Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93785 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93785 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
A smile pulls at the corners of my lips. “If he wants to eat, I can help him out with that.”
“Gianna,” Audrey says.
“I meant sourdough, Auddie.” I unfasten my overalls and let them fall to the floor. “I swear.”
“Oh, that’s cute,” Astrid says. “What are you wearing?”
“This outfit is brought to you by my friend insomnia.” I dance in a little circle, showing off my chocolate-brown shorts and tank to my friends. “It’s so comfortable, and I think it was like fifteen dollars because I did get it on sale.”
Audrey frowns. “I wish my insomnia purchases were that cheap.”
As soon as she says it, regret sweeps across her features. Astrid and I exchange a look. If Audrey is making impulse purchases, something’s amiss. That especially worries me, considering how down she’s been lately.
I move Astrid back to the coffee table, and then I sit next to Audrey.
“Are you okay?” Astrid asks her.
Audrey plays with the end of the ribbon in her hair, looking anywhere but at us. Her big blue eyes are foggy, as if she’s holding back tears. I reach for her hand and squeeze it.
“What’s going on?” I ask softly.
“I almost bought a ticket to Boston the other night,” she says. “And then I remembered that it’s different now, so I bought a new pair of running shoes that I don’t need.”
“New shoes are never a bad decision,” I say, trying to bring some levity into the conversation.
Audrey almost smiles.
Andrew, Audrey’s brother, lives in Boston and is best friends with the guy who broke her heart. She’s avoided visiting Andrew for weeks, and it’s killing her not to see him. But she says she doesn’t know how to act around him and his friends, including Dipshit, and that she needs time to come to terms with reality. Which—fair. But the cloudiness in her eyes just about breaks my heart.
“I feel so … boring,” Audrey says as a single tear streaks down her face. “I’m a dud.”
“That is so not true,” Astrid says.
“If you’re a dud, what’s that make me?” I ask, pulling her into a quick hug. “You’re beautiful. You’re sweet. You have a literal doctorate. There’s never a moment when you don’t know the right thing to say, you know what fork to use in fancy restaurants, and there’s not a person on earth who could say a bad thing about you.”
She pulls away, running her fingers beneath her eyes. “You have to say that. You’re my best friend.”
“True,” I say. “But that doesn’t make it a lie.”
“I don’t know anything, really,” she says. “Sure, I know what fork to use. Good for me. I don’t know how to talk to men. I can’t flirt. I’ve had sex with one guy, and I have no idea how to give a blow job—and there’s no way to fix any of it.”
“I’ll set you up with some porn, and that’ll fix the blow job issue.” I grin as her jaw drops to her lap. “I’m teasing you. Don’t look so horrified.”
“See? I’ve never watched porn. The thought of watching two people have sex makes me so nervous. It feels … illegal.”
“Well, it’s not. In this state, at least. And it can be so hot to watch people get it on. It’s a fetish for some. I was at this party once and—”
“Before you start watching porn with Gianna, really think about this, Auddie,” Astrid says, side-eyeing me. “You don’t want to change who you are to try to attract a guy.”
I point at Astrid. “You just missed out on a great story.”
“I have no doubt,” she says, grinning.
“But she’s right,” I say, turning to our friend. “If you want to try new things because you’re interested, then I’ve got you. But there’s nothing wrong with you the way you are, and there’s nothing wrong with embracing that. If a guy doesn’t want you like this, fuck him—literally or figuratively. It’s up to you.”
Audrey gives me a sheepish smile. “Anyway, is there any news about the hall tree?”
I hate leaving this conversation the way it stands. Audrey losing her self-confidence because of some asshole from Boston is asinine, and I want to be sure she understands that. But this is the most she’s opened up to Astrid and me about this, and I don’t want to push.
Well, I want to push, but I won’t. We’ll go at her pace, even if it’s slow as molasses.
I groan. “Coat Tree Woman has issues. She messages me four or five times a day. I finally quit opening them, but I think that makes her even madder because the messages came in faster after that.”
Astrid’s head whips to the side, her cheeks pinking immediately. “Don’t you dare come in front of this phone. I’m talking to Auddie and Gianna.”
“Hi, Gray,” Audrey calls out.
“Hey.”
“Bring our friend back, asshole,” I say.