Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
“So…who’s Rome Ashbridge? You said a childhood friend. What did he do? You’re as white as a ghost. And that’s saying something. You could already pass as Casper’s Scottish cousin.”
I threw her a withering look, but she didn’t even blink at me. “Says the woman who slathers a pound of sunscreen on during a cloudy day and whips out her umbrella at the first hint of the sun.”
She ran a hand along her pristine white cheek. “My father is Chinese. I’m supposed to be this pale. It’s normal. You’re too pale right now.” She lifted her hand from her cheek and waved her fingers at me. “Back to your story. What did Rome do?”
I sucked in a deep breath and held it for a count of five before releasing it, trying to steady my frazzled nerves. “He kissed me.”
Emily said nothing. Just stared. I wasn’t sure what she was expecting me to say next.
“Tonight?” she shrieked.
“No! When we were kids. It was a few weeks ahead of my thirteenth birthday. We were standing in my backyard, trying to figure out what to do, and he kissed me.”
Emily’s head tilted to the side as if she were still attempting to puzzle out what I’d told her. “Like…”
“He kissed me, and my mom caught us,” I added, and it was like watching a light flick on. Her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open to form a long O. “That fucking asshole! Why would he ever do something like that? We were friends. I’d never given him any sign that I felt anything toward him other than friendship. But he had to ruin everything.”
“Did your mom freak?” Emily asked.
“Freak is an understatement. She lost her mind over it. She called his mom and made all kinds of wild threats. Took me out of the school I was attending so there was no risk of seeing Rome there. No matter what I said, she didn’t believe I wasn’t gay. After that day, I wasn’t allowed to have boys as friends. Next, she was afraid I’d get some girl pregnant to prove I wasn’t gay, so she was constantly watching me like a hawk until I moved away for college. The only time she relaxed was after I married Fiona.”
Of course, that happiness turned to disappointment following our divorce four short years later.
“Bit of a homophobe, huh?”
I threw her a look.
Emily shrugged. “Okay, a raging homophobe.” She bit her lip and dropped her gaze to the floor. “You know…we’ve never discussed this, but…”
“I know you have a girlfriend,” I said with a weary sigh. “I overheard you talking about her with the new intern. Claire?”
Emily snorted. “Not even close. Grace.”
Now it was my turn to shrug. I was good with fossils. Bad with people. “The point is, I’m not a homophobe. At least, I try hard not to be. I believe everyone has a right to be happy. That being said, I would feel more comfortable if men weren’t hitting on me.”
My friend’s wariness melted away, and her wide grin returned. “I wouldn’t worry about that. You’ve got this whole pissed-off porcupine vibe about you. It would be a shock if anyone dared to ask you out without wearing armor.”
Lovely.
My divorce from Fiona hadn’t been messy and was borderline amicable. I still held some hope of finding love and marrying one day. However, Emily was helping to cure me of that delusion.
“Shit. I’m sorry you had to deal with that as a kid,” Emily murmured.
“What I don’t understand is why he did it in the first place? He never returned and apologized. He ruined the rest of my childhood and what relationship I had with my parents. Couldn’t he at least have come back and said, ‘My bad. It was just a joke’?”
“Maybe it wasn’t a joke,” Emily suggested, her voice a thin whisper.
I had considered that. Briefly, when my temper had cooled years later, and I’d been living on my own. I’d wondered if maybe Rome was gay, and I’d been his first crush. But that scared me more than the notion of him playing a thoughtless joke on me.
“I guess I’ll never know because I have no intention of ever speaking to him.” My hands were still trembling, and I wished I had another rum and Coke within reach. But it wasn’t necessary. This time, I’d been blindsided. I’d had no idea that he was living in the city. Now, I did, and I could keep a better watch for him. Avoid him if by some slim chance we crossed paths.
The plan had formed in my mind as the security door beeped and unlocked. We both looked up to see Dr. Linda Case stride in with wide eyes and an enormous grin on her full red lips. This didn’t feel like a good thing at all. While she might be a paleontologist like I was, she’d handed herself over to administration years ago. It had been at least two decades since she’d stepped out into the field to dig in the dirt. Her focus was the budget, making sure we weren’t spending too much money and that we were constantly raising the funds needed to continue our operations. It was a hell I hated dealing with and was all too happy to leave in her hands.