Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
"She's smart," he says.
"No shit, Sherlock. She's a doctor," Cynthia says. "Can we go a little deeper?”
"Unlike you and I, Ivy doesn't feel the need to fill the air with chatter. She's comfortable with silence. I like that about her. The way her presence feels strong, even when she isn't saying a lot," he says.
Does he really see me that way? It doesn’t feel like a line, the way his compliments did our first night. We don’t know each other well, sure, but we’ve spent some time together now. He does know me.
That’s scary and thrilling.
My cheeks flush.
"I also like the way she doesn't constantly talk about psychedelics," he says.
"Don't worry. I'll ruin that for you," Cynthia says.
“Are you going to peer pressure her into tripping with you? Or interest her professionally?” Surprise fills his eyes. "Wait. Are you telling me you and Daniel are dropping acid?" he asks.
"Acid? No. That's made in a lab. I'm all about natural," she says.
"Natural what?" he asks.
She shrugs, coy.
He stares at her, mystified. "You're fucking with me."
"Ask him if you don't believe me," she says.
"Are vape pens natural?" I ask.
"No. They're terrible, aren't they?" she asks. "But our apartment is 'smoke free.'"
"Doesn't that include vaping?" he asks.
She shrugs. "Rome, do me a favor. Grab me a water so I can talk to your girlfriend."
"What are you going to tell her?" I ask.
"How much I love your brother's dick. What do you think?" she asks.
"I don't know. That's why I'm asking," he says.
"Girl talk," she says.
"Mom used that too," he says.
"I'll tell her mushrooms make you horny, too," she says.
He makes a show of rolling his eyes, but he smiles. They do have a certain repartee.
But it is a little… sibling-ish.
I think.
It's hard to tell. They're both so beautiful.
He looks to me as if to ask is this okay. I nod. It's fine. She's friendly. And she buys into all this. And, well, I have the feeling I can get some info from her.
She waits for him to walk into the house to speak. "He's been treating you well?"
"Does it seem otherwise?" I ask.
"No. I just… when we were kids, he wasn't the best boyfriend. A lot of girls came crying to me, not understanding why he'd broken up with them. It was a long time ago, but…"
"He hasn't been in many relationships," I say. "We've talked about that." Sort of.
"Did Sasha warn you about him too?"
Huh? "You know Sasha?" I ask.
"Romeo's best friend?" she asks. "Of course. They were attached at the hip for a while. Just as friends, I swear. I guess that's what happens when you grow up close with your mom. A lot of girl-space-friends."
I nod.
"I ran into her the other day, actually… Am I high, or is it possible she was wearing a corset in Trader Joe's?" she asks.
Probably both. "Sounds stylish," I say.
"She does have that gorgeous figure, too." She motions to her less than ample chest. "I always wished I had those kinds of assets, but maybe it's good I didn't too. Less attention from men can be a gift. Though I do miss that, sometimes. That part of being single." She looks at me with concern in her eyes. "You won't tell Rome?"
"That you miss some things about being single? Why would I? There's nothing wrong with that."
She nods. "I love Danny. Don't get me wrong. He's… I don't know how to put it into words. Like the feeling of the universe being made of love. That's what I get when he holds me."
"That's romantic." And funny, too, to compare your fiancé to tripping.
"I listen to all these relationship podcasts when I'm driving. I have to drive all over Southern California for work. Worst part of my job. And the way these couples always run into the same problems… do you think it has to be that way? Do people always lose the spark?"
"Not if you work at it," I say. "If both people work at it."
"What about when you get older? Stop feeling the fire in your loins?"
"Is sex just about fire in your loins?" I ask.
She looks to the house as Romeo steps outside. "Shit. I better go, before I say too much. Keep that between us, okay?"
"Girl talk, sure," I say.
She pulls me into a tight hug. "You're a good egg, Ivy. I can tell." She releases me and says goodnight to Romeo as he approaches across the lawn with a teasing, "treat her well."
He takes a long sip of her water. "Did she start rambling about the nature of love?"
"A little," I say.
“She does that when she’s high. Don’t read into it.”
Maybe. Or maybe there’s something else there. "She seems nervous," I say. "Is this going to be that intense?"
"That's Cynthia. She's an anxious person. But, yeah, probably. Mom is intense, too," he says. "But now you have a way to tune it out." He motions to the tin of gummies in my pocket. "You want to take one for a spin?"