Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 65346 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65346 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
I arced a brow. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
“It’s the truth, ain’t it?”
I couldn’t argue. Most of that really was the truth, and I hated it.
It wasn’t the sex tape I hated, or the dropout part either. I just hated that Rex was the one going through all this. He was a good guy with a huge heart. I spent years telling myself his heart resembled a dried-up piece of corn husk, but that had all been a lie; the text message had been a lie.
It took six years for me to try and convince myself that Rex was a terrible human.
It only took about six minutes for me to realize the complete opposite.
“Has there been any updates from the detective?”
Rex shook his head. “I’m supposed to be having a call with him tomorrow. At least the video hasn’t hit the web, so I guess that’s a good sign.”
Without thinking much of it, I reached over Tammy and put my hand on Rex’s. “It’s going to be fine. No matter what happens.”
“Hope so.” His smile, half-cocked, seemed genuine, even though the circumstances clearly weighed on him. “If only I’d gotten a heads-up, then maybe I would have trimmed things up a bit. Made sure the lighting was good, the angles good.”
That got me laughing. It was a good sign, how Rex could find jokes inside of the storm that raged around him.
“I doubt you’ve got anything to worry about. I wouldn’t mind you from any angle,” I said, the flirty line flying out of me before I could stop myself.
“Oh really?”
Crap, crap. I wasn’t ready to back that all up.
Usually, I could flirt with the best of them. Back when I was feeling good about myself, I enjoyed the batting of compliments and innuendos back and forth. It was almost like the sports I found myself excelling in. There was a rhythm to it, and if the rhythm synced up, then a home run was all but guaranteed.
“Uhm,” I said, “yeah. Really.”
All right, so that was a strike.
Rex didn’t seem to mind. He laughed, looking down as Tammy got up and readjusted herself between us so that she curled up into a ball, her paws holding on to her long tail.
“Fuck, Benj. Six years.”
“I know… damn.” The wind picked up and rustled the leaves, some of them falling to the ground and adding to the orange and red crunchy piles. “Did you ever think about reaching out?”
“I did, a fuckton of times. I was just so lost in my own bullshit. In the parties, in the lack of responsibilities. My dad bankrolled everything, and it gave me zero drive. When I dropped out of law school, that was it, game over. I went full steam ahead with being a closeted playboy. I lost myself. When Mav would come home to visit, I’d always come up with an excuse. I didn’t want to see my family. I was scared of seeing you. I was so stupid, looking back now…”
I scratched the top of Tammy’s head, her eyes drifting shut. She seemed so peaceful between us, completely unaware of the overpacked baggage we were currently unloading around her.
“I was so angry with that text, I didn’t even think about it for a while. I even stopped talking to Mav for a couple of months. I was scared he’d bring you up. I think he eventually got an idea something happened, though, because he started to avoid the topic. He’d get asked about you sometimes, and he’d just shrug and say you were doing fine, but I noticed the looks he’d shoot my way. He knew.”
“Really? I don’t know about that. I think he would have said something to me. We’re open about everything.”
“Clearly not everything,” I said, motioning between us. “What do you think he’d say?” I asked. Maverick was five years older than us and had been adopted as a baby, so he was in the family long before we arrived, but from the second Dusty and I became a part of the Golds, he had effortlessly taken on the older-brother role, teaching us how to ride bikes, how to throw footballs, how to build a computer. How to be respectful and kind and how to powerfully stand up for what you believe is right. He had all kinds of interests, and he chased them all with an impressive amount of success. It showed in his pocketbook, seeing as he was probably one of the most successful out of all of us.
Mav also tended to have a bit of an unpredictable streak in him.
“About us hooking up? I think he’d be fine with it. He’s protective, but he’s also level-headed. As long as we’re happy, I think that’s all that matters with him.”
Rex had moved his hand at some point, leaving mine resting on his thigh. I didn’t even realize I was rubbing him in slow circles; it felt like such a natural motion. I stopped, looking over at him. Our eyes locked and my breath hitched, catching somewhere between my constricting throat and hammering heart.