go back to being the best friend I know and love.” She wraps her tan arm around my shoulder as if giving me support. Which only bugs me, because she’s right. I do need to have sex. It’s all I can think about lately.
“You’re gonna spill our coffees,” I grumble, trying to shake off her arm.
Cher is beyond gorgeous: a cliché California girl. Long blond hair, big brown eyes, and tall, with a body to die for. We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember. My mom is Cher’s father’s PR person.
“Look, it’s all gonna work out. I’ll be back before you know it. And, we can escape back to New York if it’s not copacetic at your new daddy’s house.” She says this looking straight ahead as she bites her lower lip trying not to laugh.
“I’m not participating in this conversation,” I snip.
We step out into the mayhem of LAX and I take a deep breath. Besides the slight smell of smoke and exhaust, it feels good to be home, or whatever Los Angeles is to me. I mean, I despise that I miss it, because my mom loves it so much. Hence why I picked New York for college. The farther I’m away from her poison, the better.
“Los Angeles, I love you.” Cher dramatically tilts her head back and closes her eyes as a bunch of people maneuver around her. They stare but stay quiet, unlike people in Manhattan, where they’d curse and plow into her.
“Really?” I grab her arm, causing her eyes to pop open and her coffee to spill, and jerk us over to a metal bench so I can get my phone out of my large handbag and figure out a plan.
“Watch my boots,” she whines and dramatically pulls out a pack of cigarettes. Cher’s decided that she’s now a smoker. Whatever, they’re her lungs, not mine. I look around at the never-ending lines of cars and the drivers being told to keep circling. For them, it’s loading and unloading only.
“Do you think I can be lucky enough that she forgot I’m coming today and I can take a cab?” I wave the smoke out of my face as I power on my phone.
“Nope.” Cher snorts and blows smoke up in the air as she points her cigarette to the right. “Isn’t that Maria?”
About ten cars down, there’s Maria frantically waving me over to a giant black SUV.
I sigh. “Yes, at least it’s not Mommie Dearest. I don’t think I could stomach the car ride,” I deadpan, then glance at Cher, who’s smiling.
“What?” I dump my phone in my bag and wave back at Maria. “Wish me luck. Let’s pray Jett Powers is better than we think.”
“Daddy Powers? Oh, he’s better than alright.” Cher inhales and grins at my stare.
“Please stop calling him that.” I roll my eyes.
“You know I’m right. He’s fucking hot.” She sighs and points her cigarette at me. “Your bitch of a mom is actually lucky I’m going to Florence.”
I burst out laughing as I pull her in for a tight hug. As inappropriate as she is, she really is the best.
“You be good.” I swallow the lump in my throat. “I’m going to miss you.”
“Shuddup. You’re going to make me start crying and I need to go to my gate. I’ll call you when I land.” She pulls back and looks directly at me.
“You be you, Raven. You’re kind of my hero, you know?” She pulls me in for another tight hug.
Shaking my head, I reach for my luggage and laugh. “I have no idea why.” I sniff. She’s only going away for a month. I have zero idea why it feels so monumental. I’m sure it’s just everything going on right now. The unknown is never my friend. Smiling, I approach Maria and a man in a black suit.