Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 112884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Ariella pulls out first, waving at me like crazy, before driving away. She is followed by Kylie, who holds up her hand and then stops and rolls down her window. “I want to try the Pilates thing you were talking about.”
I clap my hands. “Want to do a class tomorrow at ten?”
“Yes,” she says. “Send me the details and I’ll meet you there.”
“Will do.” I hold up my hand and take my phone out to reserve our spots for the class.
I clean up the little bit of a mess when I get back into the house and then head to my bedroom. I look up and see the pictures Ariella had put up during the first and second period. I smile when I see the one in the middle, with the six of them hanging all around that one.
Pulling out my phone, I pull up his text and close my eyes before I start writing the text.
Me:
Thank you for the pictures. They are the best.
I press send and then take a picture of them and send it to him.
I look at the clock, seeing it’s just after eleven thirty and wondering if he’s sleeping or not. I slip into my shorts and tank top, and I’m sliding into bed when my phone pings with his reply.
Kirby:
You are more than welcome.
I laugh and then decide to call him but after half a ring I hang up.
Kirby:
Are you drunk calling me?
I laugh and call him again and this time he answers within the first half of the ring. “I’m not drunk,” I state before he even says anything and his laughter makes parts of me ache and then tingle.
“It’s girls’ night, you’re supposed to let loose.”
“Is that what you are doing in Vegas?” I ask him and then I hear a ring and look to see he’s trying to FaceTime me. I smile and press the green button, and his face fills the screen with his naked shoulders.
“We didn’t even go out for the team dinner.” He laughs. “We were going to and then we saw two girls in the corner puking and decided room service was the best plan.”
I can’t help but laugh at him. “Are you dating anyone?” I ask him and the back of my neck burns and I feel like I’m going to throw up.
“Are you crazy?” he asks me, his eyebrows pinching together.
“I’m asking you a serious question.” I turn on my side and lie down, pretending he’s here with me.
“How the fuck do you want me to be dating anyone when the only one—” He stops talking and then tilts his head to the side. “I’m not. Are you?”
“No, of course not!” I shriek, not adding that if I would be dating anyone, he’s the only one I would want to date. “See? I miss this,” I tell him. “I miss talking to you.” Admitting it to him pushes me out of my comfort zone.
“No one is stopping you from talking to me.” His voice goes soft.
“I just—” I start and then stop.
“We’re friends, right?” he adds in.
I want to be more than friends, I almost say out loud instead of in my head. “We are.”
“So, friends talk,” he says, leaning against the pillows in his bed. “What’s on your mind?”
I think about it and tell him the first thing that is on my mind. “I hate that I missed so much stuff when it comes to my family.”
“Like what?” he asks me. I turn and sit up myself, propping up the pillows behind me.
“Like fucking everything.” He laughs at my answer. “Like the fact I wasn’t there when Matty and Sofia got married because Trent had just graduated and said he booked us tickets to Europe.” Kirby just rolls his eyes. “And I missed the gender reveal and the birth of my sister’s kids.” My voice gets angrier. “One, because he was going into his first clinical trial and the other because he took me on ‘our much-needed vacation,’ away from everyone.”
“Okay,” he says, “but that was then.” He tries to make me feel better. “You can’t change that, but you can change what you do going forward.”
“I want to do it all,” I declare. “Birthday parties, I’m there. Gender reveal, sign me up. Wedding, yes, please.” He laughs at me. “I’m not kidding, I feel like I just missed out on so much.”
“Lexi,” he says softly.
“Did you ever feel like this?” I ask him and he nods his head.
“When I left home for college, and I started living my life, and wasn’t under his thumb, I stayed away from my mother and my sister,” he admits softly. “I missed birthdays and Christmases. I even missed Kylie’s graduation, and I’ll never forgive myself for that.”
“Well, you definitely turned it around,” I tell him. “Now the two of you are closer than ever.”