Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Of course, all this would be a moot point if he was married, but Michael’s wife left him last month for another man.
That was… that was hard. Brooke cried on my bed for hours. She and her mom had been extremely close. Brooke had always looked up to her, as well as her father, even as she’d admitted from time to time that her mother was focused on the wrong things in life—the material things, money and clothes and objects instead of people. But Brooke loved her and they would go shopping all the time, hanging out, friends as well as mother and daughter. She told her mom everything, and she said her mother was always very patient and understanding about things like high school parties and fooling around with boys.
Then the other shoe dropped, and Brooke was left to wonder if the mother she’d known and loved all this time had been a lie.
Virginia - that was her name, broke her daughter’s heart. I don’t think I would ever forgive her for that.
But hey. It meant that Michael was single and in need of some sweet, sweaty, sexual comfort after the shock of his wife leaving him. Right?
Right.
We even had the perfect setting: my joint graduation party with Brooke at Michael’s restaurant.
Michael insisted on hosting the party and making sure it was perfect for Brooke and me. He went all out, putting up streamers and balloons and getting a big sign. Brooke and I talked for days about exactly what kind of cake we wanted (alternating layers of chocolate and vanilla) and Michael insisted he’d make it for us, don’t even worry about it. I know my parents were grateful not to have to plan anything. I thought it was incredibly sweet of Michael… and I hoped I’d get to reward him the way I wanted to.
For my plan to work—to finally get to have him touching me, kissing me, the way I’d been dreaming of for years—I had to make sure that he saw me as an adult, and not a child. It would be difficult, sure, I was his daughter’s best friend and this was my high school graduation party. But I’d always been told I was mature for my age, and then I had those curves…and moves…I’d like to think so at least.
I wouldn’t lie, I was quite proud of my body. I didn’t go around preening or anything but when I looked at myself in the mirror I thought yeah, nice. Especially if it would help me get Michael’s attention. I hated going to school with my ass and my breasts because the boys were constantly catcalling me and making remarks, as if I was some kind of… piece of meat, ugh. I would wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts at school whenever I could to try and minimize comments.
But for Michael - I was glad of my curves. I wanted to show them off, I wanted him to notice, to look at me with dark, hungry eyes, to get his mouth and hands on them.
I got a dress just for the occasion. White, so that I would look nice and stand out, but tight, really hugging my curves, with a daring leg slit up my thigh and a single, diagonal gauzy shoulder strap that went across my body and wrapped around my waist. It took me forever to find it, to know that it was the right one. And then my hair—oh man, that had taken me hours. My makeup I tried to keep minimal, focusing mostly on my eyes, adding a touch of silver glitter.
Everyone was giving me compliments at the party. “You look beautiful, Stephanie,” was what I got from my relatives, and, “smokin’ look, Stevie!” from my friends.
Personally, I had always preferred Stevie to my full name. Stephanie was sort of reserved for family.
I was just making the rounds, saying hi to everyone, thanking my aunts and uncles and all for their lovely graduation gifts, and trying to keep an eye on Michael without being too obvious about it, when Brooke finally showed up.
“Where have you been?” I whispered, hugging her quickly. “This is your party too!”
“Jake and I got distracted,” Brooke replied, laughing and wiggling her eyebrows so I had no doubt what distracted meant.
Jake was our high school’s quarterback. Brooke was totally into him and he was totally into her, which I suppose made up for the fact that—
“Hey, if it isn’t the woman of the hour!”
My older brother Andy came up, hugging Brooke hello. He was four years older than Brooke and I were, in his senior year UC Berkeley. He was also a massive flirt which was probably why Brooke hadn’t realized Andy had a massive crush on her.
“Your sister graduated too,” Brooke pointed out.
“Ah, yeah, but we all knew that was going to happen. It was a little touch and go with you for a while.” Andy winked at her. “I’m shocked I tell you, shocked that you earned a diploma.”