Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 155203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 776(@200wpm)___ 621(@250wpm)___ 517(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 776(@200wpm)___ 621(@250wpm)___ 517(@300wpm)
“How’d she do that?” I roll onto my side so I can see her face. Her gray eyes are on fire.
“It was a couple months after graduation. My mom was out of town recording an album with some artist, I can’t remember who. And Wyatt had just taken off on a road trip with friends. So Dad and I were fending for ourselves that summer.”
I’m not sure where this is going, but it doesn’t sound good.
“Emma called me under the guise she wanted to patch up our friendship. And because of our history, I agreed to hear her out. But I was running a kid’s hockey camp that week and wasn’t done till later in the day. I guess I mentioned on the phone that it was only Dad and me at the house, although I don’t remember how it came up. I told her to come by later if she still wanted to talk.” Gigi laughs in amazement. “Instead, this girl shows up at my house when I’m at camp and sneaks in using the spare key. Then she gets naked, drapes herself on my parents’ bed, and tries to seduce my dad when he walks in.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yup.” Gigi sounds livid. “For a while afterward, we were all afraid she would throw out crazy accusations, make a false claim that he tried to do something to her. She seemed unstable enough to do that. But I think even Emma’s not foolish enough to spread that level of hate. All her lies and rumors were always just shy of actually destroying anyone’s life. Mostly petty gossip.”
Gigi sits up, still naked. My eyes flit to her bare breasts, and although my dick twitches slightly, the mood is too somber for anything more than a twitch right now.
“Can I tell you a secret?” she says, biting her lip.
“Sure?”
“I loathe her.”
I snort. “I mean, I don’t blame you.”
“I’ve never said that out loud.”
“Really? You couldn’t say you hate her even after she exposed all your secrets on the internet? Feels like major betrayal in girl world.”
“It is. But I still always tried to take the high road. Find some compassion. Her mother abandoned her when she was twelve. Her father spoiled her to make up for that.” Gigi sighs. “My parents raised me to try to see the best in people. I always try not to drag them.”
“She dragged you. You’re allowed to be pissed.”
“That’s what my friends say. It drives them nuts that I don’t want to sit around and trash Emma. It’s not that I forgive her or feel any goodwill toward her—I trash her plenty in my head. But I never say it out loud. I feel like I’m not…allowed to be hateful.”
I’m curious to understand that. “Because it’s bad for your own well-being?” I ask. “Or because of some toxic positivity bullshit that says you must be nice to everyone, even those who don’t deserve it?”
She shifts uneasily. “I’ve never really thought about why. I guess it feels like I’m not allowed to.”
“Why not?”
“Because I have all these opportunities in my life. I’m not some victim. I’ve had it so good up until now. It feels selfish to bitch about my problems.”
“It’s not selfish, it’s natural. I’m allowed to get pissed when people piss me off, no matter how many or how few problems I have in my life. That chick Carma? She switched off my alarm the night she stayed over and made me late for practice. Dead to me now.”
Gigi grins at me. “That’s harsh.”
“You don’t owe people your forgiveness.”
“You forgive for yourself, not for them.” She sounds distraught now. “That’s why it upsets me. What does it say about me that I’m perfectly okay holding on to the hatred?”
“If it’s not harming you, who cares?”
“I want to be a good person.”
“Who says you’re not?”
She lies down beside me again, growing quiet. Once again, her fingers drag over my abs. With each absentminded downstroke, her elbow nudges my penis. It rests heavy on my leg, only semihard, but the more contact is made, the less semi it gets.
Gigi eventually notices.
“Who would’ve thought,” she marvels in amusement. “Deep conversations get your dick hard.”
“No. You get my dick hard by rubbing it during deep conversations.”
She slides into a seated position again, her long hair falling forward as she peers down at me. “Can I tell you another secret?”
The mischief in her eyes triggers a spark of heat in my groin. “Hmmm?”
“I want you again.”
“Can’t get enough, huh?” I mock. I like it, though, that needy glow on her face.
“I told you, I’m very stressed out.” Licking her lips, she bends over me. Her mouth comes closer, until it’s millimeters from mine. “And you promised to help.”
“You’re right, I did.”
I reach for the strip of condoms I left on the nightstand. A moment later, I tug her onto me so that she’s straddling my thighs. I wrap my fingers around my shaft and give it a long, slow stroke.