Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102079 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
“I’m sorry I wrote my name on your guitar case.” In case God was still disappointed over the loss of my virginity, I thought showing Isaac kindness might get me back into His good graces.
He grunted while grabbing a broom to sweep the stall. I couldn’t decipher the meaning behind his grunt.
“Are you going to apologize to me for writing on my boob?”
“No.”
Maybe I wasn’t supposed to apologize with any expectations—unconditional love and all that kind of godly behavior. But I wasn’t God; I was human. And I expected something in return.
“Why?” I tried to act unaffected by his stubbornness.
“Because I’m not sorry.”
My mouth fell open in a silent gasp. “In that case, I take back my apology.” I pivoted and marched out the door and straight to my car. “Because I’m not sorry,” I said in a mocking tone with my nose wrinkled. “Jerk.”
“Matt’s on the phone!” Gabby yelled upstairs after I took a long bath.
Isaac’s name wasn’t leaving my skin anytime soon despite the nail polish remover I tried. It lightened it, but it didn’t completely remove it.
“Hey!” I said, sitting on the edge of my bed, wrapped in a fluffy pink terry cloth robe and my hair swaddled in a towel.
My summer wasn’t off to the best start, and I blamed all three of the Cory men.
“How’s work?”
I hugged a knee to my chest. “Fine. How do you like the campus?”
“I love it so much. We’re attending a game tomorrow. And I’m having dinner with the assistant coach. Sarah, this feels like a dream.”
“That’s awesome.”
“I miss you.”
I grinned. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Where’s your mom?” I asked.
“She’s at the pool.”
“Have you talked to your dad?”
“My mom has. Why? Is everything okay?”
“Yep. It’s fine. Since you called me, I’m just curious if all the Cory men are as considerate as you.” I rolled my eyes. That sounded weird, even for me.
“My dad is. But I don’t think Isaac is.” Matt laughed.
“Isaac’s a little considerate. He let me take his guitar home last night.”
Oh my gosh! Am I defending Satan?
Why did I defend him? Isaac's behavior was indefensible, and I kept forgetting that I seriously disliked him.
“What did you have to do in exchange? Clean out the sheep stalls for the next week?”
“I don’t know yet. I think he’s waiting and plans on lording it over my head for the summer.” I tried to return the same laugh as if Isaac was just being Isaac and not the guy who was coveting me and writing on my boob.
“You’re probably right,” Matt said with a long sigh followed by a long pause. “I miss you,” he murmured.
“I miss you too,” I replied on instinct. He hadn’t been gone that long, so I wasn’t drowning in my tears yet.
“I can’t wait to get back and get my hands on you.”
I wasn’t sure his brother’s name would be erased from my boob. But being the pleaser that I was, I replied, “Me too.”
Our first encounter didn’t involve removing my dress, so while Matt had felt my breast over my dress, he had yet to see me fully naked.
“Is everything okay? You seem quiet.”
“I’m good. Are you good? What about your mom? Is she good?”
Matt chuckled. “We’re fine. You’re acting weird. Why are you acting so weird?”
“I’m not. I just have a lot on my mind.”
“You mean what we did?”
I bit my thumbnail. “Yeah. And other things. Like, I want to go to Nashville. What do you think my parents would say if I told them I wanted to skip college for now and move to Nashville to sing even though I didn’t get accepted to Vanderbilt?”
He laughed a little. “Well, I think they’d tell you what I overheard your mom telling my mom.”
“What’s that?”
“Your parents were relieved you didn’t get accepted because they don’t have the money to send you there.”
I frowned.
“And I think your father will lose his mind if you go to Nashville.”
“Well, I’m an adult. They don’t have much say in the matter.”
“We know you’ll do exactly what they tell you to.” He laughed again, and it irritated me more than it normally would have since Isaac pointed out Matt’s lack of focus on my dreams. And I was tired of being such a pleaser to everyone except myself.
“Not this time,” I said.
“Where are you going to sing?”
“I don’t know. Wherever. I feel like I need to be where things are happening to stand a chance of being discovered.”
“How will you support yourself if your parents refuse to do it?”
“Duh. I’ll get a job during the day.”
“You know I love you, and I think you’re a great singer, but have you considered how incredibly rare it is for a no-name to show up in Nashville and actually make it big?”
“About as rare as it is for a rancher’s son from Devil’s Head, Missouri, to play in the big leagues.”