Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 133655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Ace: What a fucking shitshow. You would not believe the amount of stuff there is to clean this morning and Gunnar is nowhere to be found
I giggle and type a message back.
Me: He’s probably back in the Bahamas.
Ace: Holy shit don’t even joke because that is so possible
Me: If it makes you feel any better, you’re not the only one with family tales. My grandparents are backing in their Heals on Wheels travel trailer in front of our building as we speak, and a guy in a blue Buick LeSabre just got out and kissed my grandpa on the mouth before going into the trailer with my grandma. I’m pretty sure it’s therapy happening in there, but it could be a swingers moment.
Ace: Savannah and Dick are in town? Are you in Manhattan still because if you are you should meet me for breakfast. My mom is passed out on the couch with a bag of peas between her legs and my dad is singing Britney Spears at the top of his lungs while he destroys our baseboards with a vacuum I’m pretty sure I can escape unnoticed
Me: Yeah, we stayed in the city. My mom and dad came in when they started getting the texts about the party, so I could come back here and my dad could come over and intervene if needed. I’m already having an omelet my grandpa made, but you can come over. We’ll go do something.
Ace: Sounds good I’ll be there in 30
Me: Cool. Just one thing, tho… Why are you texting my dad about Drew and shotguns? You don’t trust your own best friend’s judgment?
Ace: New number who dis
Me: Ace. Be serious. You don’t like Drew?
Ace: He’s fine I was just hyped up from the party. No worries okay
Me: I don’t like it. In fact, it kind of made me mad. You should trust me more.
Ace: I’m sorry. You know I trust you. I trust you more than anyone. Even more than Finn and that kid is pretty fucking stand-up you know. This had nothing to do with me trusting you and more me having a hard time trusting other people to treat my best friend right.
Not going to lie, I was pretty pissed off he’d texted my dad about Drew, but I get what he’s saying. And it’s kind of sweet he was being protective of me.
Ace: Fifteen-minute rule?
Me: Yeah. No worries. I’m already over it.
Ace: Fanfuckingtastic. And seriously I’m sorry Lia. I crossed a line I know I did
Me: Water under the bridge.
Ace: Perfect. I’ll see you in 30…unless my mom kills me on the way out and in that case it’s been nice knowing you
I smile and laugh. Cassie’s been threatening to kill her whole family since before I was born, and it hasn’t happened yet. I have a feeling my buddy will make it out alive and well.
Me: See you soon.
I put my phone away and jump up, rinsing my plate in the sink and heading for my room to get dressed. Evie calls out after me. “Where are you going?”
“Out with Ace!” I call back.
It’s no surprise. It’s steady. Ace and I, we’ve always been a set. And I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
After Ace picked me up, we took the subway over toward campus to have breakfast at our favorite hangout spot. Zip’s Diner is basically a rite of passage for any Dickson student. It’s greasy, it’s kitschy, and it never fails to feel like home whenever we walk inside.
Ace doesn’t hesitate to head over to our favorite booth, and I slide in across from him.
“When did Finn say they’d be here?”
“Any minute now,” he answers and sets his phone on the table. “They tried to back out, but I used my sappiest complaints about all the time they’ve spent without us this summer and needing to download after last night’s party. Plus, I guilted them that Zip would be sad if they didn’t come.”
I laugh. “You are the man with the powers of manipulation.”
“Hey now. I prefer to recognize it as the power of persuasion. It’s what they already want, I just make it more obvious for them, that’s all.”
“That’s how you got Blake Boden to be your friend too, isn’t it?”
Ace laughs. “It might be.”
“Yo,” Finn’s voice greets, pushing Scottie in front of him in her chair and tucking her in her spot at the table before shoving in next to Ace. They do a little bro-hug battle thing before settling down, and Zip comes over to take their drink orders.
We all order our food too, since we’ve been here so many times before and don’t even need to look at the menu, and Scottie starts talking about the party last night with stars in her eyes.
“Listen, I just want to know where Gunnar found some of these people. Lilian Latrain was there. Lilian Latrainnn. Do you know who that is?”