Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 60940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
I was there when he lost his virginity to Claire Uptom in the woods at the after-party of our ninth-grade homecoming dance. I still remembered the expression on his face as he walked out of the woods, hand in hand with her. If I thought watching him with Maggie hurt, witnessing him with Claire broke my fifteen-year-old heart in ways I never saw coming.
I was even there when he had his first threesome with Makayla and Tiffany after junior prom. Two cheerleaders, a brunette and blonde in the hotel suite we rented without our parents knowing. I slept on the pull-out couch, refusing to go anywhere near the bed where he did the deed.
I still remembered hearing them moan and the wall between us tremble from the relentless headboard banging against the thin wall. It was the first time I felt hatred for him. It took everything inside me not to leave that night and go back home, but then I’d be ruining my brother’s night too. He had his own chick in the other bedroom.
While Ledger had the power to piss me off like no one else could, he also had the ability to make me melt from a simple gesture. After he was done with his little party that night, he came out into the living room where I was trying to sleep, saying I could take the bed instead, and he’d crash on the couch.
I played it off like it didn’t affect me, but the last thing I wanted to do was sleep on that bed. Let alone have to be in that room where he just did God knows what. I told him I was fine, and before he walked back into his bedroom, he tossed me a blanket and kissed my forehead.
Ugh!
A kiss on the forehead was the death sentence in the friend zone.
The list of things I saw Ledger experience for the first time was endless.
Including his first beer.
His first car.
His first horse—a dark brown Quarter Bay stallion with a black mane and tail and a white stripe down his nose that he still rode to this day. While Ledger was a proud cowboy who wanted nothing more than to inherit his daddy’s ranch, I was the complete opposite. I wanted to run away from this small town and never look back.
My brother, on the other hand, was somewhere in the middle.
My knowledge of Ledger Beckham didn’t end there. Not only was I a bystander on most of his firsts but I also knew a lot about him. It came with the territory of growing up together. Some of the memories I cherished, others I despised.
“What are you thinking about over there?” Chance questioned, leaning against the doorframe of our shared bathroom.
We had Jack and Jill bedrooms our entire lives, living in the same house since the day we were born.
I smiled, looking at him through the mirror of my makeup vanity.
“I’m just finishing up getting ready for Ledger’s graduation party.”
He nodded, folding his arms over his chest.
According to most of the female population at all our schools, Chance was drop-dead gorgeous. He was quite the ladies’ man. He and Ledger were quite the dynamic duo. Ledger was the bad boy, so to speak, and my brother was my nice guy with an edge. The number of girls who threw themselves at them on the regular wasn’t lost on me.
“I can’t believe you leave for New York tomorrow,” he shared, tearing me away from my thoughts.
“I know.”
“Why did you enroll in summer session again?”
I shrugged, knowing exactly why I did.
It made things easier for me. I needed to get on with my life and stop holding on to the fantasy that Ledger would eventually be mine. I couldn’t do that when I basically saw him every day.
“There’s no reason to put off the inevitable. Plus, it gives me a chance to get the classes I want. Freshman are at the bottom of the barrel at the Fashion Institute, so I’ll take all the help I can get.”
“Does that mean I can’t change your mind?”
I shook my head. “You’re a little late for that. Mom and Dad already paid my yearly tuition for an out-of-state university, and they’d kill me if I decided to pull out now.”
He stepped into my room. “What if I tell them it’s my fault?”
I smiled, still gazing at him through the mirror. “I’m going to miss you too, Chance.”
He gave me a loving smile, sitting on the edge of my bed.
“It’s going to be so weird not having you around anymore.”
“You can always come and visit me, you know that. And I’ll be back for Thanksgiving.”
“That’s five months away.”
“So come and visit me at the end of the summer. There’s a pull-out couch with your name on it in my apartment.”