Total pages in book: 206
Estimated words: 192184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 961(@200wpm)___ 769(@250wpm)___ 641(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 192184 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 961(@200wpm)___ 769(@250wpm)___ 641(@300wpm)
Nick was a twenty-two-year-old gorgeous, long-haired, tattooed, and leather jacket-wearing bad boy. I was attracted to the look and the swagger of bad boys for some reason, but when it all came down to it, they’d get dumped as soon as they showed me their true bad boy colors. While I was attracted to them like a moth to a flame, it didn’t last. I didn’t want to waste my time on someone going nowhere but downhill.
As I got dressed for grad, I thought about the guy that had come into the ice cream parlor I worked at the other day. He came in while I was working my last shift and he was well-dressed, as sexy as a movie star, and carried himself with confidence. He was so tall and strong-looking. A hundred percent grown-up male and very different from Nick. Older. Somewhere near thirty, and he gave me tummy flutters like I’d never had before. What would it be like to date a man who oozed sex appeal and maturity?
As me and my foster sisters got ready for our big day, they were giddy and giggling. I was deep in thought about the guy I’d been thinking of as the ice cream parlor hottie. I barely stopped thinking about him the past two days and nights. But, as that had been my last day at that job the chances of seeing him again were small. He flirted with me, but I behaved like a deer in the headlights. I wished I was older, more confident, and that I’d given him my phone number. I was so over guys that were like Nick.
I knew Nick was trying to get my attention because he knew that tomorrow I’d be moving into my own apartment. He wanted alone time with me. He and I had done the alone thing plenty of times and I didn’t need to go down that road again. It wasn’t exactly symbiotic.
Nick wanted to attend the graduation ceremony, but I only had a limited number of tickets to give out and since I had no one but Dad, I’d given my extra tickets to the other girls who had guests.
I was ready for new things. A new place, college in the fall, and new opportunities. Maybe a new guy, too. One who was ready to be a man, not a boy living in a one-bedroom apartment shared with two other guys who rotated using the bedroom when they had girls over (with the never-innovative sock on the doorknob as the clue that the room was “in use”. Gross.).
We’d done it in there once and… never again. We’d done it a few times in his car, but it was certainly not very fulfilling! Neither the car nor that bedroom had been cleaned in months. He undoubtedly saw my upcoming apartment as an ‘in’. Wrong. He’d already texted me today, trying to get me to agree to ‘talk’ later tonight.
As I walked up on the podium to receive my diploma, I had the surprise of my life. Dad was in the audience, a big smile on his face. He was seated beside Rose, who was chatting softly to him while snapping pictures of me. Nick was sitting directly behind my dad, dressed up and smiling at me, too. I avoided his gaze, tried not to think about how handsome he looked. Looks weren’t everything. Why was he even here? I bet Ruby found him a ticket; she’d been trying to get us back together for days like it was her mission in life.
After the ceremony was over, I was in the school’s courtyard for photos, and Dad rushed to me. He looked good. I’d only ever seen him in a suit once, at Mom’s funeral, and this was that same suit. He had his dirty-blond hair gelled back and he smelled like expensive cologne. Seeing him like this reminded me of how he sometimes was before Mom died. His green eyes sparkled. He was good-looking for his age. Everyone said I had his eyes. He’d never been perfect, but we did things together. He taught me to cook, I’d hang out with him while he tinkered with his car. When I was small, he’d hold me high in the air with an airplane ride to bed. He’d read bedtime stories with such effort and emotion, doing different voices for every character. He wasn’t the perfect father or husband before she died but after she died, he was a shell of a man who tried to drink and gamble away his pain. Seeing him here today, trying for me, I felt a burst of affection for him.
He swung me around in a giant hug, making me squeal. “Athena! I’m so proud. You look all grown up. Look at you. Someone take our picture!” He called out to the rest of our group and Rose hurried over with her camera.