Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94883 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94883 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
“It is,” I agree. “But so is yours. And I’m serious, I don’t think you should give up yet. There’s got to be someone else you could appeal to, some less assholey asshole higher up the insurance ladder.”
She wipes at her damp cheeks. “Yeah, maybe.”
“You don’t think so?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. Gerald seemed pretty sure of himself. And if the same thing is happening to lots of people, like Luis and his family, it’s probably a real thing. A shitty thing, but…a real thing.” She glances down, picking a pink petal off her knee. “My dad’s right. I should have read the contract more closely. This is my fault.”
I frown. “Or it could be predatory insurance practices, like you said.”
“Why not both?” She tosses the petal to the grass before resting her chin on her bent legs. “A little of this, a little of that, and at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter because I’m back to square one either way.”
“You’re not at square one,” I say. “You have proof that you can run a profitable restaurant. That’s huge, and something banks will pay attention to when you apply for a loan to start your next profitable, tasty business.”
She winces like she’s in physical pain. “Oh God, don’t remind me. I still have a small business loan. It’s almost paid off, but…fuck. Now I’ll be handing over eight grand to pay off equipment that will never cook again.” She picks another petal off her leg, throwing it to the ground with more force. “And I know this is just the way things are, but it just… It feels so unfair.”
“It is unfair,” I say. “I’m sorry.”
She sighs again, her shoulders sagging. “But at least I don’t have children depending on me. I can’t imagine how stressful that must be for Luis and Lila. Letting myself down is hard enough.”
“You didn’t let yourself down. Stop that shit. You were the victim of a natural disaster, and now you’re getting it up the ass a second time from the insurance company. Which isn’t right. Especially without lube.”
Her lips twitch at the edges. “Anal without lube is always a bad idea.”
“I wouldn’t know,” I confess. “I’m not into sticking it in the poop hole.”
She huffs softly beneath her breath. “Prude.”
The hint of laughter is all the encouragement I need to double down. “What? You like it in the poop hole? For real? I mean, not to kink shame you or anything, but you’re a tiny woman. I bet your poop hole is tiny, too. Doesn’t it hurt? A big ole dick shoving into your itty-bitty pooper?”
“Well, with you it probably would,” she says, tossing a petal my way. “Mr. Monster Cock.”
“Why, thank you, my lady.” I press a hand to my chest and give a little bow.
“You’re such a clown,” she says, with a fond shake of her head that I like more than I should.
“But I’m a clown with a big dick, so it’s okay,” I say. “It’s like short guys. If they’re short but have a big dick, they don’t have to have a Napoleon complex or feel weird about being short. Like Jean-Louise.”
She pulls a face. “Jean-Louise isn’t short.”
“Well, not to you, short stack. But at five-eight, he’s the shortest guy on the team. But his dick situation is even more obscene than mine.”
“Because you’ve looked, of course,” she says, the sparkle continuing to creep back into her eyes.
“Of course,” I say, refusing to be shamed. “It’s a locker room. Looking is part of the drill. Not being creepy about it, obviously, but a guy’s gotta see where he stands in the pecker order.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m so glad I’m not a guy. Though I have done my share of staring at Elly’s boobs. She just has the perfect boobs. I’m so jealous of them.”
“Why? I mean, I haven’t seen them completely out for show and tell, obviously, but from what I have seen, your boobs are nothing to sneeze at.”
She sits up straighter, glancing down at the front of her sundress. “Really? They’re so small.”
“They’re well-proportioned. And perky. And sexy.” I clear my throat. “And we should stop talking about them, or I’ll start embarrassing myself again.”
She looks up, a grateful smile curving her lips. “Thanks.”
“For being a pervert who gets an erection every time you look at me sideways?”
She shakes her head. “For following me. And getting my mind off things.” Smile fading, she shifts her focus over my shoulder, toward the water feature burbling at the entrance to the park. “And for not thinking I’m a pathetic loser with daddy issues.”
“I mean, who doesn’t have daddy issues, right?”
She leans back against the tree, gaze still distant as she says, “I don’t know. Elly worshipped her dad, but he died when she was a teenager. That’s its own kind of issue, I guess. I just wish…” She sighs. “I don’t know what I wish. I wish he were different or I were different and it wasn’t so hard all the time.” She turns back to me as she adds in a softer voice, “I don’t want to be a big baby who runs away from my conflict or whatever. I really don’t. I just… Instinct takes over. When things get like that, I don’t know what else to do.”