Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Gemmaline leans forward, pretty face scrunching up in concern. “What happened?” She has her silky black hair in a ponytail and looks perfect, even without makeup, like usual. Her parents died when she was really young, but left her tens of millions in their will, along with a huge stake in their health food business. She spends her money and time traveling or doing all things nature-themed. She’s also incredibly generous–probably too generous, and always tries to pay for everything when we’re together.
“Well,” I say, taking a deep breath. It takes me less time than I expected to unload everything that happened on my friends. I start with my crazy plan to surprise Vaughn at the convention and end with my desperate meeting in Jameson’s office and the amazing date that followed.
Roxie is tilting her head when I’ve finished. “Sensibly slutty? What does that even mean?”
“Roxie,” Gemmaline says, swatting at her arm. “That was absolutely not the most important question.” She turns from Roxie and her expression softens for me. “How are you doing? What can we do to help?”
I shrug. “I don’t really know how I’m doing right now. I feel a little lost and a lot confused. I should be editing but it feels kinda pointless. Like, what if I never get the book back?”
“You’ll get it back,” Roxie says. “If you don’t, I’ll make sure little Vaughnie Vanderprick has an accident.”
I roll my eyes, but can’t help smiling. I know she’s just talking. Roxie may have criminal inclinations, but she’s more of a petty theft and scam artist type of criminal. I can’t picture her hurting a fly. Last month, she realized she could use AI to generate endless variations of coloring book pages and temporarily became a best-selling coloring book author on Amazon. Or there was the time she “discovered” the art of selling products directly from big box stores at a slight upcharge. She’d list half the contents of a big box store online. She’d sell twenty dollar headphones for thirty dollars, two dollar mittens for six dollars, and so on. People placed orders, and then she’d go buy the items right off the shelves, package them up, and ship them.
It turns out that was illegal for a number of reasons, and she moved on to her next big idea shortly after. But that was Roxie. If it was strictly legal and moral, I think it just didn’t quite capture her interest or creativity.
“Do you really think this Jameson Wolfe guy can help you?” She has her phone out and her eyebrows shoot up. She turns it to face me and there’s a grid of pictures featuring Jameson from an internet search. He’s with beautiful women in several of them. There’s even one of him where he must have been quite a bit younger. “This is the guy?” she whisper yells.
“Wow,” Roxie says, yanking the phone from her and staring. She pinches her fingers and spreads them out, zooming in on something. “Damn. For once, you have good taste. Usually your boyfriends look like their hobbies include stamp collecting and building model train sets.”
“Excuse me?” I ask.
Roxie waves me away, smiling to herself. “Don’t go flying out of your panties. I’m just fucking with you. Totally serious, though,” she says under her breath.
I pretend not to hear her. “Yes, that’s him,” I say to Gemmaline.
“Wow. He’s really hot. But you’re saying this thing between you guys is just like some revenge arrangement? Isn’t that kind of weird?”
“Kind of? No, it’s super weird,” I say. “Especially because the last thing I want right now is another relationship. But then it’s like this sort of amazing guy falls into my lap literally moments after I realize Vaughn is cheating. Part of me doesn’t want to let him go, but the other part of me knows that’s selfish because I’m definitely not ready to trust someone with my heart again.”
“You realize relationships exist on a spectrum, right?” Roxie asks. She spreads her hands wide, then nods to her left hand. “Over here is lovey dovey shit and vows of monogamy. In sickness and health. Over here, though?” She eyes her right hand. “This is where dirty, no-strings or attachments sex goes. If you’re into him, just try out this side of things for a change. Honestly, it would be the perfect thing to get your mind off everything that happened.”
Gemmaline works her lips to the side. “I hate to admit it, but Roxie might be right.”
“I’m going to need you to say that again in a moment, but hold that thought.” Roxie gets up with her nearly empty coffee cup, looks around, then tops it off with water from the soda fountain. She winks at us and walks up to the counter. I overhear her telling the barista that her coffee was watered down and how she wonders if she could have another one. To her credit, she’s at least sweet with the guy while she’s scamming a free coffee refill out of him.