Read Online SHIVER: 13 Sexy Tales of Humor and Horror by C.C. Wood, N.M. Silber, Liv Morris, Belle Aurora, R.S. Grey, Daisy Prescott, Jodie Beau, Z.B. Heller, Penny Reid, Ruth Clampett, Ashley Pullo, L.H. Cosway, Jennie Marts - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: C.C. Wood, N.M. Silber, Liv Morris, Belle Aurora, R.S. Grey, Daisy Prescott, Jodie Beau, Z.B. Heller, Penny Reid, Ruth Clampett, Ashley Pullo, L.H. Cosway, Jennie Marts
Ads: Link
others, like me, were clueless? Were they born with a natural instinct, or was this something our mothers were supposed to teach us? I wondered if this meant my mom failed me. And did that also mean I would fail Lucie and she would grow up feeling inferior to any girl whose handbag matched her shoes?
I made a mental note to start buying her accessories immediately. Like today .
And that bun in her hair. It was perfectly poofy and nearly the diameter of her head. When I tried to put a bun in my own hair once, it looked like I had an acorn sticking out the back of my head.
“Cora.” I looked up to find Ben and the perfect ex-wife standing in front of me. He knew my name. “Cora,” he said again, “I want you to meet Olive’s mom.”
Oh. Fabulous.
He turned to the could-be-supermodel. “This is Cora, Lucie’s mom. I went to high school with her.”
He remembered. He fucking remembered.
“She’s the one who braided Olive’s hair,” he continued. “We’re going to take the girls trick-or-treating together tonight.”
She gave me a coy smile with a downward head-tilt, the kind of look that was seen in every Victoria’s Secret catalog ever printed– the I-know-I’m-hot look. She reminded me of Tom Brady’s wife, the model, Gisele.
“Cora, this is Olive’s mom, Eliza.”
Eliza. What an exotic name. Ordinarily I would have spent a good ten minutes imagining a future with Ben and wondering how Eliza’s presence would affect our lives together. Birthday parties, holidays, vacations. When is Eliza bringing Olive back? Will Eliza be at dinner? Should we invite Eliza to the party?
But I didn’t have time for that neurotic shit right now because – he knew my name! And he knew we went to school together! He remembered!
When the kids started to head back inside for class, I left quickly. I didn’t need to run into any of those buzzkill bitches.
***
5:30 P.M.
Per Hope’s advice , I wore dark skinny jeans and brown cowboy boots with fringe. The boots were a bold move on my part. I’d gone to the mall after the parade to buy Lucie some bracelets at Claire’s, and decided to up my accessories ante as well. Shouldn’t every girl have a pair of cowboy boots? Absolutely. I bought Lucie a pair, too. I also bought myself some cute knee-high socks, which I was sure would act as a life-changing domino – the socks that would take me from girl-with-dead-husband to girl-with-her-shit-together.
Instead of a hoodie or a sweater, I’d picked out a plaid button-up that hung low on my hips. I felt kind of country, but confident in a way I wasn’t used to. See? It was all about the socks.
Ben showed up at the corner wearing a hoodie. Figures.
We set off down the block similar to the way we walked to school together – quietly. I got out my phone to take pics of the girls. I loved the look of surprise Lucie had on her face every time another neighbor dropped a piece of candy in her plastic pumpkin. I loved it that my daughter was still appreciative of others’ generosity, rather than expecting it like it was owed to her.
Ben got out his phone and started scrolling over the screen like he was texting. I felt a wave of disappointment cloud over me. So much for doting daddy. I knew this was a generation of multi-taskers, and that it was hard to put down our phones for anything these days. But we’d only just started trick-or-treating. He could have at least paid attention for a couple of houses.
Ding.
I had a text. I exited the camera screen to check it. Who would be texting me? Everyone in the world knew it was trick-or-treating time.
BEN: You look great in those boots.
You know that feeling you get when you’ve just reached the top of the hill on the roller coaster and you’re about to head down? I was there.
We stood on the sidewalk, dozens and dozens of children and parents rushing past us, but I felt like the two of us were frozen, just standing there while the leaves fell around our feet –
I made a mental note to start buying her accessories immediately. Like today .
And that bun in her hair. It was perfectly poofy and nearly the diameter of her head. When I tried to put a bun in my own hair once, it looked like I had an acorn sticking out the back of my head.
“Cora.” I looked up to find Ben and the perfect ex-wife standing in front of me. He knew my name. “Cora,” he said again, “I want you to meet Olive’s mom.”
Oh. Fabulous.
He turned to the could-be-supermodel. “This is Cora, Lucie’s mom. I went to high school with her.”
He remembered. He fucking remembered.
“She’s the one who braided Olive’s hair,” he continued. “We’re going to take the girls trick-or-treating together tonight.”
She gave me a coy smile with a downward head-tilt, the kind of look that was seen in every Victoria’s Secret catalog ever printed– the I-know-I’m-hot look. She reminded me of Tom Brady’s wife, the model, Gisele.
“Cora, this is Olive’s mom, Eliza.”
Eliza. What an exotic name. Ordinarily I would have spent a good ten minutes imagining a future with Ben and wondering how Eliza’s presence would affect our lives together. Birthday parties, holidays, vacations. When is Eliza bringing Olive back? Will Eliza be at dinner? Should we invite Eliza to the party?
But I didn’t have time for that neurotic shit right now because – he knew my name! And he knew we went to school together! He remembered!
When the kids started to head back inside for class, I left quickly. I didn’t need to run into any of those buzzkill bitches.
***
5:30 P.M.
Per Hope’s advice , I wore dark skinny jeans and brown cowboy boots with fringe. The boots were a bold move on my part. I’d gone to the mall after the parade to buy Lucie some bracelets at Claire’s, and decided to up my accessories ante as well. Shouldn’t every girl have a pair of cowboy boots? Absolutely. I bought Lucie a pair, too. I also bought myself some cute knee-high socks, which I was sure would act as a life-changing domino – the socks that would take me from girl-with-dead-husband to girl-with-her-shit-together.
Instead of a hoodie or a sweater, I’d picked out a plaid button-up that hung low on my hips. I felt kind of country, but confident in a way I wasn’t used to. See? It was all about the socks.
Ben showed up at the corner wearing a hoodie. Figures.
We set off down the block similar to the way we walked to school together – quietly. I got out my phone to take pics of the girls. I loved the look of surprise Lucie had on her face every time another neighbor dropped a piece of candy in her plastic pumpkin. I loved it that my daughter was still appreciative of others’ generosity, rather than expecting it like it was owed to her.
Ben got out his phone and started scrolling over the screen like he was texting. I felt a wave of disappointment cloud over me. So much for doting daddy. I knew this was a generation of multi-taskers, and that it was hard to put down our phones for anything these days. But we’d only just started trick-or-treating. He could have at least paid attention for a couple of houses.
Ding.
I had a text. I exited the camera screen to check it. Who would be texting me? Everyone in the world knew it was trick-or-treating time.
BEN: You look great in those boots.
You know that feeling you get when you’ve just reached the top of the hill on the roller coaster and you’re about to head down? I was there.
We stood on the sidewalk, dozens and dozens of children and parents rushing past us, but I felt like the two of us were frozen, just standing there while the leaves fell around our feet –
Similar Books
