Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Evan Adler.
Fuckadoodle.
Green eyes. Or, no, blue. No, a breathtaking mix. Wow.
Oh. My. God.
Talk, Callie!
“Oh.”
Wow, riveting.
“Sorry, my bad. I really pushed that door,” he says, gathering his stuff. He looks down at me, expecting me to further the conversation, but instead, I just gawk at him. It’s extremely uncomfortable, and thankfully, he moves so I don’t have to. “Here,” he says, opening the door for me as he tucks his books under his arm. When he smiles and I see the dimples in his cheeks, I forget how to walk. So, of course, I trip on the threshold of the door he has open for me as I try to go in. I brace myself and glance back at him.
“You good?”
I nod. “I think so?”
“You sure?”
“No?” I answer, holding his gaze.
“No?” he asks, confused.
“I don’t know?”
“Okay?”
“Okay?”
This is fucking pathetic. He grins once more and then hooks his thumb behind him. “I gotta go.”
“Okay.”
“Okay,” he says, still grinning. “Stay weird.”
I press my lips together, but not even the force of my jaw can keep me from saying, “Stay hot.”
He looks back at me, his eyes wide, and then he chuckles. “This is by far the strangest interaction I’ve ever had.”
I give him a half smile, and when I go to lean into the door, I miss the frame and fall to my death. I let out a shriek, and I swear I can hear him laughing as the door shuts.
Between us.
I glance over to see him leaning to the side to look at me through the window. He holds up a thumb, and I hold mine up in response. He then jerks his behind him before turning to jog away.
I’m unsure if he really needed to go or if he was running from me.
Probably the latter.
I wish I could run from me.
seven
Evan
“How you doing?”
I pop my head into the screen for a second so my sister can see me. Shelli is lying back in her bed, a bowl of ice cream on her growing stomach. Since I’m getting ready for my introduction to the Bullies’ gymnastics team, in my crisp khaki pants my mom got me, I have my phone propped up. Mom also ironed my pants for me, so I look super professional. But if you ask Owen, I’m spoiled. I might be. As I grab my team shirt to throw it on, I have only my head in the screen since I don’t think my sister wants to see me changing.
“I’m okay. Tired. Ready for this kid to come.”
I nod as I take her in. She’s huge and swollen, but she’s smiling. “I bet. You look great. Glowing, really.”
“Aiden washed my hair for me. He’s a doll.”
“Got the golden egg with that one,” I say, grinning at her. “Have the doctors given you an ETA?”
She shakes her head, visibly frustrated. “Not at all. I’m not even showing any signs of this kid wanting to come out. Do you know how hard it is to walk in heels being this big? I want video evidence that Mom did it when she was pregnant with us, because it fucking hurts.”
I snort. “I heard when she was pregnant with us, she went on the ice in heels.”
“She’s not even human.”
“Agreed. She ironed my pants for me,” I say, showing her my outfit.
“Spoiled rotten!” she teases. “Though, she did come and paint my toenails for me with Zac on her back.”
Together, we shake our heads in awe of our mother before saying, “Superwoman.”
We share a grin, and then she asks, “You excited for your first day?”
“I am,” I say, sitting down and holding the phone out. “I had therapy this morning. It’s in the autism building on campus. I like my therapist. She and Angie are friends.”
“Fantastic. It’s Kayla Shaw, right?”
“How did you know that?” I ask, bringing in my brows.
“I know everything,” she laughs. “No, I got her number from Angie. Kayla wants to develop a program here like the IceCats have.”
“That’s awesome.”
“I know,” she agrees. “Hey, she’s super pretty. You should holler at her.”
I give her a dry look. “Yes, I’ll sleep with my therapist, the one who knows I hate myself.”
She mirrors my look. “Ev, come on. Don’t feel that way.”
“I wish it were that easy,” I admit. “I’m getting better. Dad cornered me.”
Her eyes widen. “Oh God, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It helped. It did. He said everything I was thinking.”
“Ah, okay. Do you feel better?”
“Eh, maybe not better, but not dwelling, if that even makes sense.”
“It does,” she says like a promise. “You know we’re all here for you.”
“Absolutely, I know.”
“And you know you’re my favorite.”
I laugh. “I know. Thanks.”
“Always! Isn’t the autism facility gorgeous? I heard Nico Merryweather is funding it.”
“I heard that too,” I add with a nod. “It’s a great building. They need volunteers, from what Kayla was saying. I offered to play music for them.”