Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
“Of course. I wondered about that. Dallas’s mom seemed just as surprised as we were by this development. Everything is okay with the head office? I would have had our lawyer look it over.” Both of my moms are independent businesswomen. Mom is a general practitioner, and Ma is the CEO of an organic health product line. They supported each other and their career goals while each of them carried one of my brothers to term. Then they decided to adopt me. They’ve juggled careers and family and are incredible parents. I strive to have a love like theirs.
“I didn’t have time, but Shilpa answered every question I had in great detail.” Her duty is to the Terror, but she was exceptionally clear about what exactly I was signing.
“Of course she did. How are she and Ash?” Mom asks.
“Good. They’re both good.”
“Oh! And now you and Dallas will be able to go on double dates with them! How fun!” Ma claps.
“We’re all going out tonight to celebrate.” Dallas was not the partner I imagined for my double dates with my best friend, but I have to lean into it like Shilpa said.
“I’m thrilled that you’ve found someone who adores you, sweetheart,” Mom says gently.
“Thanks. I’m sorry you had to hear about it the way you did. He wasn’t supposed to post until after we talked to our families, but he’s a little impulsive like that, and then the cat was out of the bag.”
“Sometimes life just happens. You’ll be going to the reunion together, then?” Ma asks.
“That’s the plan.” It’s my only option now.
“That’ll be a great opportunity for us to get to know him again, especially since he’s the man who’s stolen your heart. Are you excited?”
He’s renting it, really. Temporarily. I’m his fake girlfriend without benefits. I have to really own it now. Lying to my moms is a cardinal sin in our house. Honesty above all would be on our family crest if we had one. But this is bigger than a fake relationship. This affects the whole team and my place with the Terror. So I try my best to be convincing because I need them to believe this. At least until we figure a way out of it. After the reunion. “I’m really lucky to have someone so committed and passionate.”
The layers of complication keep growing.
“We’ll figure out plans when we get closer to the date.”
“Sounds good, Moms.” I need to get off the phone. Being dishonest with my moms feels horrible.
We make plans to talk again later in the week, and I end the call. I take a moment to calm my heart rate. It’s one thing to fool my moms into believing I’m head over heels on the phone, but it will be totally another to convince them in person.
The Badass Babe Brigade chat is taunting me as my number of unread messages keeps growing, and I cannot mute it forever. I scroll through, finding an excessive number of shocked GIFs and speculation. They must have gotten tired of my lack of response because they started planning our evening half an hour ago.
Rix
Watering Hole at five. We need the deets on this new love story.
Looks like I get to start with my girlfriends. I really wish I had more than grade-eight drama class to rely on for my acting skills. I can’t afford to have them question this.
It’s already four. Where the hell did my day go? Down the drain, along with my freedom and my reputation, thanks to Dallas. I’m too amped up to focus right now.
I type out a text to my semi-regular hookup and put him on hiatus. Allen is a pharmaceutical rep. He was the first guy I went out with on my quest to find a reunion date. He travels often for work, and we realized quickly that we weren’t relationship compatible, but we have great chemistry. So when we’re in need of stress relief, we’ll hook up. It’s only happened a few times, and it’s been a while, but if ever I could use some stress relief, it’s this week. And now that’s impossible. He's presenting at some massive conference on the weekend of the reunion, so he was out as a potential worst case scenario back up date.
There’s nothing I can do about it, so I manage the last of my emails, make sure my checklist reflects all I’ve accomplished today, and create a new one for tomorrow. Only when I’m finished with my work tasks do I realize Dallas and the guys will probably end up at the Watering Hole too, and we need a plan.
Hemi
FYI I’m meeting the girls at the Watering Hole at five to discuss the development in our relationship. We need our stories to align.
Dallas
Tell them I’ve been in love with you for years.