Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Todd talks first. “Is this everyone’s first time here?” he asks, and we all nod our heads.
“I heard they have the best mimosas around,” Mona says, and Todd nods his head. Raising his hand, he motions for the waiter to come over.
“We will have a bottle of champagne for mimosas.” The waiter nods at him and turns to walk away when Nick tells him he will take a beer.
“I have issues with champagne,” he tells us, and Mona and I laugh.
“If by issues, you mean getting so drunk that you have to drive home with your head hanging out of the window, then yes, he has issues.” Mona laughs.
“I think Tom still has pictures,” I tell Mona. “It was so bad.” I look at everyone. “I was driving, thank God. And then when he rolled down the window, I had no idea what he was going to do till he just starting throwing up.” Everyone starts laughing.
“It’s funny now,” Mona says, “but not when it happened.” She shakes her head, closing her eyes.
“She was sitting behind me,” I tell them. “So when he started throwing up, I was going so fast it was coming inside. She woke up thinking it was raining in the car.” I laugh while Mona groans.
“It was so gross.” She looks at Nick, who shrugs.
“It was Luca’s fault; his driving sucks.” Nick grabs a glass of water that was filled up and takes a sip.
“Now that sounds like a party,” Troy says, then looks at Todd. “We need to party with them.”
“Anytime,” I tell them. You know what they say … keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Except is he really my enemy?
The waiter comes back with a bottle of champagne and what he says is freshly squeezed orange juice and a special blend for their mimosas. Aiden asks for apple juice, and he comes right back with that and the beer for Nick.
“Shall we have a toast?” Troy says. “To new friends and new beginnings.” He smiles and winks at Eliahn, and I look down at my plate. I want to hold her hand and then lean over and kiss her cheek, but with Aiden in the middle of us, all I can do is look at her and wink. She smiles and then grabs her glass.
We all hold up our glasses. Even Aiden wants to clink everyone’s glass. “Cheers,” I tell him, and he laughs and takes a sip of his apple juice, then turns to Eliahn.
“Cheers.” He holds up his glass again and does this with all of us.
I have one mimosa while Mona, Eliahn, Troy, and Todd have the rest. The four of them have a little clique going on, and I just look at Nick who shrugs. “You have to do it.” I hear Todd tell Mona. “Goat yoga is the new thing.”
“What?” I ask.
“So it’s yoga, but they have goats roaming around,” Troy starts to say. “It’s very relaxing.”
“I think Noah did that,” I tell them, and Todd just nods.
“You know Noah?” he asks me, and I nod my head. “I usually do yoga at Kaleigh’s studio. I know that Kaleigh brought him to it once,” he says. “Don’t listen to anything he says.” He shakes his finger. “A goat can not rape you.”
“What’s rape?” Aiden asks, and Nick just laughs.
“It’s a …” I try to find the words. “It’s not a nice word to say,” is the best I can come up with, and he just shrugs like whatever. I look over at Eliahn, who hides her smile with her glass of mimosa.
The food comes out, and we ordered so many dishes we need another table to put the food on. Aiden doesn’t care what we have; he has his spaghetti, so he’s a happy boy. The meal goes off smooth with some light conversations and a promise to get together soon, thanks to Mona and Eliahn.
“I need a nap,” Nick says from the back seat when he gets in. “I ate more than my share of food.”
“I told you not to eat all that,” Mona tells him and he puts his head back. When we get back to their house, I grab all the gifts, and Mona slips me the gift receipts, knowing I’m going to take half this shit back, and she’s not wrong.
He bought him every single game console under the sun. Some we had to google to see what they did. When supper rolls around, we just opt for light, which means light for us and pizza for Aiden.
“Daddy,” Aiden says at the table, “can you tuck me in even if I sleep at Mommy’s house?” I look at him, smiling.
“Whenever you want me to tuck you in, I’ll come and tuck you in,” I tell him, and he smiles. “Will you buy Mommy a pole like Auntie Mona?”