Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 153946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 770(@200wpm)___ 616(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 153946 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 770(@200wpm)___ 616(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
She eventually directed me between a couple of garages and through a different driveway, then had me park in front of another long, low building, alongside several other cars. When she opened the passenger door and stepped out into the sunshine, grabbing her helmet with gloves inside it, I turned off the engine and grabbed mine. Maybe we were getting them inspected?
Keep dreaming, I thought as I got out. It sounded like there were some damn big bees buzzing on the other side of the building, and they were warning me to run.
“First of all,” I said as we walked toward the end of the building, “I would like to point out that an hour away is not a tiny bit of a drive. Which is what you promised when I agreed to get in this car.”
“It is in Texas. And Jiminy deserves a few normal road trips before he transforms.”
Since I was really feeling our workout, I stopped and handed her my helmet, then did a slow squat-and-stretch. “You said working out would make me feel better,” I groaned at the twinges I was feeling everywhere.
She let a sideways smile escape. “Stretch it out. Trust me, in a few weeks you’ll appreciate the effect a little flexibility can have on the forty-something’s love life. You want to be able to enjoy being in your sexual prime instead of throwing out your back or pulling a muscle, don’t you?”
“That’s an interesting sales pitch,” I said lightly as I took back my helmet, “I’m not sure I’m your target audience.”
“Based on the energy I’ve been getting from you and my brother, I think you are. All I’m saying is, you might want to limber up sooner rather than later.”
Sooner. A lot sooner. Like a few days ago. If you counted the foreplay, over a week. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She stopped mid-step and turned around to stare at me with her penetrating brown eyes. “You’re as bad at lying as my brother is. It’s already happened, hasn’t it? That’s why you were limping when you let me in this morning.”
“I wasn’t limping.”
I really was. Epsom salt baths couldn’t solve everything.
“Oh yes, you were.” Her brow furrowed thoughtfully. “I wasn’t expecting it to happen this soon. Snails move faster than my brother when it comes to women he’s interested in.”
“We’ve been making out since my first day at the icehouse.” If I weren’t holding a helmet, I would have slapped both hands over my mouth.
Why had I told her that?
You always told her everything.
Yes, when I was thirteen and in the throes of puppy love. Back then, I mostly loved the fact that he knew who Prince was, liked to read and actually paid attention when I spoke—the three things guaranteed to impress a quirky teenage girl.
More recently, it was the lazy lion vibe he gave off. Like he’d been lounging around for years, calm and unaffected, but when he was ready to pounce? Look out.
I barely had to use my imagination to finish the story I’d been writing. The one I’d been letting him read spicy snippets of in bed. I was basically a sex stenographer now, using my recovery periods while he was at work to transcribe our dirty activities, take muscle relaxing baths and hydrate. At the rate we were going, I’d be writing a second book before I knew it.
“Is it weird that I want to say good for you? And talk about how you might be a natural manifester, because you used to write his name all over your notebooks while imagining your wedding, and now you’re limping?”
Of course she’d remember that.
“I’d rather talk about the fact that you had me drive over an hour to stand in this hot parking lot when we could be eating chili cheese fries and recovering from our yoga session.”
“Sure. We can change the subject. For now. Welcome to the goal we’re manifesting today.”
We rounded the side of the building and I stopped short when I finally saw what all the buzz was about.
“These are go-karts, Bernadette.”
“Oh, come on,” she said, waving her hand to indicate the entire area. “I took you all around the paddock and you can literally see the real track we’ll be driving on in October from where we’re standing.”
It was nice to finally have an image in my mind. To be honest, it was giving me all sorts of ideas I wanted to write down. Or it was until she started directing me to an actual activity.
“And now we’re literally seeing go-karts. Tell me you weren’t planning for us to drive one.”
“I can’t tell you that, and they call it karting here. Look at them, August. These are not the go-karts of our misspent youth.”
She wasn’t wrong about that. They were small but intimidating. Low to the ground, and from what I could see of the drivers that were currently on the track, very fast.