Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 128417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 514(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
“I can’t pick only one thing. It’d be impossible.”
I continue to look at him earnestly.
“But, okay, I’ll try my best to dumb it down for you, Josh-Faraday style.”
“Thank you. Not everyone’s a fucking genius about relationships like the wise and powerful Jonas Faraday.”
Jonas smiles and his eyes sparkle in the moonlight. “Sarah Cruz, the goddess and the muse”—he flashes me a snarky look—“makes me laugh like no other woman ever has—like no other person ever has, even you. She laughs at almost all of my jokes, even the really lame ones—and she’s being totally sincere when she does.” He smiles and his white teeth gleam in the moonlight. “Looking at that woman gives me a boner the size of the Space Needle, even when she’s just sitting there reading one of her law books and scrunching up her nose.” I can see his face suddenly light up, even in the dim light. “And on top of all that, sex with her is akin to a religious experience.” He lets out a happy sigh. “If a guy needs more than all that to be eternally happy with one woman, then he’s either crazier than me or just a greedy-ass motherfucker.”
As if on cue, the door behind us opens and Sarah appears.
“Hey, boys,” Sarah says.
“Hi, baby.”
“Hi, Sarah Cruz,” I say.
“Hola, Josh Faraday.”
She sits on Jonas’ lap and throws her arms around his neck. “I had to come find you.” She kisses his cheek. “I started to feel lonely.”
“Oh no. You were feeling lonely, baby?”
“Mmm hmm.” She kisses his lips.
Jonas puts down his beer and stands, holding Sarah in his arms like he’s about to cross a threshold with his bride. “Well, I know exactly what to do to cure my baby’s loneliness. See you in the morning, Josh. Nice chatting with you.”
With that, Jonas is gone, taking the woman of his dreams with him.
I return my gaze to the slow-moving lights on the dark river in the distance, a certain loneliness I’m well acquainted with descending upon me. Almost immediately, my thoughts turn to Kat. To the awesome photos she sent me from Las Vegas. To the way she fell asleep in my arms after reading my application. To the way she laughs like a dude—and fucks like one, too. To the long list of porno-fantasies she shared with me last night after we got back from our night out with Henn and Hannah. To the way she stomped down that hallway, soaking wet in her G-string, after Reed’s party. To the way she kicked ass in each and every one of those banks. To the way she called me “babe” in front of Henn after he woke us up.
I take a long swig of my beer and stare at the dark river, Jonas’ words echoing in my head: If a guy needs more than all that to be eternally happy with one woman, then he’s either crazier than me or just a greedy-ass motherfucker.
17
KAT
Ilook out the window of the taxi at the driving rain pelting the car window. My phone buzzes with an incoming text and I look at the screen.
“Hey, PG,” Josh’s text says. “I’m about to board a flight from JFK to LAX. Just wanted to say hi real quick.”
I smile at my phone. I can’t believe how attentive Josh has been these past few days during his trip to New York. What a stark difference from his prior trip to New York right before Las Vegas, when he sent me crap messages all week long like, “Hey, Party Girl!” and “What’s up?” Looks like Josh is ready to move past The Game Where We Pretend We Don’t Give a Shit. And that’s a damned good thing, because I stopped playing that game a long time ago.
“Hey there, Playboy,” I type. “I was just thinking about you. I just landed at SEA from... Dang it. What’s the airport code for Las Vegas? LVS?”
“LAS,” Josh writes.
“Well, aren’t you the airport-code guru.”
“Yeah, I know them all,” he writes. “My life is one giant airport code.”
“LOL. (That’s not an airport code, btw—that’s just me laughing.)”
“Thanks for the clarification,” he writes. “For a second, I thought you were flying in from Derby Field in Lovelock, Nevada.”
“Wow, you really DO know your airport codes. Why have you been to Lovelock, Nevada?”
“I haven’t. I only know LOL because I once read an article about funny airport codes. Other sidesplitting entries include SUX in Sioux City and OMG in Namibia.”
“LOL.”
“Derby Field!” he writes.
“Hey, it’s an airport-code version of ‘Who’s on First?’” I write.
“Totally. OMG.”
“Namibia!” I write.
“LOL.”
“Derby Field!” I write.
“Gah!” he writes. “Make it stop.”
I laugh out loud and the taxi driver’s eyes in the rear view mirror glance back at me.
“Can you talk?” Josh writes. “I’ve got a few minutes before boarding.”
“Yes, sir. Call me now.”
When his call comes in, I pick up immediately, smiling broadly.