Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
“Yeah, I can’t wait to get back to school,” my boyfriend complained. It didn’t even sound right to call him my boyfriend anymore. I guess within a few days, I’ve grown up a lot, matured years, and Jonah was really nothing but a boy now, someone I wanted to be happy because he was my baby and I was his mom.
“No worries, we’ll be back at Hudson soon enough,” I said lightly. “Two days in fact.”
Oh god, two days. I only had two more days with Mr. Martin before classes started, my old life coming back with a vengeance. I didn’t want to think about it, it was so close and so I shook my head, like I was shaking cobwebs loose.
“Oh here we are,” I said, pulling open the door to 360 Smoothies. “Come on, let’s see what they have,” I said persuasively as Jonah and I stepped inside. He looked at the offerings and scrunched his nose.
“This stuff looks gross,” he said skeptically. “What’s that green shit?”
And I looked at him archly.
“That green shit is kale mixed with broccoli, come on, try a little,” I coaxed, handing him a sample.
But he shook his head.
“No way, looks gross. Let’s just get some creampuffs.”
But I was adamant.
“Just try something,” I said persuasively. “How about the banana mango smoothie? That sounds good, right?”
And this time, Jonah relented as I handed him a sample.
“You’re right,” he said thoughtfully, licking his lips. “Not bad, kinda like mango ice cream.”
“But they don’t add any sugar or cream,” I threw in quickly. “And that’s why it’s so much better for you. Two please,” I said to the girl at the counter, and soon Jonah and I were sipping our smoothies happily in the window of the store.
“You know, I feel like you take such good care of me,” my boyfriend said. I didn’t even like calling him my boyfriend given that my instincts were so maternal now.
“I know,” I murmured quietly. “I know.”
Jonah looked like he was about to say something, maybe about Sarah, his involvement in the lifestyle, maybe about school. I looked on with a welcoming smile, all ears. But he didn’t. Instead, the boy just looked away and said, “Yeah, you’re real nice Ally, I don’t deserve you.”
I wasn’t sure what to say at the moment. Of course you do? We’re a couple made in heaven? But that would be all lies. So I stuck with the inane.
“No worries, we all have some figuring out to do,” I said softly, “it’ll work out.”
And in my heart of hearts, I hoped it would work out for me as well. Because at this point, I was hopelessly in love with Rob Martin, and wasn’t sure what to do. He was Jonah’s dad, twenty-five years my senior, a rich, powerful businessman who’d been sleeping with his son’s girlfriend during Thanksgiving break. It sounded sordid, even to me, but in real life, everything was different. Because what happens on the outside is not the same as within, and you never know until you walk in another man’s shoes. So I pasted another happy smile on my face. No need for Jonah to know my thoughts.
“Come on,” I said, slurping up the rest of my smoothie. Oh yeah, I’m a curvy girl and twenty ounces of the good stuff can go down the hatch in a few swallows. “You still want to get some cream puffs?”
And Jonah shook his head.
“Nah, I’m good, the smoothie was enough,” he said. “Why don’t we just head back? I want to start packing, we’ve got to move back into the dorms again soon. Finals will be coming,” he pulled a face, “and shit, I need your notes.”
I sighed. As usual, Jonah was cribbing off me. Some things never change. Well, that was just life, and I’d work slowly on weaning him off, creating some distance.
“Right, back home,” I said slowly, picking up my purse. Because Mr. Martin would be there, and what was next for us? I needed to talk with the big man, figure out what he wanted, what I wanted, whether any of this was sustainable, whether he even wanted it to go on. Sure, I was living in the dorms just a couple miles away, but in Manhattan, a couples miles can be the equivalent of an entire galaxy. So would I see him again? Did he want to continue our relationship? And my heart in my throat, I made my way back. I loved the alpha male but had no idea if I was acting an idiot and if he wanted me at all … or if these were are last days together.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Ally
Well, I never had the talk with Mr. Martin. Oh I saw him again sure. For the last two nights, our midnight rendezvous were even more frenzied before, the loving intense, making me sizzle and fall apart each time.