Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32796 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32796 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
“Alright, but hurry up, please.” Mae, my daughter, replies. Today is her graduation party from high school. That also makes the fire I’m playing with barely fucking legal at the age of eighteen. I’m old enough to know better but still too young to care, it seems.
“Will do,” I reply, stepping away from Tessa, holding my hand out for her to take. I wait to say anything else until the footsteps are gone. “Go use the bathroom. I’ll stall Mae.” Her arms wrap around my waist, bare tits pressing against my chest, and I do something stupid. My hand wraps in the tresses of her hair, pulling her head up, my lips a whisper over hers, and that’s when I know I’m fucked, completely and totally fucked.
1
TESSA
Present Day
“What? No freaking way,” I tell Mae over the phone at what she just suggested. There’s absolutely no way I’d ever do that. Not after leaving so abruptly after her graduation party. It wasn’t really a choice, though; I was accepted into the University of Nevada starting in the fall even though my main goal was to start during the summer since a few of my college credit hours were completed throughout high school. Since I didn’t hear from them before graduation, I assumed it was a no-go, leaving me to hang with Mae during the summer and maybe continue what I started with Kingston. That wasn’t the case, and things didn’t go as planned, that’s for sure. I got a call the following week that I could move into student housing and dive right in. So, that’s what I did. Mae came over to help me pack. The one and only time King and I did start something was clearly meant to be just that one time. There was no way I’d be letting that secret out of the closet either. I hugged my best friend as tightly as I could, knowing that our time together was coming to an end at least in actually seeing one another. Mae was accepted into Columbia University, which meant she’s clear on the other coast of America, following in her father’s footsteps in becoming an attorney; though still till this day, she isn’t sure if it will be the entertainment side or not.
“Why not? You know he just started his own law firm with a friend. I bet they could use all the help they could get right now. Talk about hands-on learning. Plus, you’re practically a shoe-in.” The bottom of my stomach is practically at my feet. I’m a horrible friend, seriously. Mae has zero idea what happened between her father and myself. I should have come clean long before now, but seeing as how we’ve only seen each other on the rare occurrences, I never brought it up. Seeing Kingston even less, unable to get a moment alone with him, whether that was his doing making sure someone was always around or Mae’s with wanting to spend the few days here and there together while both of us were in town, I’ll never know. One thing is for certain: I kept my secret and replay the memory of what King and I did every single time I’m lying in my bed at night. The need to take care of myself, it’s of that exact moment that has me getting off.
“As much as that would help me out, I think I need to at least try other law firms. I don’t want your dad to treat me like I’m an exception or to hire me because we’re friends.” We’re talking on the phone while Mae is heading to the subway to get to class and I’m packing up the rest of my things in the hotel room I’m staying at before heading back to my parents’ house, where they’ve already taken the majority of what I accumulated while living seven hours away. Most college graduates would choose to walk the stage with their peers; that wasn’t the case for me. I finished early halfway through the fall semester, choosing to head back home and start my career.
“Suit yourself, but the option is always on the table. I’m going to let you go. Let me know what you decide, and once you’re making the big bucks, come out this way. There’s plenty of room in my studio apartment.” I snort at that. Mae does in fact have little to no room in her small space in New York. The last time I went there, the two of us were tripping over one another. It was a short visit for me, totally worth it to explore the city; it also took the majority of my year’s savings and made me realize longer trips are going to have to wait until I’m working full-time instead of waitressing part-time at a college bar.