Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 64727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64727 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
“Namaste. Would you like a tofu nibble?” he whispered in a deep timbre. “It’s softened tofu with soy sauce, rice vinegar, green onions, and garlic. Great on a sesame cracker. I also made a creamy edamame dip, crispy tofu bites with chipotle sauce, and vegan crab cakes using chickpeas and hearts of palm.”
I glanced at the neatly arranged appetizers, unsure if I was impressed or grossed out. There wasn’t a bag of Doritos or a can of onion dip in sight.
“I…um…”
“Try the baba ganoush.” He slid a bowl forward and handed me a slice of pita bread.
“Baba what?”
“Baba ganoush,” he explained in a barely audible voice. “It’s eggplant, olive oil, tahini…”
Eggplant? I wrinkled my nose like a petulant five-year-old, but it wasn’t bad.
“Tasty,” I conceded. “Uh…who are you?”
“Jackson.” His disarming grin showcased his pearly whites and dimples, making him ten times more attractive than I’d have thought otherwise. “I’m a friend of Rafe’s. He asked me to make vegan appetizers. He knows I’m committed to animal welfare and environmental sustainability…and I like good food.”
“Oh, okay. And why are we whispering?”
Jackson gestured to the purple-haired woman. “Harmony’s teaching a class on meditation. With that in mind, we’ve asked that everyone refrain from using the blender until she’s finished. After that, definitely try Rafe’s banana-kale smoothie. It’s amazing.”
Yeah, I’d seen the green sludge he made and called a meal. No, thanks.
I glanced at the menu board propped beside the blender Aunt Celeste had bought me last Christmas. Bananas, blueberries, strawberries, ginger, spinach.
“So, Jackson…” I craned my neck from the yoga class in the living area to the meditation party in the family room and back to the vegan spread. “Is this a hippie party?”
He smiled. “No, it’s more of a wellness retreat.”
“What the actual fuck is that?”
“An opportunity to align your body and mind using your inner strength and core energy.” The words tripped off Jackson’s tongue as if he were reciting poetry rather than spouting a load of crap. Note: he was still smiling.
All-righty then.
“Cool. Have you seen Rafe?”
He shook his head. “Not recently, but he might be in the backyard.”
“Thanks.”
“Peace,” Jackson replied, raising a tray filled with mini nutty carrot cakes. “Would you like to try a vegan cupcake?”
Nope, not even a little, but they looked harmless enough and I was hungry. I took two, thanked Jackson and made my way to the sliding glass door, pausing to lick frosting from my thumb as Harmony guided the group nearby through a meditation moment.
“…release attachment to your thoughts. Let go of whatever doesn’t serve you. Observe your feelings without labels. There is no good or bad, no right or wrong…”
I popped a cupcake into my mouth and opened the door to a more typical party setting. A bunch of people gathered in small clusters, talking and laughing. It had more of a garden party vibe than the raucous banger I’d been sold. Everyone was fresh-faced and glowing, sipping sparkling waters and pink concoctions with floating cucumber slices.
I recognized a few faces from school. The cute blond gabbing with a redhead on the lawn was in my writing theory class, and I bumped into the guy wearing a plaid shirt and yoga pants at the gym on the regular.
Oh, and the girl with a high ponytail and her friend with bright-pink lips and cat-eye glasses had been at the house for more than one of my parties. I had a fuzzy memory of doing a tequila shot with the ponytail girl and half of it going up my nose when her friend had slipped a hand into Brady’s basketball shorts and bragged about her coke connection.
They were a bit more subdued now.
I was about to say hello but stopped at the sight of Rafe holding hands—no, holding pinkies—with a tall guy with wavy brown hair on the opposite end of the deck. Rafe’s smile was kind of dreamy and his eyes twinkled and—
Huh.
Rafe had a boyfriend? Why didn’t I know that? Why hadn’t he said anything?
Roommates knew shit like that about each other.
Of course, I hadn’t known that he wore glasses or that he was into yoga or meditation either. I hadn’t been paying attention. And I’d been too fucked up and self-absorbed to ask the guy I lived with if he was dating anyone. Fuck, I thought I’d congratulated him on the trophy he’d brought home, but I wasn’t sure I’d asked how his season had gone. If I had, I hadn’t listened.
And suddenly, I felt pretty damn awkward…and small.
I shoved the other cupcake into my mouth, squared my shoulders, and strode across the deck toward him.
I was still chewing as the ponytail girl stepped in front of me, hand outstretched.
“Kelsi with an i, in case you forgot.”
“How could I forget?” I lied, squeezing her fingers.
She held on tightly. “Tsk tsk. Where’s your yoga gear?”