SWNOVELS Chapter 4
Gifts
Chapter 4 — Free Yourself-1
“I'm just saying,” Janeen says, shrugging as she slides an omelet out onto a
plate. “It's a red flag when a guy doesn’t want to meet her friends and family. I
mean, who even is this Daniel guy, anyway?”
I stop dead on the stairs hearing these words, just three steps away from the
kitchen. I stay still, hoping to hear what Janeen and dad really think.
“I'm just saying,” dad says, shrugging in his chair at the table. “I think you should
trust Fay a little more. She's a clever girl.” He turns and looks directly at me.
“Aren't you, kid?”
I scowl, embarrassed to be caught eavesdropping. I take the final steps down
into the kitchen and give dad a kiss on the cheek, sitting down in the chair next to
him. “I'm smart, but I'm not a kid anymore. Time to update the nickname.”
“Never,” he says, smiling at me. “You're my kiddo forever.”
Janeen brings me a plate of eggs, patting me on the head. Even though we're
not related by blood, she treats me just as any condescending big sister would. I
came to live with David and Janeen when David married my mom.
Even after mom died in her car accident only two years after the wedding, David
never gave me any reason to think of him as anything besides my dad. I love him
just as much as any blood relation. I have no memories of my biological dad and
no idea
where he is.
Chapter 4 — Free Yourself-2
“Come on, Janeen,” dad says, sternly, after a few moments of this. “I'm sure this
Daniel is a great guy.” He looks at me, then, a little pity in his eyes. “Like she
says, he’s just a gentleman.”
“Okay, okay,” Janeen says, wiping away tears of mirth. “I just want more for our
Fay baby! You deserve passion in your relationship, as well as respect and...
book talk, or whatever you do.” She shrugs.
“I'm very happy,” I murmur, finishing my eggs as quick as I can.
“Come down to the club with me,” Janeen says, reaching out and taking my
hand. I can tell that she’s trying to make amends. “I'm not working tonight, and
we can go have some fun! We'll get free drinks and you can meet the girls!”
I look up at her, hesitating. I love Janeen, but we live in totally different worlds.
While I've spent my life at school and coffee shops, Janeen has been a night owl,
working at various clubs as a stripper. Not cheap sleezy places, either, but really
high-end ones where they respect her work as a kind of art. She's very talented,
and she makes a ton of money.
“Come onnnn” she whines. “We'll get you more in touch with your body, get your
blood flowing.” She dances in her chair, showing us some of her moves, ending
with a sexy flick of her long purple hair.
I laugh. Janeen has such an effervescent personality, it's hard not to want to go
wherever she’s going. “I'll think about it,” I say,
and mine. “You work way too much. Have some fun, baby!”
I roll my eyes at her and pat dad on the shoulder as I head into the living room.
He picks up his paper, eyes already on the sports section.
When Janeen first got started in her profession, I wondered if it bothered dad.
But he just said that there's no stopping Janeen from doing precisely what she
wants, so why not go along with it? “Besides,” he had said. “As long as she
respects herself, why should I care if she dances in a thong or a tutu? Let her be
happy.”
I smile at the memory, grateful, again, for such a good dad.
In the living room, I open my laptop and open a search engine. My mind drifts to
Janeen’s idea that I should get more in touch with my body and my instincts. My
cheeks grow red and I find myself — bizarrely — typing Kent Lippert into the
search bar.
I'm surprised by the results. The news channel that dad watches every night calls
Lippert the Mafia King, always detailing his dirty deeds, but the sites I'm looking
show him standing in front of a tech company in Silicon Valley, calling him the
CEO.
Another site lists positive reviews of his many businesses, with employees
suggesting that he’s a great boss. Still another...god, is that Brad Pitt he’s
shaking hands with in that photo?
I gather my hair in my hands, passively starting to braid it as I look through these
results, trying to match it with that ruthless man I met in the prison the other day
“Whatcha looking at?” Janeen says, flopping onto the couch and
“Hey!” I say, snatching at it. “Janeen, give it back!”
Visit Novelxo.org to read full content.
“ » .
Oooohhhh,” she says, scrolling
through the photos of Kent on the
« CI BS
page. “Now this is a hottie who could
. » . c ”
light a little fire under me, for sure,
she says, nodding appreciatively.
I : . ” .
Who is this guy?” The content is on
Novelxo.org! Read the latest
chapter there!
Visit Novelxo.org to read full content.
« . ” 7
Kent Lippert,” I say, hugging my
“ . .
knees to my chest. “I had to interview
him at the prison the other day. He
5 » .
was...unnerving.” The content is on
Novelxo.org! Read the latest
chapter there!
Janeen flicks her eyes to me, considering. “Did he scare you?”
I shrug. “A little.”
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She narrows her eyes a bit, snapping
« Fie )
the laptop shut. “Okay, that's it. You're
coming out with me tonight, baby
» :
Fay,” she says, coming across the
. . u« ,
couch to give me a big hug. “You've
had a hard week with your gay
boyfriend and scary Mafia King.
) 5 »
You've got to have some fun!” The
content is on Novelxo.org! Read
the latest chapter there!
I laugh, letting her wrap me up. “Okay, okay! Geeze, I'll come.”
Little did I know how much these separate aspects of my life would collide in just
a few hours.
B
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