Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 88212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88212 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“What’s up?” I plop onto the couch, kicking my feet up. “Dad letting you breathe?”
Cedric chuckles. “Probably for about five minutes, and then we’ll be at it again.”
Cedric has always been the son my father wanted, and for a reason I don’t understand, I never have been. No matter what I do, it’s always been wrong, so I stopped trying to win him over a long time ago. “Sucks to be you. I’m probably going to go out and get laid.”
Cedric laughs. “Oh, to be so lucky and get to do what you want.”
“Sorry. I bet it blows to be Dad’s favorite,” I reply, kinda meaning it but also kinda feeling shitty about it.
“D…”
“Eh, I don’t want to talk about it. I was just giving you shit.”
Despite all the crap with my dad, Cedric and I are close. He’s my best friend, the person who sees more of me than anyone else. He hates how our dad is with me, the way he’s always ignored me, especially after our mom died, but there’s not a whole lot Cedric can do about it.
“How’s work going?” I ask.
He gives me a rundown on all things Armstrong Enterprises, while I pretend to be interested but am really trying to figure out if I want to call a regular fuck buddy or take the time to find someone new on an app. It won’t take much to find someone. With school just starting, everyone is down to fuck.
“D, are you listening to me?”
“Absolutely.”
“Liar,” he replies, with laughter in his voice.
“I can’t help it. I’m really, really horny. I did this nude modeling earlier, and though there was nothing sexy about it then, now I just want to be naked with someone who’s in the same mood as me.”
Cedric gives me another chuckle.
We’re so fucking different, he and I. Random hookups have never been my brother’s thing, and they’ve always been mine, but he doesn’t judge me for it.
“I have to go meet Dad anyway. I just wanted to check in with you. I missed you this summer.”
My chest warms. “I missed you too.”
“We’ll talk soon, okay?”
“Talk soon.”
I end the call, scroll over to a hookup app, and for the second fucking time, my phone rings. What the hell is up with all the cockblocks today?
This time it’s Lance, Alpha Theta Mu’s former president.
“This better be good,” I tease.
“Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Nah. What’s up?” Now that he’s called, I realize I’m glad he did. I click well with the Alpha Theta Mu guys, and though I transferred here mostly for Cedric, I’ve met some good friends at Peach State.
“Some of us were talking about getting together and going out for pizza tonight. Are you free?”
Excitement flutters in my gut. Unlike Miles, I like being around people, being social, and…why the fuck am I thinking about him again?
“Yeah, for sure. What time?”
“How about six? At Junkies?”
Junkies is our pizza place of choice. “I’ll be there.”
“Great. We’ll see you then.”
I would still have some time to host for a quick hookup if a guy was close, but I decide to skip it. I can always figure something out later tonight. Instead, I do some homework, then shower and get ready to go meet the guys.
I take my car to Junkies because it’s not close enough to walk. When I arrive, Lance and Payton are just pulling up, so I wait for them by the front of the building. They’ve both graduated, so it’ll be good to catch up. “Hey, guys. Managed to sneak away from Ty?” I tease, since really, it’s hard to pry Lance away from his guy.
Lance chuckles. “He’s with some friends tonight.”
“Is it me,” Payton asks, “or does it feel like everyone is coupling up around us?”
“For real.” I pull the door open. “I can’t imagine only having one person for the rest of my life.”
“Maybe you’ll end up in an open relationship,” Payton replies.
I’ve known plenty of people in them, but I answer honestly, “I can’t imagine being in a relationship at all.” Sometimes I wonder why my parents stayed married. They didn’t fight a lot, but they didn’t talk much either. They didn’t seem to have much in common, and Dad didn’t seem to have much time for Mom. Most of the time, he was either working or with Cedric, and I was always with her…and then she was gone. Dead. I’ll never forget how lonely I was in the beginning.
“You never know,” Lance says as we go inside. “Maybe you simply haven’t found the right person yet.” He points to the table where Marty and the other guys are already sitting. I know some of them better than others, but I recognize all of them.
“What’s up?” Jesse, another former ATM, says as we approach.
“You’re late,” Marty complains. He’s always on edge, though I must admit, he’s been better since he got with Ryan.