Read Online Outer Core by Sigal Ehrlich - Free Book Online Page B

around me, holding me in his embrace till evening washes the house in darkness.

Chapter 12
Knowledge is Not Always Power
    â€œYou ready?” Tasha asks as she settles herself on one of the kitchen’s highchairs. Green eyes perfectly lined 70’s-style run over me. Her mid-forehead bangs slightly sway from side to side as she concludes her assessment with a tilt of her head. “Sure?”
    I roll my eyes. “Out with it already.”
    Tasha shifts her pencil skirt clad bottom on the chair, and with much unnecessary drama, she turns to open her thin notebook. In unison, both our faces adhere to the screen for some good ol’ self-flagellation. Green attentive eyes examine every angle of the woman in the tight navy dress that showcases a notable baby bump, while mine are cemented to the face, studying it fastidiously in sheer masochism. Yet again . It’s a new interview with the redhead. She’s really cashing in on her childbearing situation.
    â€œHumm,” Tasha wrinkles her nose. “She’s, she’s . . .”
    â€œPretty?” I raise my stare from the screen. “Elegant. Normal? Everything you don’t want someone like her to look like?”
    â€œI was about to say that that red looks like it came out of a bottle.” She wrinkles her nose again, this time with a twist of a mouth.
    â€œShe’s an event planner,” I add. Somewhere between the lines, the pictures tell us both that she doesn’t look like some bimbo gold-digger. She seems completely ordinary, pretty and ordinary and so much more. She looks like the kind of women who’ll wait for the other side to make the first move. A notion that makes me want to retch all over the screen. It’s not okay to feel such healthy hatred toward someone you’ve never met . But apparently, someone who had the pleasure of meeting your boyfriend’s penis.
    â€œShe looks like someone who has better places to go in the afterlife,” Tasha deadpans. My lips pull up. Gotta love my besties. If someone is, God forbid, out to hurt me, he has no place in this world.
    â€œWhat are we looking at?” Ian says, coming back into the kitchen, buttoning his jeans.
    â€œYou could have done that in the bathroom,” Tasha scolds, pointing at his fly.
    Ian shrugs it off and wedges himself between us, looking at the screen. “Who’s Little Red Riding Ho?”
    Tasha and I snort in stereo.
    â€œThe alleged sperm robber,” Tasha fills in with a nod.
    Ian’s hand sneaks in from behind Tasha and me, slamming the screen shut. “No!” Fazed, we turn Ian’s way. “No! Enough. I’m not letting you sit here and gobble up shit that will start a crapfest in your gorgeous head.” He taps my head with his finger. “Seriously, why do you need to know who she is, how she looks, or what she does? What good will it do you?”
    Tasha traps her lip between her teeth, bobbing her head in agreement. “Sorry. He’s right.”
    â€œNu-uh.” Ian smacks my hand just before it reaches the laptop. “Leave the vile device alone!”
    I narrow my eyes at the vile device. Later  . . .
    â€œOh no, so help me, my little glutton for punishment.” He shakes his finger at me. “If you even get close to a damn browser.” Ian’s stare is even sharper than the one I’m deflecting. “ Now , I need a drink.”
    I slide my glass his way to be rewarded with a semi-shocked, wide-eyed glare. “What?” I say.
    â€œTake this germ-populated thing away from me.” He waves his hand at the glass.
    â€œOh, I almost forgot about Mr. sterile and his drinking from other people’s cups phobia.” I throw my eyes up.
    â€œOh, right,” Tasha’s nostrils flare. She gives Ian the evil eye. “Drinking from someone’s cup is a big no-no, but jumping from one erect penis to another is A-okay!”
    Ian, being