Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 49490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
“Teensy?” Vanni scoffed. “How teensy is teensy?”
“Bigger than your dick,” Jimmy quipped, holding a hand up for a high five.
My lips quirked at the sophomoric humor, but I ignored my idiot cousins and kept a straight face. My gaze might have wandered to the big man across the counter; that couldn’t be helped. For one thing, Rob looked good enough to eat in a snug-fitted tee that matched his eyes and accentuated his beefy biceps. And for another thing…I ached from last night’s sexathon.
Christ, we’d been positively voracious. I had a bruise on my hip and if I wasn’t mistaken, I’d left a wicked hickey on Rob’s right pec.
“Three points,” Amber replied.
“Yup. We’re killin’ it.” That was Vanni again.
I had a feeling my cousin’s over-the-top boasting was his version of flirting, and shockingly…it might have been working. Amber’s blush ruined the annoyed glance she shot my cousin.
“For now, yes. But Rob and I have some yummy surprises in the works, so…don’t rest on your laurels, boys. We’re gonna kick your booties.” She held a hand up to Rob for a high five, then tapped her clipboard. “Last item on my list is actually kind of a big one. As I mentioned, our online campaign is racking up some big numbers and well…Mrs. Mulveney came up with an interesting idea to make our finale into more of a grande finale and have it coincide with the alumni game the first weekend in December. We can reach out to some other former players and maybe ask them to be judges.”
“Not a bad idea,” Sal spoke up. “You should ask the new QB too. That kid’s pretty popular, and he can play.”
Amber beamed. “Yes! I love that. I’ll get a couple of foodie influencers involved. If they hype us up over the next few weeks, we might go viral. And I don’t need to tell you how amazing that would be for business. Not just for us, but for the whole town.”
Vanni whooped, Jimmy and Sal offered Amber a fist bump, and I pondered the scope of what could turn into a larger than anticipated event during the holidays. Haverton was used to accommodating tourists, but we were still a small beachside town. We’d have to talk to the mayor and city council to be sure Haverton was ready to deal with parking, traffic, and portable toilets.
“This thing has taken on a life of its own,” I commented under my breath, sidling next to Rob.
“Yeah. What have we done?”
His deadpan delivery was funny, but his expression had a haunted quality I knew all too well.
As soon as the meeting adjourned, I pulled Rob into my office with a weak excuse about wanting to make sure he wasn’t stealing any recipes. My cousins definitely didn’t buy it, but Jimmy had opened the door for Mr. Smith and it was time to get to work.
I handed Rob a water bottle and pointed at the lone chair behind my desk. “Sit.”
He flopped into the seat and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, head low. “I’m fine. Just a little dizzy.”
I plucked the water bottle from his fingers, uncapped it, and held it up again. “Drink. You’re pale.”
Rob obeyed, his gaze locked on the scuffed tile floor. “Careful. Someone might think you care.”
“I just don’t want you passing out in my restaurant. You can do that next door.”
“You’re all heart, Cavaretti.”
I nudged his knee gently. “Hey, you know I’m kidding. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just…light-headed.”
“Panic attack?”
Rob furrowed his brow. “I don’t think so. I haven’t had a panic attack in years. I guess I’m a little stressed.”
I considered him thoughtfully. “I get it.”
He took a gulp of water. “I have anxiety. I’m on meds. That’s not something I share lightly, so…”
I made a zipped-lips motion. “Understood. You know what you need?”
“A blowjob and some lorazepam?”
“Maybe, but I was thinking…we should go surfing.”
He snorted. “Now?”
I stepped on his foot to annoy him. “Not now. Some of us have to work, hotshot. Tomorrow morning.”
“Uh-huh. Why surfing?”
“ ’Cause it’s fun. And it’s not bagels, it’s not pizza, and there’s no football involved. Just you and Mother Nature. The ocean is a great equalizer. Everyone could use a reminder that there’s something bigger out there than the BS in our heads, you know?”
Rob cocked his chin as he sat back. “Are we friends? ’Cause that feels…like something a friend would suggest.”
I opened my mouth and closed it. “Gross. Don’t get gooey on me, Vilmer.”
His eyes twinkled with mirth. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Later that evening, I brought my surfboard and the chicken parmesan my mom had left in my fridge to Rob’s house. We ate on the sofa, watching sports highlights and arguing about NFL player stats and our favorite flavors of cream cheese. Squabbling about who was wildly overpaid and why no one in their right mind would ever put pumpkin-maple cream cheese on a bagel was more fun than it should have been.