Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Jules blinks at me a few times and then gives a tiny, helpless shrug. “I can’t answer that for you, honey. You know that.”
“Yeah, I know,” I say in defeat. I take a sip of my beer, let my eyes sweep the crowd again so I can torture myself by looking at Van but not touching.
That is, if he decides to come.
“Do you truly have no idea of what you want to do?” Jules asks, and my eyes slice back to her. I want to do Van, but that’s not exactly what she’s asking.
“Jules,” I say with a small amount of shame. “I have no experience in life. I’ve never worked anything outside of waitressing or bartending, and I went into college thinking the only thing I’d ever be was a doctor. That means I didn’t bother checking out other career paths.”
“Maybe the thing to do is go back and take some courses that might interest you,” Jules suggests.
“Yeah, not sure my parents are going to be that willing to let me go back to college just to ‘find myself,’ ” I mutter, and then take a bigger sip of beer.
“You never know unless you ask,” she says, but I barely hear those last words as I’m unable to swallow.
Van just walked in with Lucas, Max, and Reed Olson, a right winger the Cold Fury picked up two years ago. I met him about a month back at Garrett’s birthday party. That was the night I first met Stephanie, and I remember being so happy because Lucas looked deliriously happy.
He doesn’t look that way now. For a man who just helped his team win game two of the second round of the play-offs, he looks like he just lost his puppy.
Or his pregnant girlfriend.
I think those outside of our family wouldn’t notice much different about him. But I can tell by the flat line of a mouth that’s usually always smiling and the deadness in his eyes that he’s hurting terribly. And while he hasn’t gotten drunk like he did a week ago when I had to clean lasagna off the walls and nearly got crushed by our fridge, he’s been drinking a lot. That’s not like Lucas either.
Max sees Jules and me and gives a shoulder bump to Lucas, who also looks our way. Van and Reed peel off for the bar, and that’s fine by me. I’d actually rather focus on my brothers heading this way, because they’re both awesome. Max is wearing a loose, casual grin, but his eyes are pinned on Jules, and I’m sure he’s not thinking of the win but of his fiancée. Lucas gives me a wan smile, but there’s still no spark in his eyes. It’s clear he’s operating on autopilot at this point.
Max bends to brush his mouth over Jules’s in quiet greeting, and I can’t help but swoon a little inside. I might be all about the pure chemical attraction with Van right now, but if he ever kissed me like that, I’d probably just melt into a puddle of goo.
“Great game, bro,” I tell Lucas, and give him a soft elbow in his ribs. I get another smile, this one slightly more emotive than the last, but still no true happiness.
There’s nothing else I can say, so I just slip my arm around his waist and snuggle into his side. He has no choice but to wrap his arm around me, and I’m rewarded with a hard squeeze. It’s his silent way of thanking me for my support.
I hold my beer up and ask him, “Want a sip?”
He shakes his head. “Van and Reed are getting us some beers.”
I tamp down the slight tingle at just hearing Van’s name. Not going there. Can’t go there. It’s more important to keep my brother’s peace of mind than to pursue Van at this time.
“Well, here,” I say as I push my pint glass into his hand and pull away from him. “You finish mine. I’m going to head home anyway.”
“Why are you going home?” Max says, and that tells me he was keenly listening in and not just playing kissy face with Jules.
“I’m beat,” I tell him truthfully. The late-night hours at Lulu’s have been kicking my butt. I took tonight off to go to the game, but the thought of actually going to bed before midnight is appealing to me, very much.
Besides, I’ve decided I’d like to escape before Van joins us. It’s just easier that way.
“How’s your job going?” Max asks. I haven’t been big on the details, and I most certainly didn’t tell them the name of where I worked. I’ve been able to get away with just a vague reference to a call center job that I was able to snag, but I was looking for something better. This seemed to have satisfied both of my brothers.