Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Callie seemed to find that hilarious. “I like him,” she told Kace.
“Here’s your drink,” Kace told her, handing her a cocktail full of mint and lime. “Go find your sunglasses guy. Maybe he’s into Princess Leia.”
“Oh, God,” Callie said, looking out one of the windows. “I think we may have a problem out back.”
“Shit,” Kace said, looking over. The TV crew was right outside, and three cameras were currently pointed at a guy who was lying down on the deck by the pool. He looked more than a little drunk, and he was currently doing something like a sloppy striptease for the cameras.
“Time for damage control,” Callie said, giving Kace a sympathetic look before heading outside.
“Nathan, you all good?” Kace asked. “I really need to go rescue my buddy Will from a bunch of nationally televised shame. He’s going to regret it otherwise.”
“I’m good. Great. Go help your friend,” I said. “I’ll mingle.”
Kace gave me a thankful nod before sprinting out and turning the cameras away from his friend.
I’d told Kace I was going to mingle, but the truth was that the second he left my side, I felt just as out of place as ever. I sipped at my whiskey sour as I headed out back to the far side of the lawn, behind the sauna and toward a fire pit. There were only a few people around the fire, two of them kissing and the others melting into their chairs, probably tired and drunk.
I sat down in a chair and pulled out my phone, answering the last few work emails that I hadn’t been able to finish before coming here. Charlie, our masonry contractor, was finalizing an order of pavers for the back area of Kace’s guest house.
Before I knew it, I was answering work emails in the middle of a raging party. I’d co-owned Fixer Brothers Construction with my brother, Shawn, for years now, but I still hadn’t gotten used to how much daily paperwork it took. I woke up and answered emails in the middle of my sleep more often than I would have liked to admit.
I sat near the fancy fire pit for at least half an hour, getting lost in a chain of emails about certificates of insurance. My whiskey sour was gone, as were all the people that had been around me before.
I got up and headed back over toward the pool, but Kace was nowhere to be found. All over, the twenty-somethings were holding up their phones, recording themselves, even as an actual TV crew recorded them, too. I felt a pang in my heart, hoping that Maddy would care about more than just her social media accounts when she was 22.
I couldn’t picture my daughter at a party like this at all. She had just been a baby, for God’s sake.
What in the hell am I doing here?
I felt high and dry, like there had been a crackle of excitement earlier in the night that had left me as soon as Kace was gone. Now, I was just standing here, watching a guy do a handstand on one hand, chug a beer upside-down with the other hand, then flip into the pool. He’d been wearing a Rolex watch that probably cost half the price of a modest car.
I needed to get out of here. But first, I wanted to quickly check something by the guest house. I made my way past the big, shiny grills, the sauna, and past a cluster of pine trees, heading onto the long walkway toward the guest house. Charlie had been asking if the path near Kace’s guest house was on an incline, and I had nothing better to do at this party, anyway.
It was the right idea.
Relief settled in my bones the moment the sounds of the party drifted away. The smell of fresh mulch and pine filled the air, one of my favorite combinations. I headed down the path, little glowing lights dotting the pathway along the way. The path was even nicer at night, the canopy of trees making for the perfect moonlight-dappled stroll.
It was serene, even. Peaceful.
I passed the tennis court and rounded up toward the empty guest house. The porch light was on, but the rest of the area was dim, lit only by more glowy landscaping lights around the house.
I went around the back to check on the stone path and glanced in one of the bedroom windows. I was surprised to see the window was open. A small light was on in the bedroom.
And I saw something I knew I wasn’t supposed to.
It was Kace.
Sitting right there on the bed, naked, his cock in his fist.
I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I was stunned and frozen for a moment, my eyes glued to his cock as he stroked it intently. It was very hard and very thick. He was in his own private jerk session, and here I was watching through the open window like a creep. Just like I’d watched the lookalike porn star on my laptop.