Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
My stomach flipped a few times at the mention of her son. I was crushing way too hard on this guy I didn’t really know. And I was also…really fucking thankful for Bonnie. She was more than a friend. She felt like a mom. “Thank you. I… Thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“Nothing to thank me for. Now, no more sad stuff. We’re having fun tonight.”
So that’s what we did. I finished her hair, and she gushed over it. We drank more wine, and she curled mine, and mine…did not look as good as hers did.
Afterward, we were back on the living room floor with some ’80s movie on TV she said she was in love with. I’d never seen it. Something about kids looking for treasure. I’d heard of it, but that was it.
And we drank more wine.
And ate Oreos.
It was the best.
“Oh my God! He’s super hot,” I said, pointing to the guy on the screen. He was the main character’s big brother. “I want a boyfriend. Why don’t I have a boyfriend?” As soon as I said it, I felt stupid, and then I laughed and didn’t feel anything because there was likely more wine in my body than there was blood.
Bonnie laughed. “You’ll find a great guy one day. One who treats you the way you deserve.” She sat closer to me. “Promise me. Promise me you won’t accept anything less than you deserve. I did, and while I don’t regret all of it because it brought me Jake…well, I wish I left earlier.”
I closed my eyes, tried not to think of the one boy who’d tried to use me, who had pretended to like me so he could manipulate me to get what he wanted. And when I hadn’t fallen in line, he’d made me feel like there was something wrong with me. The boy who sometimes still haunted my dreams. “Promise.” I opened my eyes again.
“And if you meet a boy who isn’t nice to you, you tell him your Mama Bonnie is going to take care of it.”
Then we were both giggling again. I had no idea why, but I didn’t want to stop. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her I had a crush on her son, but some quiet voice in my head told me I’d regret it if I did. That only made me laugh harder.
“Me, on the other hand, I’m gonna do it differently next time and find someone who treats me right. I’m not going to ignore the warning signs. I’m not going to take any crap. Or maybe I’ll stay single forever. I don’t need a man.” Her hand flew to her mouth, and she covered it in embarrassment. “Oh my God, I’m so drunk.”
“Me too. And boys can be so dumb. Well, except me and—”
“Hopefully me.”
My eyes darted up, and there was Jake, his big arms crossed over his chest, an ear-to-ear smile on his face, and damned if I didn’t whimper. And die. I was going to die! He was seeing me drunk, obsessively giggling with his mom while I talked about boys being dumb. How long had he been there? Did he hear me declare I wanted a boyfriend?
“Of course you’re not dumb, sweetheart,” Bonnie told her son. Then she held up her glass. “We have wine!”
I looked at it and chuckled. “It’s empty!”
Then we rolled on the floor laughing again, Jake looking down at us and grinning. I couldn’t find it in myself to be embarrassed.
8
Jake
“What sort of party is this?” I asked in an amused tone. I’d been out for a drink with Tucker at a drab little corner bar. He was meeting his girlfriend at some club, so I called it a night, even though Tucker kept hinting she was with a hot friend. Just wasn’t feeling it.
And stranger still was walking in to find Seth in my living room, because my thoughts had drifted to him a few times since I’d serviced his car. I’d considered texting to ask how his tires were holding up, but that would’ve sounded ridiculous. I was sure I’d hear about it if something went wrong, and all looked in order when I pulled into the driveway and spotted his ride. I’d admit a little thrill shot through me for reasons I couldn’t readily explain, except I somehow knew I’d be smiling two minutes after coming through the door.
“A pajama party, obviously,” Seth replied with a bit of a slur, and I couldn’t help smiling again. He and Mom were like a couple of kids having themselves a bit of fun, if the pizza and makeup and empty bottles of wine were any indication. And though normally drinking to that extent might’ve concerned me, one look at the pair of them giggling was enough for me to let it go. They were only cutting loose in a safe way, something they both might’ve desperately needed. How could I fault them that?