Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30685 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 153(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30685 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 153(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
I already know what to expect next.
“Holy sheeeee-it!” my friend screams again. “Sheeee-it!”
I nod.
“Then, I went back for lunch the next day, and we did it again. With an apple meringue pie, I might add,” I say with a naughty look.
My friend is going to explode with excitement. Literally, Olly’s face is red and she looks like she’s holding her breath. It all comes out in a blood-curdling scream, although there are no words to this scream. It’s merely a primal yell of ecstasy.
“Yaaaaa-ooooooh!” she shrieks.
“Olly, shhhh!” I hush her, giggling while looking around. “You’re going to get us fired!”
She shrugs, still shaking with enthusiasm.
“No one’s around, Kaylee. It’s just you and me. Oh my god, you boinked the master of the house!”
I dissolve into giggles.
“Will you stop with the ‘boinking’? That’s such a crass term, although we did something even better than boinking. We did back door.”
I see Olly inhale for another mighty scream, but this time I cover her mouth with one of my hands.
“No noise!” I hiss. “Stop!”
She lets out a muffled noise from behind my hand, but then nods.
“Okay,” I say, taking my hand away. “You promised to be quiet.”
Olly takes a few deep breaths and then stares at me with admiration.
“Wow, Kaylee. Just wow.”
I giggle.
“I know, right? But it was amazing. We get along really well, and Elliot really understands me. We had all this amazing conversation, and he even offered to help me find an internship at a restaurant. You know how much I hate school. This is really going to help me jumpstart my culinary career after graduation.”
At that, Olly goes a little quiet.
“What is it?” I ask. “Aren’t you happy for me?”
Olly looks down at her hands and doesn’t say anything for a minute.
“Elliot and I have a real connection,” I insist. “I know how this sounds, but he’s special, Olly. Not only did we get along like a house on fire and talk about a ton of things, but meeting him was fate.”
Olly is quiet for far too long. Suddenly, the task of polishing a bookshelf ledge seems to takes all of her attention.
“Out with it,” I say. “What are you thinking?”
She won’t look at me.
“I don’t know if you want me to tell you,” comes her subdued answer.
I stare at her.
“Of course I do. You’re my best friend, remember? I want you to tell me what you think. I want you to be happy for me!”
She switches tasks and starts mopping the floor energetically. Then, she pauses and looks at me. Her expression is troubled.
“Kaylee, you know I love you, right?”
“I do. Why, where is this going?”
Olly hesitates.
“Okay, because that’s why I’m telling you this. Because you are the most important person in my life, and I don’t want you to get hurt. I love you too much to let that happen.”
I laugh.
“You don’t have to worry about that. Elliot won’t hurt me.”
Olly sighs.
“He already has, girlfriend.”
I stare at her.
“What are you talking about? No, he hasn’t. I did everything willingly, Olls. And didn’t you hear me? He’s hooking me up with a restaurant apprenticeship. It’s going to be amazing!”
The other girl sighs.
“Kaylee, you’re just too nice. Sometimes, I wonder how you’ve come this far.”
I stare at her.
“I’m not an idiot, you know. He’s not taking advantage of me.”
She looks at me again.
“I know you’re not an idiot, and that’s why I’m surprised. Elliot used you, Kaylee. Don’t you get it? He’s definitely taken advantage of you.”
I scrunch my nose, offended at her accusation.
“No, he didn’t! Which part didn’t you understand? I did everything willingly.”
Olly just shakes her head sadly, looking down again.
“The most skillful manipulators are able to do that, Kay. They’re able to make you think that you wanted this, and that you actually asked for it. They make you complicit in their misdeeds. But what have you gotten so far, Kaylee? The promise of an internship, maybe. What has he gotten? Anal sex with a naïve teenage girl who needs his money. Tell me: does that sound like a power imbalance to you?”
My mouth snaps shut. When she phrases is that way …
I hold a hand up.
“I know how this looks, but it’s not like that. Elliot’s not like that. He’s kind, he’s giving, and he’s …”
This time, Olly cuts me off.
“You’ve been hoodwinked Kaylee. I don’t want to say ‘brainwashed’, but definitely hookwinked at the very least. You think all these wonderful things about him, but it’s based on nothing. The man is just a master manipulator.”
I gawk at her, my jaw dropping open.
“No, he’s not.”
Olly merely shakes her head again.
“Kaylee, Elliot is a powerful, wealthy older man. You’re a teen girl with no future, no real education, and no prospects for getting out of the trailer park. He sold you a sweet bag of lies, honey. I’m so sorry, but it’s true.”