Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
I’d barely reached the fourth chapter when there was a quick knock on the front door, and then it swung inward. Scootching down in my spot, I barely glanced up, hoping that whoever it was would walk right past me. Instead, my cousin Rumi stopped and ruffled my hair.
“Hey, loser, where’s your pop?”
“Out back,” I answered, jerking away from his hand.
“Cool.”
He disappeared toward the back of the house, and I realized his wife was still standing in the entryway.
“Hey, Nova,” I said, closing my book. I could find my page again easily—I’d read the book so many times before. “What are you guys doing today?”
“Rum wanted to borrow something from your dad,” she replied, moving over to sit on the other side of the couch. “He can’t find a couple of his tools, and he thinks they got stolen.”
“He probably left them somewhere.”
“I know, but don’t tell him that, or he’ll go on and on about how he takes care of his tools.”
“Ah, the bliss of zero self-awareness.”
Nova laughed and leaned back against the couch. “What are you up to?”
“Went shopping with my mom and Gram earlier, and now I plan on rotting for the rest of the day.” I lifted my book and snuggled even further into the couch.
Nova nodded and glanced around the room. I watched her carefully because it seemed like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t. My shoulders started to tighten with anxiety, but I tried to keep my expression neutral, waiting for whatever it was.
“Listen,” she said finally, turning her head to look at me. “I just wanted to tell you if you feel like doing something while you’re home, I’m usually available in the evenings. I mean, Thursdays I work until seven, but all the other nights I get off at five. There’s a new used bookstore downtown and a place where you can drink beer and paint canvases that I’ve never been to and thought looked kind of cool.”
I tried not to look surprised.
“You know,” she said with a shrug. “If you want to. Rotting is fun, too.”
“I’d love to,” I said quickly. “Man, that is not what I thought you were gearing up to say.”
Nova shot me a small smile. “Yeah.”
“Go ahead,” I said with a sigh. “Hit me.”
Her eyes twinkled, and she backhanded my shin.
“That’s not what I meant.” I lightly kicked her thigh.
“I don’t have anything to say,” she replied. “I know what it’s like to have the whole club talking about you. Having that kind of family is a good thing in a lot of ways, but the downside is that everyone is always in everyone else’s business.”
“No shit.”
“I don’t know the whole story,” she said with a shrug. “And it’s really none of my business. All I know is that Bas is a single guy from what I’ve seen. He can hook up with whoever he wants.”
“We didn’t hook up,” I replied, sitting up. “Are people saying we hooked up?”
“That’s the gist of it.”
“We kissed. That’s it.”
“I don’t give a shit if you gave him a striptease,” Nova countered with a laugh. “Who the fuck cares? It doesn’t have anything to do with me.”
“People are pissed, huh?”
“I try to stay out of it, so I haven’t heard much,” she hedged.
“Rumi doesn’t, he’s the biggest gossip I know.”
“Rumi doesn’t want to hear about any of his girl cousins having any kind of relationship,” she said dryly.
“Frankie wouldn’t even talk to me when they drove me home last night.”
“Did you talk to your brother?”
“No, I haven’t talked to anyone.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” she said, kicking off her shoes so she could pull her feet onto the couch. “It’ll all blow over.”
“I wasn’t trying to step on anyone’s toes,” I blurted defensively. “I wasn’t even thinking about—”
“Look, from what I understand, Bas and Lou aren’t together. Who knows what’s going on with them? But you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then why do I feel like a pariah?”
“Frankie’s always quick to judgment, especially when it has anything to do with Myla and Lou. I didn’t notice anyone else that was mad about it last night, they were just…talking about it. A lot.”
“I’ve been home twenty-four hours and I already miss my solitary life,” I groaned. “Nobody knew who I was fucking. No one cared what I was doing.”
“Yeah, well, you’ll have to get used to that as long as you’re here. How long before you leave again?”
“No idea. I got fired.”
“Shit.”
“I can find another job, but I’m not sure what I want to do yet.”
“You’ll figure it out.”
“I can’t believe that I thought it was a good idea to make out with Bas the day my career imploded and I came home with my tail between my legs. Maybe I should give myself a bad haircut to really put the cherry on top of my shit sundae.”