Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 119152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 596(@200wpm)___ 477(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
“Man, have these boys come a long way,” Stacey comments as she stares at the pool, rubbing her baby bump. A smile forms at how cute she looks pregnant. Since I can remember, Stacey has been a staple in the Matthews family. Kip, being the shyest of his friends, really had to jump through hoops to get her. I recall one time Hannah and I snuck into his room and read all the love letters he wrote her. It wasn’t until we accidentally found his secret stash of lotion and spare socks that we learned maybe it was a bad idea to snoop through a teenage boy’s room. Grossed out, we ran like hell.
“Tell me about it. Look at how buff they all are. Well, besides my brother. He’s like a bean stock in need of a meal.”
Stacey lightly slaps Hannah on the shoulder. “He is not. He’s lean. He just looks skinny because all the other guys are on steroids.”
“They take steroids?” Jenny bursts out.
Hannah and Bridget laugh. “She’s kidding. No, they just work out. They’ve always been big into it.” Hannah turns my way. “Mak, remember that time they were all playing football in the yard with their shirts off, trying to get all the girls’ attention?”
I snicker. “I’m surprised you remember anything but Levi. Thought I was going to have to revive you after he whipped his off.”
She swats at me. “You almost had to roll my tongue back into my mouth. But I did steal his shirt and blame it on one of the girls walking by.”
I snort, covering my mouth. They were all so confused. Levi especially. Hannah played it off so well. Even with the shirt stuffed in her jean shorts. “Don’t forget the blowout between you and Ben. Now that was hysterical.”
“What happened between you and Ben?” Jenny asks.
“It was nothing.”
“It was not nothing. It was so funny, I think every single one of us—well, minus Ben—peed ourselves.”
“Okay, now I have to hear this one,” Bridget chimes in.
“If you don’t tell it, I will—”
“Okay, okay. It was such a long time ago, though. I don’t remember much. I mean, only the good details,” I tease. “It was the same day as the football playing. Hannah and I were hanging around because, well, we always conveniently found ourselves around Levi.”
“Yeah, yeah, get to the good stuff.”
“It was no secret Ben and I hated each other’s guts. We didn’t try to hide it. He was awful to me, but I can’t say I was any better. Anywho, they were playing football, and Ben took his shirt off. I happened to be looking that way, so of course, he caught me. It didn’t bode well for me. He started to taunt me, asking if I took a picture so it would last longer, saying he knew it was my name he saw on the Ben Wallace fan club list. Then he followed it up with, ‘I don’t do charity work. Swim along.’”
“Oh my god, that’s so mean!”
“Oh, just wait. . .” Hannah chimes in.
“It pissed me off to no end. He used to tease me a lot, saying I had a crush on him. What I had was an urge to push him into traffic. He had all the guys laughing. I was embarrassed, so I pulled out the big guns and told him his nipples looked like female nipples.”
“Stop!” Stacey and Bridget burst out laughing. Even I snicker.
“Nope! I told him they looked exactly like the ones I saw in health class. Then I told him it’s a sign he has too much estrogen, and he’s going to grow breasts.”
Bridget chokes on her seltzer. Hannah almost falls off her lawn chair. “He was so mad, he put his shirt back on. It didn’t help that all the guys chimed in. Eventually, Ben left, and it was a long time before he took his shirt off again.”
“Aw, poor Benny,” Stacey says.
“No ‘poor Benny.’ He was horrible to Mak.”
Stacey looks over at me, sympathy in her gaze. “I know. I remember a few times. Those boys.”
Yeah. . . those boys. It doesn’t shock me they’ve all stayed so close this long. I always admired their devotion to one another. Strong bonds. Forever friendships.
I bring my focus back to the pool. As I search out Ben, he raises in the water, his pecs flexing as he reaches out and palms the volleyball over the net. He truly is a beautiful man. I think back to the comment he made before ditching me behind the shed. Good thing you love me that way. I was thankful he turned around quickly and didn’t catch my deer-in-headlights expression. Was I that obvious? These feelings have been brewing for some time now. I wonder if they’ve been simmering since I was thirteen.
Watching him maneuver in the water only validates my feelings. His tanned chest is on full display. His chiseled jaw accentuates his perfect smile. And those eyes. They alone have me crossing my legs to squeeze my thighs together. What’s scary about this all is he’s right. And I’m not sure how to process that information.