Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 116231 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116231 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 581(@200wpm)___ 465(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
“No,” she snaps, “it’s my week.”
“Suit yourself,” I tell her, and she walks down the steps and I shake my head. She has done lost her mind if she thinks I would be okay with an open marriage.
I watch the kids on the ice for an hour and get up to grab them some Gatorade before they skate off the ice, handing Vincent a yellow one and Westley an orange one. They get undressed and they both carry their hockey bags out to my car. “What do you guys want to eat for dinner?”
“Can we have burgers?” Vincent asks when he opens the truck door, and I picture Kylie in my head biting her burger from last night.
Then I hear her voice in my head, “Don’t worry though, I watch what I put into my mouth.”
She said it with a smile on her face and I shake my head because Kirby was right, she is a viper.
“Hello,” Westley says, “Dad.” I shake my head to stop thinking about it.
“Yeah, sorry, buddy, what did you say?”
“Can we have burgers?”
“Yeah,” I say, watching them get into the SUV before getting in myself. “Let’s get some burgers.” I back out of my spot.
We eat dinner together and I drive them to Josephine’s. I get out of the SUV at the same time as them. Every single time I come here my heart hurts a bit, not because of Josephine, but because I hate not having the kids with me full time. “Okay,” I say, standing behind them near the trunk. “Give me a hug,” I urge Westley, who grabs his bag first. He comes over and hugs my waist and I bend to kiss his head. “Love you, buddy,” I say, and he walks to the door, walking up the steps and going right in. Vincent is next as he hugs me and I crouch. “Dude, you need a shower,” I tell him and he laughs.
“Bye, Dad,” he says, walking into the house and turning to hold up his hand to me. I hold up my hand as he closes the door and then rub my hands over my face.
“This is life,” I tell myself as I get in my SUV and head home to my empty house.
six
I step out of the shower, grabbing the white towel and bending my head to wrap my hair up in it before I grab another towel and wrap it around me. The phone starts ringing from somewhere in the apartment. I tiptoe rush out of the bathroom toward the sound of ringing. Thinking I left my phone in the kitchen, but then I hear it coming from the front door and my workout bag.
I’m halfway to the phone when it stops ringing. Unzipping the bag, I reach in and fish around for the phone. My hands move my Pilates socks to the other side and then toss aside the granola bar I threw in there this morning on my way out for my workout class. My wallet is right next to my phone, which starts ringing again. The screen lights up the bag, letting me see exactly where it is. I pull it out and see it’s Lexi calling me. “Hello.” I put the phone to my ear, tossing the bag back down on the floor before walking back to the kitchen and grabbing a coffee cup.
“I’ve been calling you,” she sighs, “for the last twenty minutes.”
“Sorry,” I tell her, “I was in the shower.”
“I’ll be at your place in twenty minutes.” I look over at the time on top of the stove. “Will you be ready?”
“I can be dressed with my hair half-dried,” I tell her, “maybe some makeup.”
“What the hell have you been doing all morning long?”
“I did the eight o’clock Pilates class and then they had a spot open for the nine o’clock one and I was like, why not?” I tell her as I put a pod in the machine and push the button before walking over to the stainless-steel fridge and pulling it open, grabbing my milk. “I can tell you why not now,” I groan. “I’m surprised I was able to walk out of that fucking class. My legs felt like they were going to buckle at any minute.”
“And that’s what you get for trying to have a hot girl summer now, going into fall.”
I laugh as I pour the milk in the cup. “It’s your fault,” I point out, placing the milk back into the fridge, “and your family’s fault.”
“How?” she shrieks.
“We went on a two-week vacation where I drank like a fish every single day, and let’s not talk about all the food I consumed. I literally gained ten pounds in two weeks. It’s now been six weeks, and I’m still trying to feel human again.”
“I feel you,” she smiles, "but for what it's worth, you're looking hot as hell." I laugh, grabbing the cup and heading back to my bedroom, straight to the bathroom.