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)
Rex stayed on my mind pretty much twenty-four seven. I’d wake up thinking about him, have lunch thinking about him, take a shower thinking about him. Most of those thoughts left me rock hard, leading me to go find him so we could handle it together. We fit together in a way that seemed otherworldly.
Today, we were spending lunch by the lake after having snuck away for a midmorning quickie. It had been difficult keeping my hands off Rex. A week into us being official and both my parents already knew. They had simply dropped nonchalant comments about me and Rex looking good together, which I appreciated. It didn’t need to be a whole moment. That I figured would be reserved for Mav, who I figured would accept me and Rex together, but then again, anything could happen. I certainly didn’t want my older brother flipping and upset that his best friend and I were dating. It could certainly complicate things, and I understood that, but I had a feeling Mav would put my happiness and future first.
“Look, check out that cloud.” Rex pointed up past the trees. “It kind of looks like a teddy bear.”
“Really?” I tilted my head and tried to find the angle Rex was looking. “It kind of looks like a dildo to me.”
“Everything looks like a dildo to you, Benj.”
“Touché, touché.” I laughed and side-bumped him.
“I do see the dildo, though.”
“I told you!”
More laughter, loud enough to scare a few birds from the nearby trees. The winter chill started to nip through the air, but it was nothing a light sweater couldn’t keep at bay. Around us, the trees were all mostly different shades of fire red and setting sun orange, with a few bright yellows dashed throughout.
“I signed up for the GRE. I take it in a couple of months. Gonna help me study?”
“Fuck yeah,” Rex said, enthusiastically.
“Awesome. I think I should be fine. I already ordered a ton of study guides—should be getting here Friday. Then, well, who knows.”
“I know—you become a world-renowned veterinarian, saving animals left and right, eventually signing a deal to have your own TV show that turns out to be the longest-running vet show on TV.”
I looked over at those crinkling deep blue eyes. “You really thought it out, huh?”
He shrugged and said, “Nah. I just believe you can do anything.”
“Thanks, babe.” I kissed him on the cheek, his beard tickling my lips.
Rex’s phone buzzed, catching my attention. I looked down between his lap (somewhere my eyes naturally already drifted to) and saw a familiar name on the screen.
“Your dad?”
Rex let loose a sigh. “Yeah. Third text today.”
I knew his dad had been trying to reach out for weeks now. I didn’t realize it was that often, though.
“Here, you can read it.” Rex passed me the phone.
“Rex, please,” the message read, “call me back. I’m begging you, son. I need to talk to you.”
I looked to Rex before looking back out at the calm waters. The lake in front of us seemed so peaceful and serene, but I could tell the exact opposite scene was going on inside Rex’s head. A storm had circled his eyes, clouding his gaze.
“How often has he been reaching out to you?”
“About every day, now.”
“And you haven’t responded at all?”
“No.” Rex shook his head. His hand moved from mine, and he rubbed his knees. “He pushed me away, when I needed him the most, and sent me off with an overflowing bank account so that I wouldn’t be hanging out under his shadow. He chose his side. My stepmother held a rally upholding ‘traditional marriage,’ and my father went. What the fuck is that? And what the fuck is even ‘traditional marriage’? Is she talking about men and women only being together, or does she want to dig further back in ‘tradition’? When interracial marriage wasn’t allowed? Or even further? How many ‘traditions’ is this fucking bigot going to hold on to? Meanwhile, she’s married a divorced man, likely being the one who caused the divorce in the first place, and I’m sure as fuck she eats crab like every other week. Give me a fucking break. ‘Tradition.’ Why don’t we start new traditions, how about that?”
Rex rubbed the bridge of his nose before letting out a prolonged exhale.
“Sorry. I clearly have a lot to say on the subject.”
“Listen, your stepmom sounds like a raging, shortsighted, homophobic bitch who deserves to wear ill-fitting pantsuits and get terrible haircuts for the rest of her miserable life.” Rex’s laugh helped reassure me a bit. “But maybe there’s still hope for your dad. He’s the one trying to reach you, not her.”
“I just don’t get it. How did my dad go from my mom, a woman who had a heart big enough to care for every single person on this planet, to a woman who has the heart of a shriveled-up prune. It’s so fucked-up.”