Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 131209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
“How could I not get my first born, my pride and joy, her own Audi?”
I smiled and pulled away from them. “Thank you so much! Oh my God, I’m so excited,” I squealed.
“Well, you have proven yourself more than able and mature enough to handle the responsibility of a car. We trust you and know that you won’t let us down,” Dad stated.
I nodded.
“Honey, you don’t need to even say all that,” Mom added. “You know Brookie wouldn’t disappoint us.”
I smiled. I wouldn’t.
Dad pulled her into his chest and kissed the side of her neck, causing her to giggle. I swear my parents couldn’t keep their hands off each other for more than five minutes. The city’s happiest married couple, as everyone called them. Their marriage was stuff made of fairy tales and Disney movies; as much as it annoyed me, I secretly loved it. It was inspiring to see the love and devotion they displayed for one another with or without people around.
“Mom, are you still leaving today?”
She sighed. “I am, Brooke baby. I have that charity in San Jose I can’t pass up. I’m chairwoman this year and I must be there, but we will take you out to breakfast and then you are free to do whatever you please.”
“Really?” I asked, cocking my head to the side. They never let us out of their sight when it was our birthday or even holidays.
“Yes,” Dad interjected. “Your mom has convinced me that you’re old enough to do your own thing, as she has so eloquently put it.”
I didn’t want to seem too eager in case they changed their minds, but inside, I could barely contain my excitement. I couldn’t wait to tell Christine that we could go to the party that night and I would be driving us in my brand new car. She was so disappointed when I told her I couldn’t make it because it was my birthday and I didn’t think my parents would let me go.
“Where would you like to go to breakfast? I have the jet waiting for me so we need to leave soon.”
I dressed casually, wearing a yellow sundress to accent my new sun-kissed highlights that made my already blond hair much blonder; it appeared almost white in certain places but blended well with my natural tone. It was summer, and Christine and I spent most of our time laying out on either of our patios, enjoying the sun and working on our much-needed tan.
We used her patio more than mine, seeing as my dad always had business partners coming in and out of the house. His company office building was located in downtown Miami, but he never seemed to use it. He was a property developer for office buildings, strip malls, and condominiums all over the city and as far north as the Bay Area of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. He traveled often.
My mom was a housewife, taking care of my sisters and me. Courtney was thirteen going on thirty, who I swear was an old soul, and then there was April, who was about to turn fifteen—I was the oldest. Mom was active in almost every charity and funded multiple projects around the world; she said it refreshed her soul to give back to those less fortunate.
We had lived on Star Island since the day I was born. It was a community where most celebrities and higher-income individuals resided. My family was well off. Although, I hated talking about money or anything about status, it sounded pretentious and obnoxious, but most of my social circle didn’t get that memo. Sometimes, I felt like that’s all we discussed and I knew the moment they heard I was driving around in a brand new Audi, it wouldn’t take long for the bandwagon of wannabes to jump on board just so they could talk to me.
Everyone wanted to be me, and be part of the Stevens family, I guess you could say we were that elite—the perfect parents who had the perfect marriage, with the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood, and the three perfect children. It was nauseating, to say the least, but at the same time, I loved it. It was nice to come from something that everyone else wanted and know it wasn’t a façade like most families in our city. Mine was real and I cherished that more than anything.
We ate breakfast on South Beach with my sisters and then took my mom to the jet; my parents shared a motion picture goodbye. We were on our way back home with our chauffeur, Albert, driving us.
“Dad, do you think it would be okay if I stay at Christine’s tonight?”
He looked up from his Blackberry. “What are your plans?”
“Oh, well… there is this party that Tony is throwing in Bel Air.”