Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
PEARL
O n the way home from picking up AB, Pearl processed the bananas scene at the Bloom party. She’d yelled, “Sorry, gotta go be an amazing aunt” and noped the hell out of there. Luca and Reed could figure out the drama with the Parker sisters.
Just like every Tuesday evening on the way back from Girl Scouts, Pearl drove past the building she’d stared lovingly at for so long.
A glass-front bakery stood empty, just waiting for somebody to rent it.
A secret part of her desperately wanted to be that person.
AB had been deathly allergic to gluten ever since she was a baby, and Pearl had carried an EpiPen with her ever since. Pearl didn’t want her to miss quintessential childhood foods like Wonder Bread, Twinkies, and birthday cake, so she’d become an expert gluten-free baker in the last five and a half years.
It turned out to be the one thing she was actually good at.
Pearl dreamed about opening a bakery, making a shit ton of money, and then throwing AB the biggest, best parties ever.
Because her allergy was so life-threatening, AB couldn’t go to sleepovers and birthday parties, and she had to sit in a special spot in the lunchroom. AB was a sweet kid who was easy to like, but Pearl knew it had to be hard to be that different.
Pearl looked in the rearview mirror. AB happily flopped her legs back and forth, surrounded by her bright balloons. She deserved the fucking world, and Pearl was going to make sure she never felt left out.
But the hustle life of running your own business and trying for something? That wasn’t really Pearl’s vibe. She could barely scrape together gas money, let alone cobble together the five thousand dollars for rent, down payment, insurance, equipment, and security deposit for a bakery.
It’s just a stupid pipe dream.
And I’m stupid for even wanting it.
Pearl pulled onto the street of their little rental house that she, her brother Luca, and AB shared.
“Maybe the crows brought me something. I told them it was my birthday,” AB whispered to herself as Pearl parked. “I wonder where Beulah is.”
“Probably putting in overtime at the fart factory.” This razor sharp wit caused AB to double over with laughter as she got out of the car.
Beulah, their evil hag of a neighbor, had been a pain in their ass since they’d moved in two years ago, even calling Child Services after she saw AB running barefoot in the yard last summer. Pretty much every government service that could be called had been called on them, so Pearl always gave Beulah’s house a double finger salute.
“The crows left me a doll head!” AB squealed.
Pearl had moved in to help Luca after his fiancée, AB’s mom, had died, and they couldn’t afford fun activities. So every place they’d lived, she and AB had trained the crows. They’d bring little bits of trash, pennies, and, on occasion, special objects like a creepy doll head.
“Look, they poked its eyes out,” AB yelled as she held it with glee. “Creepy.”
“So creepy,” Pearl said with encouragement as she unlocked the door.
“I’m gonna get my unicorn sweatshirt!” AB screamed as she ran through the kitchen, throwing her backpack down.
The last seven months had been nothing but unicorns. Unicorn bedsheets, unicorn shows, unicorn backpack, unicorn folders, and AB had requested a unicorn cake where she could see the inside of a unicorn.
Pearl’s little goth heart had nearly exploded with pride at the creepy-ass request.
Luca walked in as Pearl got out the special unicorn cake she’d worked on for fucking hours .
“Look at this rainbow barf masterpiece.” She pushed the four-layered, rainbow icing cake onto the kitchen table. She’d even put an upside-down ice cream cone for the horn, iced with lavender swirls, completing the look.
“Looks amazing,” Luca said placidly as he tossed his boots in the mudroom. “What’d you use this time?”
“Major-eleven-allergen-free flour, applesauce, hopes, dreams, and some dirt probably.” She shrugged as Luca chuckled.
She loved seeing her brother smile after years of his empty, sad eyes.
Luca poured a glass of tap water. “Ever hear back from the owners of the bakery?”
Pearl’s stomach fell again. “I heard them laughing as I told them how much money I had for rent. I need to find another part-time job to save up first since the hellspawn Montgomery twins don’t need babysitting anymore.”
Pearl snapped photos of her masterpiece. She’d really nailed the eye-meltingly bright icing this time.
Luca scrubbed at his hands with a special soap to get mechanic grime off. “I’ll float you a loan. Just tell me how much.”
Pearl shook her head no. She couldn’t fuck up his and AB’s life. “I’m not built to run a business. Customers have to like you, you can’t yell at them, and flipping them off is generally frowned upon. Dunno if it’s for me. Plus, you need your cash for gas and road-trip snacks.”
Luca and AB would be leaving tomorrow on a two-month trip to Florida to visit AB’s maternal grandparents.
“We can talk about it anytime you want,” Luca said, drying his hands. He’d founded his own successful mechanic and body shop with hardly anything right out of high school.
“Knock, knock,” a deep, warm, cheerful voice called from the front door.
“Noooo,” Pearl groaned, not wanting him to intrude on their birthday fun with AB. “Can’t he come back when we’re all asleep?”
“Be nice. It’s just for tonight.” Luca pointed at her.
“There’s…there’s not enough cake for him,” she said, staring at the enormous cake.
“Hope it’s okay I let myself in.” Reed tossed his suitcase, and his beaming smile was almost too blinding to look at.
Seeing the bright happiness in Reed’s face with his warm smile and chiseled jawline punched her in the stomach.
Pearl had picked her jaw off the floor when she’d seen Reed last month. He’d gone off to college looking like a never-going-to-bloom twelve-year-old.
It had been years since she’d seen him, and he’d largely remained a mystery she didn’t think much about.
Now, standing in their kitchen, he looked like a dude bro who’d have opinions on polo or boating, with his muscular frame, golden tan, cut jawline, stylish hair, and expensive-looking clothes. His smile was warm, and she licked her lips, thinking about his sculpted lips. A few freckles were sprinkled on his cheeks still, and his thick auburn hair was just long enough to brush the top of his eyebrows.
Even worse, there were still shadows of the nerdy kid she’d known. Glasses, an academic look with his button-up shirts and sweater vests— Fucking sweater vests! —over his muscles and broad shoulders.
The combination made her off-kilter. Dizzy. Confused.
A little horny.
Apparently there was such a thing as being too hot. It was weird and unsettling, like watching a dog walk on its hind legs for too long.
You couldn’t trust it, all that hotness. She didn’t like this feeling, being offset and not entirely in control.
Give her someone snarky, someone suspicious, someone moody instead. Someone like Hemingway_CanSuckIt.
“Hey,” she said to him finally.
Reed’s smile widened as he looked past her.
“Did you make that? That’s amazing.” He set his backpack on top of his suitcase.
“Hey.” She poked his shoulder. “Go wash your hands immediately in case you have any gluten on you.” Pearl pointed to the sink.
She was on edge from having used her EpiPen earlier that morning.
Luca stared at her and mouthed, Fucking be nice.
Pearl gave him the universal head wiggle for I was being fucking nice, dickhead.
“So,” Pearl sighed, feigning disinterest. “You’re staying in Fairwick Falls now, or what?”
See? I can be so nice, Pearl’s eyes said as she squinted at her brother.
Reed nodded as he scrubbed his hands. “I’m looking for temporary apartments. I need to find something until the apartment above the bookstore is ready.”
“You know what?” Luca said, pointing from Reed to Pearl. “Why don’t you stay here while AB and I are gone this summer?—”
“But I was going to walk around naked,” Pearl whined.
Reed hit his head on the cabinet above the sink, startled by something.
“And,” Luca continued, ignoring her, “use your rent money to hire her for the bookstore. You’d get it running faster. Plus, Pearl is looking for another part-time job, right?”
Luca looked at her smugly.
A face perfect for smothering in his sleep tonight. “Traitor,” Pearl muttered under her breath.
Luca smiled at Reed. “She knows books, and you’re launching a bookstore. Easy, right?”
Reed dried his hands and adjusted his glasses, thinking. “It’d be nice to have the extra help. I could probably open this summer if it wasn’t only me doing it all. It’d be great to have your help.”
“What would I even do?” She scoffed. She wasn’t getting anyone coffee.
“I don’t know, whatever I need done, I guess,” Reed said with a bright smile. “You’d be like my assistant. All the hours you’d want.”
Pearl’s stomach twisted. She did need to replace the EpiPen for when AB was back. Her handful of hours at Bloom weren’t enough to cover it and living expenses.
And she needed more cash for the life she wanted. Her own apartment, a new car.
An allergen-free bakery.
Could she actually build a nest egg for all her dreams if she had a job with more hours?
“I’ll think about it,” Pearl said, her eyes connecting with Reed’s briefly. She shivered.
All that positive attention made her skin itch.
Reed’s smile made her skin buzz as he nodded back. “I’d be lucky to have your help. So, where’s the birthday girl?” he yelled louder.
“Uncle Reed!” AB screamed as she ran into the kitchen. They did a complicated series of hand gestures, arm flaps, butt wiggles, stepping around each other like chickens, and then ended with making a horn on their heads and whinnying.
AB burst into giggles as Reed gave her a high five.
Pearl scowled.
Sonofabitch . He gets a secret handshake?
“Happy birthday, Anna the Bell-Breaker!” Reed pointed to AB, pretending to be aghast. “Did you know she left a big crack in the Liberty Bell when she was in Philly?”
“It was there when I got there.” AB giggled.
It was in this moment that Pearl learned just how devastating the combo of very hot man and dorky dad energy was.
Her ovaries were practically panting and this had to stop right fucking now. Heel, girls. Heel!
“Is it time for cake yet?” AB yelled. The unicorn horn on her sweatshirt bounced from her excitement.
“Oh, shoot, your birthday present is outside.” Reed jogged out of the kitchen and came back holding the largest goddamned stuffed unicorn Pearl had ever seen, barely able to push it through the door. “I heard somebody liked unicorns in this house.”
AB screamed with excitement so high, the windows could have broken.
Pearl mentally facepalmed.
Who needed balloons when you had a stuffed sparkly unicorn the size of a fucking Holstein?
Luca lit the birthday cake candles. “Blow out your candles, Annabelle.” His usually stern expression looked like a melted puddle of ice cream as he stared at his daughter.
She jumped off the cow-sized plushie and ran laps around the kitchen before stopping at the cake with six multi-color candles on it. She closed her eyes tight and blew out a breath, blowing all six candles at one time.
“Okay, you ready?” Pearl held a knife, ready to cut the cake.
“Did you do it?” The bloodlust in AB’s little eyes made her proud.
“What do you think, kid?” Pearl cut a slice out of the cake, causing the gluten-free gummy worms and multi-colored goo she’d layered into the cake to spill out.
“Ew, it’s so groooooss. It looks like unicorn blood. I love it!” AB’s arms wrapped around Pearl, whose stone-cold bitchy heart melted into her own pool of black ice cream.
AB stabbed a piece and took a bite. “It tastes like…”
“Candy rainbow barf explosions?” Pearl suggested.
“Yeah! Uncle Reed.” AB turned quickly. “Wanna see my doll heads the crows brought me?”
“...Yes,” Reed said slowly, a little taken aback, but tried to meet AB’s enthusiasm.
AB threw open the sliding glass door to the backyard.
“I wish we could do a real birthday party.” Luca sighed as they watched AB and Reed run around the backyard. “Maybe next year.”
She lightly punched his arm, wanting to knock sense into him. “You saved for a big Disney trip. She won’t remember some snot-nosed kid at her birthday party in ten years. She’s going to remember riding all the scary roller coasters with her dad.”
Luca shuddered. “God, I hope she doesn’t want to do roller coasters. You’re sure you don’t want to go?”
“Wuss.” Pearl bumped her hip against his with a smile. She was so fucking proud of him. After how shitty their parents had been, he’d managed to be the best dad ever to AB. “Nah, you guys need bonding time.”
And I need to make some cash.
Luca’s eyebrows knitted together. “It’s not a problem if he stays here, right? Sorry, I should have asked first.”
“I’m pissed about your scheming.” Pearl stuck her tongue out. “But it’s fine. He’s a good guy, and perfectly harmless”— despite the hotness —“like a sentient mannequin with no downstairs parts.”
“It’d mean a lot to me if you tried to be friendly to him. He’ll be around a lot now,” Luca said.
“If I must.” She sighed.
She twisted her traitorous lips to keep them from smiling as she watched Reed jump like a possessed sock puppet while AB blasted him with her bubble gun.
Psst, do you see how cute he looks? her ovaries whispered, swooning.
Shut up, shut up!
AB ran up the patio stairs and yanked open the sliding glass door, panting. “AP, I hit Reed with my bubble gun and blasted all the toxic mascaras outta him.”
“Toxic masculinities . Good job, nugget,” Pearl said, squatting down. “Now, show him your self-defense class moves. He’ll love it.”
AB took off.
Luca gave her a what the fuck look. “Self-defense class?”
“It’s what we call watching Miss Congeniality .”
As AB stomped on Reed’s foot, elbowed him in the stomach, and bit his hand, Pearl doubled over, weeping from laughter. She was so proud.
Yes, she could handle Reed being her roommate and potential boss. She wasn’t the least bit tempted by all that happy hotness.
That hasn’t always been the case, though, she admitted the buried secret to herself.
No one else on earth knew that the hot, nerdy man had originally been the sweet, nerdy boy who’d been her very first kiss.
Impossiblybookish
so i just finished a bodice ripper from the 90s that was…
…beat for beat…
The Count of Monte Cristo
Hemingway_cansuckit
Bookish. Dearest. Darling.
It’s 2 in the morning in PA.
Impossiblybookish
sorry for waking you up
go to sleep!
Hemingway_cansuckit
Well now I can’t stop thinking about the ghost of Alexandre Dumas possessing an innocent writer with a perm and feather bangs.
Getting women horny while they drank Frescas
And ate Snackwells
And watched…uh…Dallas?
Impossiblybookish
the nineties were more
horny women, snackwells, and
90210
Hemingway_cansuckit
yet another fantastic haiku
Impossiblybookish
::waves like a princess to the adoring crowd::
i’m just saying
i would have read classic books sooner had they been wrapped in this horny-flavored cheese.
Hemingway_cansuckit
So, what classic should be next?
Pour some horny-flavored cheese on me
Impossiblybookish
it was the best of cocks,
it was the worst of cocks
Hemingway_cansuckit
To be on top,
Or not to be on top
That is the question
Impossiblybookish
it is a truth universally acknowledged,
that a single woman in possession of a good rack
must be in want of some tit fucking
Hemingway_cansuckit
That sounds like a personal truth, B
Rather than universal
Impossiblybookish
my boobs are pretty great
and it might be a BIT of a personal truth
i do love a good tit fuck.
mine are sort of perfect for it.
Hemingway_cansuckit
Jesus. I’m trying to go to sleep here.
Can’t do our thing tonight.
Impossiblybookish
okay fine. night!
Hemingway_cansuckit
….
Jesus bookish.
I’m fucking HARD now.
Your fault.
Impossiblybookish
::flutters eyelashes::
hope this close up helps you sleep.
{photo loading}
Hemingway_cansuckit
Holy fuck
I
cn’t brate.
breathe*
Your cleavage is…
Holy fuck.
your breasts are …
Bookish.
I don’t think there are words in the English language.
Lickable? Perfection? Resplendent?
Impossiblybookish
it’s the only part of me that doesn’t have an identifiable mark, so i thought i’d give you a treat.
sweet dreams.
Hemingway_cansuckit
You’re evil
Impossiblybookish
evil AND horny
Hemingway_cansuckit
Fine. We can do the thing.
Give me 2 min.
Such a brat.
Impossiblybookish
you love it
Hemingway_cansuckit
God, I really fucking do.
You want your tits fucked tonight, gorgeous?
Impossiblybookish
yes please
Hemingway_cansuckit
Kneel on the edge of your bed
Impossiblybookish
what do i get if i do?
Hemingway_cansuckit
SUCH a brat.
Fine.
A pic of my cock weeping for you
You’ve already made a mess of me.
Impossiblybookish
fuck. yes.
i’ve always wondered what it looked like.
okay, i’m on my knees
for you and you only h
where’s my picture?
Hemingway_cansuckit
{picture loading}
Impossiblybookish
whoaaaaaaa
hemingway.
hon. that’s a fucking huge cock.
i adore you but come on.
i want to see yours
not some internet porn guy.
send me the real thing
please?
Hemingway_cansuckit
I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much while also this hard.
That’s me, B
Impossiblybookish
prove it.
give me the finger in the next photo
Hemingway_cansuckit
I thought you preferred three fingers
Impossiblybookish
fine, three please.
Hemingway_cansuckit
{photo loading}
…
…..
Bookish?
Impossiblybookish
brb finding a custom wallpaper site so I can stare at this on my ceiling every day.
that’s a porn cock, h.
thick and long
Hemingway_cansuckit
About the size of the vibrator I sent
Tried to match it
Impossiblybookish
no waaaaaaaaaaaaay
fuuuuck me
how did you not tell me this?
holy shit that’s so hot
can’t use it right now. roommates will hear.
Hemingway_cansuckit
I’d start with your huge, perfect tits. Squeezing them. Sucking on them.
Run my tongue between them and get lost in them
Fuck I love heavy tits like yours.
Your skin is like ivory and those fucking veins on them…
I want to lick them. Trace every one with my tongue up to your throat.
Bite your shoulder.
Impossiblybookish
yessss
Hemingway_cansuckit
Can’t stop thinking about them.
Shove my face in them, scrape my teeth along the curves.
Show me how wet your panties are
Impossiblybookish
can’t
not wearing any
Hemingway_cansuckit
Christ.
Spread your thighs when you kneel.
Get the vibrator but don’t turn it on
Impossiblybookish
okay
Hemingway_cansuckit
I’d cup you
Would you soak my hand?
Impossiblybookish
yessss
fuck
my hand is covered in it
Hemingway_cansuckit
Rub it between your tits
Get it all.
Impossiblybookish
jesus
this is so hot. it’s so slick when i grab them.
Hemingway_cansuckit
Do it again, I want you covered in your scent for me.
I’d lick a valley, wanting to taste you
Then I’d squeeze your tits together tight, and fuck straight up, slow and hard, popping between them
Rubbing the head of my cock right at the top again and again.
Shove the vibrator between your tits.
Feel good?
Impossiblybookish
oh my god
yes. big and heavy.
i need to come so bad
Hemingway_cansuckit
You’d rub your clit, teasing it while I fuck your perfect breasts
Squeezing them together
Pulsing up in them harder and harder
Slick
Tease your clit for me B
Impossiblybookish
my pussy is so wet its loud
Hemingway_cansuckit
Don’t care. Rub harder.
Goddamn I want to fuck your tits so badly
Impossiblybookish
i’m gonna come….
where are you gonna come on me?
Hemingway_cansuckit
Oh I think you know Bookish
Impossiblybookish
say it
Hemingway_cansuckit
Fuck. Can’t last.
Too hot. Feels too good.
As I’m about to come I’d shove your mouth down on my cock
Like you like it
Impossiblybookish
y
es
I’m abot to com fukkkk
Hemingway_cansuckit
Fucking into your mouth as
I come
Flooding it down your throat
fuccck me
comming
Impossiblybookish
…
………
holy shit, i came so hard i had to bite my hand to keep from screaming.
that was so hot.
i wish i could be there right now
…
hemingway?
did i kill you with my tits?
Hemingway_cansuckit
Almost
Jesus.
I am an absolute mess
And you are perfection
Impossiblybookish
thank you
Hemingway_cansuckit
Any time.
Alexandre Dumas’s ghost would be so proud right now