Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84195 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84195 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
I felt…weird, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all.
There was a noise behind her, and we both looked up as Clark came in. His gaze darted back and forth between me and his mom. “Oh…hey. What are you doing here, Mom?” He walked over and kissed her cheek.
“I came to see you. I wanted to know how it went last night with Jasper.”
He frowned, and somehow, I could tell he was trying not to look at me. “It went fine. He’s a new guy at our company, no big deal. How was it supposed to go?”
“I just thought the two of you would hit it off, is all.”
“Mom…” There was a soft warning in his voice.
She turned her attention back to me. “Do you still take gymnastics?”
“No, ma’am. I play around with it for fun. When I was younger I thought I’d go to the Olympics, but you know how that goes. Just a childish dream.”
“That’s what I always told Clark,” she replied, maybe thinking we had something in common, but I didn’t feel that way at all.
“If Clark wanted it, he could have done it. I think Clark can do anything he puts his mind to.” I hadn’t meant it to be hurtful to her. I’d only said it because it was true. If Clark wanted anything enough, I thought he had it in him to make it happen.
Still, she flinched. Clark inhaled a sharp breath, and I turned to him, looked at him. He beamed, and I could swear I felt that damn stupid, perfect smile in my chest. Literally felt it. I was so fucked.
“You too,” he said, and I could tell he meant it.
In that moment, his mom wasn’t in the apartment with us anymore. It was just me and Clark, having each other’s backs, making each other feel good, and if I let myself, I’d admit there was nothing in the world like it.
24
Clark
“Let me walk you out,” I told Mom, following her into the hallway.
As the door clicked shut behind us, I breathed out. Not only because I was glad that awkward episode between my mom and Skylar was over, but also because my stomach was feeling all fluttery, like butterfly wings were flapping against my insides. For a few brief moments, it was almost like Skylar and I were twelve all over again, us against the world—or against my mother’s snooty, dismissive attitude.
And I was trying hard not to totally go off on her in the middle of my apartment building, but she had been so out of line in there.
As we walked toward the elevator, I clenched my jaw, but a frustrated sound slipped out anyway. “What are you doing showing up here like this?”
Mom’s eyes flashed with hurt, but I wasn’t buying it. What she’d done was calculated, and she knew it. She sniffed in mock indignation. “What? I’m no longer allowed to visit you at your apartment?”
“Not if you’re going to burst in like that. Did you even knock, or only use the key?” I asked, and when her gaze flitted away, I had my answer. “And you know darn well you didn’t just ‘visit.’ You could’ve waited to see me at the office to ask about Jasper. This visit was deliberate. You were being nosy about my houseguest.”
“Okay, fine.” Her shoulders deflated as I punched the elevator button. “I admit it, but only because I want what’s best for you.”
She’d almost weaponized that statement over the years because it always made me soften. I faltered as we rode down the elevator, then found my resolve again by the time we reached the ground floor.
“So some new guy you hardly know at our company is the best for me, but a friend I’ve reconnected with isn’t?” I would still keep Jasper’s secret about drinking too much, but I was right on the verge of losing my cool.
“No, of course not,” she replied as we stepped into the lobby. “Skylar has grown into a fine young adult.” She pursed her lips like she’d sucked on a lemon. I was sure the makeup he was wearing hadn’t helped. “When will his apartment be available again?”
“Why does it matter?” I countered. “And before you suggest something ridiculous like he’s taking advantage of me, he actually contributes his fair share. He’s an adult and has a job and everything.”
“Glad to hear it. What does he do for a living?”
I gritted my teeth, knowing that answer would become a bone of contention as well. Just as I got out the words, “He works at a bar,” Gretchen swung through the door with a giant smile on her face. She’d met my mother a few times before, and now knew enough about how overbearing she could be when it came to my love life.