Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 43540 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43540 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
“She was fun during Easton, too,” Ashley chimes in.
I glare at her as Tory goes on. “Then there was a post-Easton, where all you did was hole yourself up in your apartment with this pessimistic look on life and love and literally anything you could complain about because you got your heart broken.”
“Well, get your heart broken sometime, and maybe you’ll understand.” I slam my martini and wave to Sherry for another. I don’t understand why they’re still bringing Easton up after a year and a half. He’s old news. I moved on from him ages ago.
“Girl, that’s not my point. My point is that we want pre-Easton Callie back.”
“You have her. She’s right here drinking her martini.” Or was. Where’s that next round?
“No, honey. This is post-Easton.”
“Pre,” I snap back at Ash.
“Post,” Tory says.
“Pre—!”
“Oh Jesus Almighty, you need a fucking vacation, Callie. Whether you think so or not, you need to take some time off. Go out to the cabin. Enjoy the wilderness. Refresh. Find yourself. Because this Callie? She’s still drowning. We love you. This is us looking out for you because we know you aren’t looking out for yourself.”
I can’t believe they are coming at me like this. “You guys are serious?”
“Yes,” Tory and Ashey reply together.
Unbelievable. I shake my head. “Well, even if I wanted to, I can’t. I’m swamped with work. And my yearly review is coming up. It’s not a good time to take a vacation. Especially around the holidays.”
“You’re a freelance graphic designer. And you work from home. Which means you can work anywhere.”
Dammit, they got me there. I stare at the pamphlet. A cabin in the woods. They couldn’t have sent me to a beach? Paris? A Taylor Swift concert? “Fine, you’re right. I know things haven’t been ideal for me. Life didn’t work out the way I planned. But I’m totally cool about it. I don’t need to seclude myself in the middle of nowhere to fix my life. I just need my friends and another espresso martini, and I’ll be fine.”
Both girls stare back at me skeptically. “I’m serious. I don’t need this.” Still staring. “I’m not going on this vacation!”
Chapter two
Callie
“Vacation, my ass,” I grumble, trying to see through my blizzard-covered windshield. Cringy holiday music plays from the only station that works when a man on the radio warns his listeners of the pending snowstorm of the year and to stay indoors if possible. “I would have loved to, Grant, but I have sucky friends,” I say to my radio. Who the hell sends their friend to a cabin in the woods during a snowstorm? My two ex-best friends, that’s who.
I swear, this whole you need a vacation talk was a setup. Tory and Ashley could have just told me they were sick of me complaining without making me leave my comfy apartment. My blind date stories were horrid. Instead, they sent me to commune with the wildlife. In a blizzard, nonetheless. I still don’t know how they got me to agree to this. You said yes after six martinis and got to opt out of your bar tab. Low blow. I am a sucker for free drinks.
But for real! What has been so bad about my life that they think I need a reset? People go through bad breakups all the time. It takes time to get back on your feet. Find love again. Or a decent date. Or, at this point, just sex! Mmm… sex. To feel a man’s hands on me. Work my body into a frenzy until I see stars. Shit, at this point, I’d take a rub down from a homeless man if it got me off.
Back to the issue at hand. They act like Easton broke me. Yeah, it hurt, but I survived. I did the whole meditation thing and spent half a year finding my zen. It didn’t work. Neither did the voodoo doll I bought off Etsy. But it helped me overcome the anger and betrayal. I was on cloud nine before, thinking I was the luckiest girl to have a man who made my head spin.
Easton Cruz was my world. Looks never defined a man for me, but Easton, Lord Almighty, was the pure definition of gorgeous. I'm talkin’ sex on a stick, lickin’ good time. He was tall, with thick black hair that was always wild, and God, I loved running my fingers through it. His electric blue eyes were so intense. It’s like he constantly gave me access into his soul. And his body, ugh. Toned, sculpted, and painted in an array of artful tattoos.
I sigh, remembering how lovely he looked naked, lying on my bed with his mysterious smile.
And then I remember what an asshole he is.
He may have been the hottest guy on this planet, but he was a liar and a cheat. The only reason I never wrote a bad review about the voodoo doll was because he did kind of disappear. Not that I killed him. I don’t think. That’s still to be determined. But one day, he just stopped calling. Stopped trying to get me to listen to his excuses. And as much as I wanted him to fall off the face of the earth, the second he sorta did, it just made me worse off.