Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95393 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95393 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
She runs to my bedside table, bringing the phone back to me, and I dial my father-in-law, Eddie, who answers after one ring. “Hello.”
“Eddie,” I say his name as the sob rips through me, “you need to come over here. Benji—” My knees give out on me as I sink to the floor, knowing my life will never again be the same from this day forward.
CHAPTER TWO
christopher
“Why are there so many people here?” I look over at my brother, Dylan, who is sitting on one of the daybeds in the middle of the beach. “And why the fuck is it so loud?” Kids running and adults laughing and talking combine with the DJ who is set up, and it is noise overload.
“You can blame Zoey and Gabriella for that.” He mentions my cousin Zoey and our sister, Gabriella, as he looks out at everyone around us. “They mocked Uncle Matthew yesterday, saying his vacations were becoming boring with a capital B. I thought his head would explode. His eyes started to twitch.” He laughs, remembering the conversation from yesterday. It’s our annual summer vacation, where we are finally all off and together. Since most of the guys play hockey and are in the league, their only free time is after playoffs. So we started doing the family vacation, but Matty’s wife’s family has also joined us this year, so it’s close to over two hundred people. We bitch and complain about this family vacation all year round, but once we’re here, everyone remembers why we come. It’s the best time of the year, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
“I’m hungry,” I state, looking around and finally seeing my cousin Stone walking to the beach with his girlfriend, Ryleigh, beside him. The two of them met at Gabriella and Romeo’s house party, Ryleigh being Romeo’s sister.
“Look at those two.” I point at them, and Dylan laughs as Ryleigh squints at the noise. “She looks like she’s going to barf.” He gets up. “I’m going to look for my wife.”
“You think of barfing and automatically think of your wife,” I joke. He flips me the bird as I also get up off the daybed.
I shake my head as I make my way through the throngs of people. I spot my grandfather, Cooper, sitting with my uncles Matthew and Max. “Hey,” I greet, walking over to him and kissing him on his cheek.
“Are you staying out of trouble?” he asks, leaning back to look at me with a smile. He’s at the top of most of the boards, even after retiring so long ago. He’s the one you’re always competing to beat his records. My brother, Dylan, has beat a couple of them, but he still holds most of them and happily points it out every single time.
“Me?” I point at my chest. “I’m never trouble.”
“Please,” my uncle Matthew says, “didn’t you leave with the server?”
I scoff at him, putting my hand in the middle of my chest as if he hurt my feelings. “Uncle Matthew, you think I would sleep with a server who will be around for a whole week? That would be a rookie mistake. She’d follow me all week and cockblock me for everyone else.” I wink at him.
“I don’t know if I should be proud of what he just said or smack him upside the head,” my uncle Max ponders while my grandfather laughs.
“Well, either way, I win.” I look over to see Stone coming to grab some food. “I’m going to get some food.” I look over at the buffet. “Talk later.”
I walk a couple of steps to catch up with Stone. “You look tired as shit,” he says to me once he’s standing behind me at the buffet line, holding two plates in his hand.
“Yeah, I woke up being kicked in the balls by Payton, who thought it was a good idea.” I mention my nephew, who snuck into my room through the back door that I didn’t lock. I will never make that mistake again.
I load up my plate and start having lunch with my father and mother, and then thirty of us end up at the table. I get up when Dylan calls me to go with him in the water with his son, Maddox.
We’re walking on the hot sand when we spot Stone and Ryleigh in the water hugging. “I hope they aren’t banging in the water,” Maddox states, making me laugh. Stone looks over at us, and then he and Ryleigh walk out of the water.
“I have to put my phone down,” I tell my brother, who nods and continues into the water. I’m halfway to the chairs when I spot Stone, “Did you guys bang in the ocean?” I tease them. “No one wanted to send the kids in.”