Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 153268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 766(@200wpm)___ 613(@250wpm)___ 511(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 153268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 766(@200wpm)___ 613(@250wpm)___ 511(@300wpm)
Finally—praise Jesus—Row grumbled, “Fuck, I’m coming.”
“Yeah. Totally. Me too.” I lifted my hand from behind his shoulder and bit into my fist to suppress a yelp of agony. I was worried my internal organs had gotten tangled around his penis. What if he pulled out and took my intestines with him? That thing between his legs was a health hazard.
Row was coming inside me when I heard the squeak of car wheels stopping abruptly to my right, followed by gravel crunching. Another couple coming to Make-out Mountain to get some action. A car door slammed behind my back.
Then I heard the unmistakable voice of my best friend.
“Somebody better hold my earrings.” Dylan’s tenor was like a pair of scissors cutting my heart into a Judas-shaped paper. “Because I’m about to murder a bitch.”
“Shit.” Row lurched away from me like I was fire. His condomed penis materialized from my body one inch at a time, wet and entirely too big to be nestled inside anything that wasn’t a lifeboat. He yanked off the condom, tying it and zipping himself up.
“Please tell me I’m suffering from a brain hemorrhage and not really seeing what I’m seeing.” Dylan tramped her way to us, her neon pink ankle boots chomping the pebbles beneath her. She wore a red leather skirt she’d borrowed from me, knee-length plaid socks, and a black sweater. She looked adorable. Also, pissed off. Mostly pissed off. Way more pissed off than I’d anticipated, to be honest.
Row tossed his leather jacket over my torso, and that was when I remembered he’d removed my shirt and bra sometime during our sexcapade.
Also—why wasn’t I moving? Talking? Breathing? Oh. That’s right. Because my go-to during fight-or-flight situations was the third option—freeze. I’d simply turn to stone and play dead.
“Cal!” Dylan stopped in front of me, her dark, upturned eyes glittering with tears. “What the…what the shit, dude?!” She tossed her arms in the air like they were boneless noodles before pointing at Row. “That’s my brother. What do you think you’re doing?”
That was a very fair question. To which I had no good answer.
Dylan’s face was devastating. Her full lower lip trembled, and her apple cheeks were stained pink. I had completely miscalculated how much she’d care about this. I peered behind her shoulder. I noticed Tucker, the beefy bully we both hated, sitting in the driver’s seat of the car that had driven her here, pretending to read his insurance papers. Probably scared Row would make a punching bag out of him if he realized he was here.
What was Dylan doing with this douche canoe? Was she planning to make out with him here?
Now was decidedly not a great time to interrogate her.
“Dammit, Dot, say something!” Dylan grabbed me by the arms and shook me hard, desperate and panicked. The leather jacket fell from my chest. I was now topless. And anxious. So anxious I couldn’t breathe. The flashbacks poured out.
Naked.
Defenseless.
Attacked.
“That’s enough, Dylan.” Row’s voice was pure gravel.
For the first time in my life, I witnessed my best friend ignoring her older brother. Usually, she treated him with godlike respect. Which was maybe why she was so pissed right now? There was no other way to explain it, since she looked ready to murder someone. Ideally, me.
Still, I was incapable of producing any sound, let alone words of apology. I was shell-shocked, caught red-handed doing something I shouldn’t have. Namely, my best friend’s older brother. I sifted through my mind for a plausible reason for what had just happened.
He was my one chance to lose my virginity. I’m broken.
I’ve actually had a crush on him for ages. I never told you because I care so deeply about our friendship.
I didn’t even plan to do it. It just…happened.
But they all sounded dumb, even in my head. I had messed up. And I needed to pay for it.
“Stop this right now.” Row stepped between us, bunching Dylan’s wrists behind her back and pulling her away from me. “You can’t kill her,” he said dryly.
“Give me one good reason!” She kicked the air manically, trying to break free and throw punches my way.
“For one thing, we can’t afford the legal fees.”
“We can always hide her body,” she spat out, wiggling ferally in his arms. She had no idea how much her words triggered me. A scream clogged my throat.
“You can’t even hide your birth control from Mom.” Row rolled his eyes.
“You’re on birth control?” I gasped. “You never told me that.”
“Chill. It’s to regulate my hormones. You know I haven’t even gone past second bas—” Dylan frowned, catching herself. “Hold on a minute, why am I explaining myself to you? We’re not even friends anymore.”
What?
Tears sprung to my eyes. White, blistering panic gave way to realization: I had slept with my best friend’s older brother and she’d caught me. Maybe I didn’t think it was a big deal, but what did I know? I had no siblings, so I’d never had to deal with anything like this.