I want him to have said something else, instead – something sunny, like, “Oh, hey we’re going to have a great time on our vacation, hooray!” – but of course that’s not something you have to announce. I mean, it’s obvious we’re going to have a great time on our vacation. Three weeks in a cabin by a glorious lake, surrounded by nothing but trees and wonderful weather and barbecued food? Sounds like heaven. Or at least, it sounds like heaven until he slips in this little tidbit: ‘I invited Artie.’ And then it just sounds like I want to punch him repeatedly, in his stupid face. It’s not even as though he says it in an innocent, no big deal sort of way. He says it in a way I know all too well, having been his friend for the last five years. It’s his “I know you’re going to hate this” tone of voice, and by God he’s right. I hate it very much. I hate it almost as much as I hate Artie Carter, and his big, pompous, stupid attitude, and his swooping, ridiculous haircut, and that way he has of looking at you, like you’re the most ridiculous person in the world.
What do You think about Restraint (Xcite Romance)?
