Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 95559 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95559 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
“Please don’t tell me this means you’re skipping out on mealtime again?” I ask him with a playful tone in my voice.
“I have someplace to be,” is all he says as he gets into the driver’s seat and buckles up. “Save me a plate?” he asks, closing the door and not giving me a chance to reply. He switches on the engine and backs out of the driveway.
I’m frustrated because even after all this time, he’s still a closed book, seemingly only participating in the minimum of activities. And I’m irritated at myself because I know even though I’m annoyed, I’ll still plate him up some leftovers and leave them for him to have when he decides to come back home later tonight.
eight
Kyler
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” I don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know what’s going on upstairs. But I am a moron for thinking Thea wouldn’t have sex with her boyfriend in the house. That’s what I did, most of the night, while I failed at not watching her. I put myself through hell picturing the puny guy putting his hands on her bare skin. I groan and reach for my phone. The screen lights up and shows it’s a little after four in the morning and there’s no way I’m going back to sleep until they’re done—which I’m hoping will be soon. I never want my friends to pump and dump but man, I am down on my knees praying this fool can’t last longer than thirty seconds.
The thirty seconds pass and the squeaking from Thea’s bed continues. “Fuck my life.” I bring my phone to life and go to her social media page. She added me as a friend the other day and I waited until midnight to accept even though I saw it right away. I don’t know why I didn’t look at her page before now because if I had, the boyfriend wouldn’t have been such a surprise. I click on their pictures and study their body language. Thea looks like she’s into him, but he seems standoffish. Of course, I’m probably looking for reasons they shouldn’t be together. Which, I don’t get. She means nothing to me. Thea is a roommate and one of my best friends’ sisters. These thoughts I have about her need to stop. The only reason she keeps popping in my head is because she’s a good cook.
And she’s fucking hot.
The squeak stops. “Wow, a whole minute. Poor Thea probably didn’t even get off.” I continue to scroll and finally click on his name. I’m surprised his page isn’t private. This guy is giving me full access to his life, and he doesn’t even care. I don’t even know why I hate him. Oh, yes, I do. He’s fucking rich. Driving around in daddy’s Maserati. I didn’t even look to see what kind of car he rolled up here in. I’m sure it’s a BMW or some shit like that. Something I can’t afford, at least at the moment.
He's touching Thea right now, moving between her legs, kissing her in places my mind has wandered. I hate it. I hate every single second of what’s going on upstairs. I want a night with her, where nothing in our lives will affect what we do. She doesn’t know me. I don’t know her. And then, nothing more. I won’t need anything from her again.
“You’re lying to yourself,” I say to my empty room. “And you’re talking to yourself.”
I need to get some sleep, but I’m on the cusp of a deep dive on this jackass’s page. There are pictures of him with other girls and when I look at who liked the photo, Thea’s name doesn’t show up. Interesting.
Almost every photo has comments on it and the same one appears over and over, “Where’s Austin?” Who the hell is Austin? I click a few more profiles trying to figure out who this mystery guy is, but nothing comes up. After a few more scrolls, I give up and put my phone back on its charger. I’m about to close my eyes when I hear movement upstairs. So help me, if they start going at it again, I’m going to pound on the ceiling.
Except I would never. The last thing I want to do is embarrass Thea. Banging on the ceiling or saying something will without a doubt mortify her. The floor creaks and there’s some muffled voices, and then a door closes. I roll onto my side, taking my pillow with me. Tomorrow, I’m going to borrow Devon’s noise canceling headphones. I need some sleep.
A loud thud startles me awake and Jude yells, “Dev, Nole, Ky! Street hockey in ten!”
Fuck. I roll onto my back and stare at the ceiling. A ceiling I now hate. I know way too much about what goes on in the room above me and I’d love to find a way to erase my knowledge. I dress in the first thing I can find off the floor—a pair of gray sweatpants and a dark blue T-shirt. I’ll opt for no shirt once we start playing since we’ll end up splitting teams and one side has to be fully clothed.