Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 138(@200wpm)___ 110(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 138(@200wpm)___ 110(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
But tonight, Susie’s prepared a simple meal. She put together fusilli with shrimp and scampi, all bathed in a butter and garlic sauce, and I ate up every bite.
“Is this a special occasion tonight?” I asked, taking the beautiful brunette’s hand. She bit her lip, but then smiled up at me.
“Oh no. I just wanted to do something with seafood, that’s all,” she says. “I know how much you love scampi, and it was on sale at the grocery store.
I nod because my woman takes care of me. The meal was delicious, and after helping her clean up, Susie and I are now lying on the couch, the pretty girl with her feet draped over my lap. I absentmindedly rub her ankle as she flips on the TV.
“Do you want to watch anything in particular?” she asks.
“Not another rom-com,” I tease. “I can’t stomach another one of those comedies that aren’t funny at all.”
She slaps me playfully. “Nooo, I thought Miss Congeniality was wonderful! Plus, I love Sandra Bullock, don’t you?”
I grunt.
“Well, I definitely like her more than Ryan Reynolds, that’s for sure. That guy has the type of perfect movie star face that I’d love to punch just for kicks.”
“OMG, you’re so bad,” Susie says, giggling. “How about an action movie then? Jason Bourne? John Wick? John Carter? You love those, right?”
“Sounds good,” I say in a gruff tone. But the truth is that I really don’t care what we watch. It’s just so nice to hold Susie as we spend time together, and I’m going to miss this after she leaves. Then again, I could invite her to stay with me. There’s really no commute to the university from my apartment, and she’d save on room and board too.
But again, I can’t do that to the sweet girl. Everyone deserves to have a college experience that consists of staying up late, cramming for tests, and hooking up with random boys and then regretting it later. Shit, the thought of another man’s hands on Susie’s curves makes me positively livid, and it’s hard for me to contain the waves of anger radiating from my form.
“What’s wrong?” Susie asks with an innocent look.
I manage a smile.
“No, nothing. It’s just if Keanu Reeves gets called ‘The Internet’s Boyfriend’ one more time, I’m going to have to kill myself.”
She giggles while pressing play on the latest John Wick flick, and we lean back as the opening credits begin to roll. Fortunately, the movie’s actually pretty good, and soon we’re both entranced watching Keanu take out all sorts of thugs right and left.
Suddenly, Susie sits up, her brow scrunching. “Do you hear that?”
I furrow my brow over the sound of gunshots on the screen. “No. Why?”
“Wait, hold on, just give me a sec.”
She takes the remote and presses mute for a moment, and then I hear what Susie hears.
“Shit, it sounds like someone is knocking downstairs. Fuck, what could they possibly want? EarthMatters is closed.”
“Should we ignore it?” my pretty lover asks.
I gently push her legs off my lap. “No, I’ll go take a look because sometimes, just sometimes, there’s an emergency. It’s usually nothing, but you never know when it comes to the environment. But maybe we’ll get lucky and it’s a Girl Scout trying to sell cookies.”
“Ooh, I’ll take Thin Mints if it is.”
I laugh while letting myself out.
“Yeah, but it would be pretty late for a little girl to be peddling her goods, right?” I say while sauntering down the stairs. But when I get to the door, my heart drops because the woman on the doorstep is the last person I want to see.
“Hey Nanette,” I say in a grim tone, opening the door to let her in. The bodacious blonde sweeps into the first floor landing, pushing her hood back. She’s dressed in an all-white ski jumpsuit with a fur trim around the hood, as well as expensive snow boots that say “Christian Dior.” Clearly, Nanette is the type of woman who loves glitz and glamour.
“Hi Ed!” my ex says brightly before leaning in for a big hug. “OMG, it’s so good to see you! You haven’t changed a day.”
I smile woodenly, but then make myself smile in a more genuine manner. After all, Susie and I have a secret, so I can’t be acting suspicious.
“Susie, your mom is here!” I call upstairs, hoping the sweet girl can get our apartment arranged somewhat. How or what she would do, I have no idea, but I want to buy her some time. “So what brings you here?” I ask with a fake smile.
“I wanted to see you and my daughter of course!” Nanette chirps like nothing’s wrong. “I’ve missed you guys! Come on,” she says, taking my elbow. “Let’s see this set-up you have.”
Oh shit. My heart races in a panic because what is Nanette going to see? But there’s no way to avert disaster, and within seconds, we’re at the door of the apartment.