Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Silence—such a long pause.
“Sarah?”
She cleared her throat. “Uh, yeah. Sorry. I’m still here. I’m just processing all of that because it was a lot of information.”
“Sorry.” I turned in several circles to unwrap the phone cord from my body.
“Matt as in Isaac’s brother?”
“Duh. Yes.”
“Okay. Wow! Well, this is unexpected. And frankly, I’m not happy to hear that he removed your shirt.”
“If I wanted a lecture, I’d call Mom. You’re not allowed to judge me. It’s in the Bible, and you are far from innocent. Besides, it wasn’t how it sounds. I had beer on my shirt.”
“You’re drinking too?”
“No. It wasn’t my beer,” I said with frustration wrapped around each word.
“How did you and Matt even start hanging out?”
“Stop! This isn’t about Matt. Well, it’s a little about him, but mostly it’s about Ben.”
She chuckled. “Gabby, everyone knew you’d end up with Ben.”
“What?” I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it for a few seconds.
“Gabby, Ben looks at you like you’re the second coming of Christ.”
“You haven’t seen Ben in forever.”
“Not true. I saw him at your graduation, and I talked to him at your graduation party. I write songs about guys who look at girls like he looks at you.”
“You have no idea how he looks at me.”
“I do because as we speak, a certain guy is giving me the same look.”
They were totally having sex.
“I like Matt. I like him more than you ever did. And I like him more than his ex-girlfriend,” I said like any of that mattered, like it had something to do with Ben. And I knew Sarah wouldn’t argue with me about Matt while Isaac was in the same room.
“Maybe you like him the same. I liked him, too, but fell in love with his brother. You supposedly like him, but kissed Ben. Perhaps there’s something about Matt that’s not quite the right fit for any Jacobson girl.”
“Or I’m just confused because I’ve been saving myself for him, and in the process I missed out on kissing and hand-holding, and all the stuff everyone else does in high school. So I’m making up for lost time, and right now, Ben’s the only one who’s willing to kiss me.”
“Babe, go make coffee,” Sarah said to Isaac.
Then I heard a smack like they were kissing.
“You’re going to fuck this up,” Sarah said.
I bristled at her profanity.
“Excuse my language, but I don’t know how else to say this to you. Ben’s the one.”
“The fact that you think you have to tell me this just proves he’s not the one. Nobody had to tell you that Isaac was the one.”
“Isaac did. He relentlessly told me in a million subtle and a few not-so-subtle ways. But I had it in my head that Matt was the one for me. The whole town thought he was the one for me. But Isaac really saw me. He brought passion to my life. Despite my resistance. Despite my brain telling me he wasn’t the one. He. Was. It.”
I sat in my desk chair on a big sigh. “Well, I’m not you.”
“Then why are you calling me? Are you looking for my blessing to be with Matt? You’ve got it. Good luck with that.”
“I just want someone to be happy for me. I’ve liked Matt for so long. And now, I actually have a chance with him. And Ben’s messing with my head. And you’re on Ben’s side. I need someone to be on my side. Ugh! I should have called Eve.”
Sarah blew out a long breath. “You’re right. I’m sorry. You like Matt. I get it. He’s a nice guy. Smart. Talented. And his brother’s good in bed. There’s really no reason you shouldn’t like him.”
“Stop,” I said, trying not to giggle. “Why must you make everything about you? Everyone knows Isaac is good in bed.” I blushed just talking about sex. “I’ve heard you two when you come home for the holidays.”
“Yeah, well, take notes. If you can’t stop thinking about him, then he might be the one. But if he makes you scream, toes curling, body shaking, mind-blowing ecstasy, then he’s definitely the one. As long as he looks at you like you’re the only girl in the world. Understood?”
“Understood,” I grumbled.
“And just for the record, he wasn’t too good for me. You can like Matt. You may even decide you love him. But he doesn’t belong on a pedestal. He’s not the god you need to worship. And you are not the most boring person on the planet. Now, I gotta go. Don’t you have church?”
I looked at the time. “I suppose.”
“I won that bet,” she said.
“What bet?”
“Isaac said there was no way you were at a public college and still going to church on Sunday since Mom and Dad wouldn’t know if you didn’t go. But I said you were absolutely still going to church.”