Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 63601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Oops.
Okay, maybe I deserved the soup.
“I’ve honestly had to keep changing my number.” I was an ass, not a liar. “She’d have done it again because of all the time off I’ve got but she and my father are visiting relatives in Europe for the holidays.”
It’d been easier than dealing with me.
Well, what she’d actually said was that we all needed some space from my revelations.
Fucking bullshit right there.
I’d been outed…I hadn’t been oversharing.
“That sucks.” Frowning, Chipmunk looked like he’d already forgiven me. “My parents are at some kind of retreat until closer to Christmas. I didn’t feel like going to polish my chakras or whatever they’re doing. It was confusing but involved a lot of fasting and I’m not doing that.”
That sucked too.
But at least they were coming back for Christmas.
“Why don’t you come home with me next week? My mother will love that and it’ll get us both out of the dog house. She’s doing her best not to let my negative energy affect hers but it’s hard.” Somehow he managed to say that with a straight face but I wasn’t sure how he did it.
“You need to stop being so nice and forgiving people this easily.” He needed to learn how to hold a grudge better. “It’s going to fuck with you later.”
Rolling his eyes, he sighed. “God, you’re dense.”
Huh?
“It’s good advice.” I knew that because it’d been the only thing to keep me from going insane over the past year. “You’re too nice and someone is going to take advantage of that.”
Again, I knew that firsthand.
Being nice got problems dropped right onto your lap.
Unfortunately, it seemed like I’d gone a bit too far in the opposite direction, but I could work on finding my asshole balance.
“Alright.” Somehow his glare and the stubborn set of his body was adorable, but I knew better than to actually say that. “You owe me for making my life harder than it needed to be when I moved out for college, so to make up for that you’re coming home with me.”
Crossing his arms over his chest didn’t help the cute thing any.
Wait.
What?
“You’re going to be nice to my parents and accept any and all weird presents my mother thinks is acceptable to give for the holidays.” It seemed like he’d gotten into the spirit of getting even without actually understanding he was supposed to make me pay, not himself. “We can adapt to whatever holiday you celebrate.”
He was just as insane as his mother.
“The point of this is for you to learn to get revenge on me, or at least make me suffer emotionally. I’m pretty sure all that is going to punish you.” Or maybe his mother? “That’s not the goal here.”
He shrugged.
God.
It was just like his mother and that food drive all over again.
“It will fix my problems and make my mother happy. So it fits.” Standing straighter, he frowned at me. “If you need help picking out appropriate gifts to give my parents, I’ll help with that and even paying for it if your estrangement from your family has caused financial issues.”
He really was his mother’s child.
“No, they don’t want to see me after hearing that much about my personal life, but they’re still paying for shit and I’ve gotten access to my trust fund.” Rumor had it they’d asked about morals clauses, but I was pretty sure I got my kinky side from my grandfather, so he’d been smart not to add in anything like that. “But thank you for offering.”
I could be polite when it mattered.
Sometimes.
With anyone else I’d have asked if he was doing okay, but his mother had basically invented those holistic candles and one of the first meditation apps that had gone damned near viral. So while they were kind of weird, they were very generous and stupidly rich.
“I wasn’t sure how upset they were.” Most people from back home ignored the issue, but Chipmunk didn’t seem to have gotten the memo on that. Something else he’d gotten from his too nice parents. “They really overreacted and I couldn’t decide if they’d taken that out on you financially.”
“It would’ve looked bad on them.” At least, that was what I thought was behind them just ignoring me and not actually trying to disown me. “And I think my mother is hoping it’s just a phase.”
The already strange conversation just kept getting weirder every time Chipmunk opened his mouth. “You’re a Daddy, not a serial killer. It’s ridiculous. Oh, my mother is probably going to tell you how proud of you she is for finding yourself and working on your inner peace but you don’t actually have to volunteer anything about your personal life. Just say thank you and tell her something like the journey will be worth it in the end. She’ll like that.”