Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82543 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82543 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Past me knew what was coming, even if it was on a subconscious level.
I’m an idiot. I take the rough sculpture and throw it in the trash.
Time to start again.
But when I check, I’m all out of clay. At least, I don’t have enough for what I want to make. I’ll need to stop by the art studio to grab more.
I go to my room to clean up, change out of my messy clothes, and wash up properly when I notice the dried clay on my forehead.
“Real fucking cute.” I get a wet cloth to wipe it off. Peyton couldn’t have told me it was there?
After making myself presentable, and with my keys and phone in hand, I head out. The sun is close to setting now, but the studio is open all hours for art students. There’re allocated time slots you sign up for if you need to use the space, but I’m just going to get supplies.
When I reach campus, my name is yelled from somewhere close.
I lift my head to see Brady, his best friend, Felix, and Felix’s boyfriend, Marshall, coming toward me. They’re about the only names I remember from everyone I met at Peyton’s Thanksgiving party. The others are a blur.
Felix is waving like a madman, Brady is avoiding eye contact, and Marshall has a warm smile on his face. When they get close, I go to say hi, but I’m not expecting Felix to hug me.
I stumble back. “Oh. Umm, hi.”
“What are you up to?” Felix asks as he pulls back.
“Dropping by the ar—uh, law building. For a class thing.”
“You have class? At this hour?” Felix looks puzzled.
“Ah, no. I need to pick up some notes a friend left me.”
“You should come out with us when you’re done. We’re heading to Shenanigans for, well, shenanigans.”
Brady still hasn’t looked at me, and I can’t blame him. He does, however, turn to Felix. “The man is busy. You don’t pass law school without studying all the time.”
Felix laughs. “That will be you next year.”
Brady grunts. “Don’t remind me.”
“You’re … doing the law program?” I ask. “Here?”
“Nah, he’s moving to New York to start his big important job while he goes to law school there,” Felix answers for him, and I try not to let my relieved breath come out too loudly.
Peyton knowing I’m not going to law school is one thing, but Brady? Then again, I’m holding on to a secret for him. It could be a tit-for-tat kind of situation if I wanted it to be.
Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that.
“Come for a drink with us,” Felix says again. “All study and no play is not good for your health.”
I glance at Brady. He avoids eye contact.
At first, I think it’s because of his three-way situation, but then a dreaded thought crosses my mind. Does he know what happened in my apartment literally half an hour ago? Did Peyton leave my place and immediately call his brother? They are close. Close enough to share that kind of thing with each other.
My need to know what he said outweighs my need for clay. “The notes can wait. They’ll still be there for me tomorrow.”
Brady’s gaze narrows, and my paranoia picks up.
“Awesome,” Felix says. “Let’s go.”
We leave campus and move as a group. Felix and Marshall are holding hands, which means Brady falls back in step with me.
“How are you doing?” I ask as casually as I can manage.
“All good here. How are you?”
The emphasis on that last word scares me. “Is there a reason I wouldn’t be anything other than good also?”
“I dunno. You were pretty drunk the other night. Have you recovered? Do you … remember much?”
My internal panic settles somewhat. This is about his late-night visitors.
I try not to let my lips quirk as I say, “Yeah. I remember most of it.”
“Most?”
“Well, yeah, I remember waking in the middle of the night and you getting me painkillers and water. That was sweet of you, by the way. Though I don’t know what you were doing awake at three in the morning all by yourself.”
Brady smiles, but then Felix turns, and he must be listening in.
“Oh, you mean how you walked in on Brady and his Navy SEALs half-naked and about to do the horizontal mambo?” He frowns. “Wait, in a three-way, are you all horizontal? At least one of you has to be upright. Or, I guess you could be on your sides, with—”
Brady shoves the back of Felix’s head. “Shut it.”
“Why? Everyone here knows.”
“You told him, huh?” I ask.
“He doesn’t keep secrets from me,” Felix says proudly. “Only from his big brother. Which I still don’t understand.”
“Because it would kind of be coming out, right? I know Marcus Talon and Shane Miller are cool and open and everything, but saying ‘I’m in a relationship with more than one person—’”