Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 90877 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90877 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“He had a few projects to finish at the shop.” He didn’t normally work full-time on the weekends, but the holiday season brought in more customers wanting to give sentimental gifts. “He’ll stop by whenever he’s free to put the finishing touches on the cabinets and take all his supplies home.”
When Grant frowned, I understood the sentiment. Marcus wouldn’t have any reason to come over unless we invited him. So we’d have to do more of that. I was dying for his company, to be honest, though our nightly talks helped us stay connected.
“Which reminds me,” I said after swallowing the last bite of pizza crust, “how about we visit the city sometime after the New Year? Ticket prices are crazy-high right now because of the holidays.”
Grant wiped his mouth with his forearm. “Is that when Marc can make it?”
“He’d have more time, that’s for sure.”
Grant fist-pumped. “Then let’s do it.”
“I’m jealous,” Jeremy said, pushing his empty plate away from him. They had wolfed down four slices each. “That’s gonna be so fun.”
“I’m sure I’ll text you constantly,” Grant said with a shy grin.
“And send photos?” Jeremy asked, and Grant nodded.
I stood with our plates, my cheeks feeling warm, but I wasn’t sure why. Maybe because it was strange to be privy to their more intimate conversations, no matter how sweet and how much I’d always wanted Grant to have a companion.
They went back to the couch, and I cleaned up the kitchen, then headed upstairs to change into sweats so I could get on the treadmill. My arms were sore from raking leaves, so why not have my leg muscles join in the fun? Besides, it felt good, like I was working off the last bits of tension from the day.
Once I powered down the machine, I padded to the kitchen for some water.
“Wanna head up to your room?” I heard Jeremy ask, and I stopped in my tracks to listen despite feeling guilty for eavesdropping.
“We’d still have to keep the door open, and my dad would probably walk by just to check.” Grant made a frustrated noise. “His rules, remember?”
“Even with guys?” Jeremy’s tone was teasing.
“Guess he’s covering all the bases. An equal opportunity parent,” Grant scoffed.
“That’s not a bad thing, but…it doesn’t help our situation.”
“I’ll come to your house next time,” Grant said with a groan.
“Good idea. My sisters are good at keeping my parents distracted.”
“We’ll have to keep track of time, though. I got in trouble for curfew because of you,” he said in this teasing tone that made my hair stand on end.
Jeremy laughed. “Yeah, sorry about that.”
“My mom would’ve been cool about it.” Grant’s voice was strained. “She wouldn’t have treated me like a little kid.”
My thoughts swirled as I tried to make sense of their conversation. This was why I shouldn’t have snooped in the first place. I forced my legs to move toward the stairs as my gut churned. I’d just head up to my room until it was time to drive Jeremy home.
“What if your mom knew what we were up to?” Jeremy asked, and my feet faltered. They were obviously not discussing video games. Something else on the computer?
Rebecca and I always knew that Grant would be exposed to stuff we never were as kids. We used to keep parental controls on his web surfing when he was younger, but Grant was at the age where his curiosity would be piqued about all sorts of things. Other kids were undoubtedly way ahead of him, so it shouldn’t have surprised me that Grant was finally doing normal teenage stuff.
“Mom might’ve lectured me about being responsible, but she was always cool about everything.”
“Your dad seems cool too,” Jeremy said, and I felt silly being relieved that someone was in my corner.
“He just…worries about everything,” Grant said, and my fingers gripped the railing. “He’d be totally stressed out and probably impose even more rules.”
They got lost in their gaming talk again, but I stood frozen, thinking about when I was a teen and tried sneaking in alcohol and cigarettes. Should I be concerned and ask Grant straight out? Talk to him about being responsible? Whatever that meant.
I grabbed my laptop and clicked around different parenting sites, trying to figure out the best way to handle this. Rebecca had been the one to give him the sex talk, and she would’ve known what to do in this situation as well—likely figuring out what situation we were dealing with in the first place. It could’ve been anything from alcohol to porn. So maybe a lecture about responsibility would cover all the bases.
The conflicting information and advice frustrated me, so I eventually gave up and went downstairs. Still reeling from what I’d overheard, I needed to appear as normal as possible. “It’s getting late. I’ll drive you home.”