All First Chapter Samples

“That’s what a Team Binkie member is?”

Really?

Pausing the voice that came from the small reading machine, I set it down on the log that I used as my main seating area and rose to move away. Having space from the device seemed imperative even if it was not logical, but I had come to accept many of my actions were not logical.

And when I was alone, I let myself experience them without worry.

“I was nearly named Jean-Luc, so if you think a Number One joke is going to embarrass me, you’re sadly mistaken.” Some people needed better pickup lines.

Besides, it was spelled differently too.

My father had tried to save me; it just hadn’t worked.

I’d have been nicer if I hadn’t seen the dickhead brush off anyone who wasn’t up to his standard. The asshole who thought a clever put-down was a good pickup line rolled his eyes and walked away mumbling about how some people couldn’t take a joke.

“That’s so cool.” The quiet voice next to me was filled with alcohol-induced awe, and I had to fight the urge to smile as I turned on the stool.

“His pickup line, my put-down, or my name?”

„Der Typ hat mir seine Bierdose so weit in den Arsch geschoben, dass ich Sterne gesehen habe. Es war unglaublich.“

Obwohl die Worte nur wenig Sinn ergaben, schoss mir bei der krassen Beschreibung eine verlegene Hitze in die Wangen.

Warum, um Himmels willen, sollte er sich eine Bierdose in den Hintern schieben lassen?

Der halb betrunkene Kerl, der auf der Couch im Gemeinschaftsraum rumlümmelte, beantwortete meine ungefragte Frage. „Versteh mich nicht falsch, es war toll. Es ist nur, dass sein Ding so dick war, dass ich seit Tagen breitbeinig durch die Gegend laufe. In Zukunft verzichte ich auf Tops mit Monsterschwänzen. Ich bleibe lieber bei denen, die einen schönen dünnen Langen haben.“

Ohhh.

„Du bist so eine Schlampe.“ Wenn ich den Tonfall der männlichen Person richtig deutete, die auf dem Boden vor der Couch sitzen musste, schien sie die Bemerkung überhaupt nicht verstörend, sondern witzig zu finden. Aber vielleicht irrte ich mich.

Ich war kein Idiot, aber manchmal verwirrten mich die Reaktionen der Leute. Vor allem, wenn es um sexuelle Dinge ging.

When are you going to tell your Daddy you want to move in together?” Some days, getting Ryland going was entirely too easy.

“What?” He popped up in his bed, wide-eyed and mouth hanging open.

Sharing a room had worked out better than I’d expected, but that might have had something to do with the fact that Ryland just about lived at Holden’s place. Before we ever got frustrated with each other, he would be gone for a day or even the whole weekend. It was perfect.

I’d be sad when he actually moved out for good to go live with Holden, but they’d been perfect together from the start, so I knew it would happen sooner or later.

“Don’t give me that look. We both know it’s what you want.” He was shaking his head, but it was more like denial was his pre-programmed response rather than what he actually wanted.

“But…he…” Ryland blinked and reached over to tap his phone, looking at the time. “Um…I have class soon.”

Trying to use that as a good excuse to get out of the conversation was cute. Of course, getting him functioning had been the only reason I’d brought it up originally, but I wasn’t planning on admitting that.

„Wer zum Teufel kauft schon Babykekse mit Spinat- und Vollkorngeschmack? Die mit Frucht oder Vanille sind doch viel leckerer.“ Die männliche Stimme kam mir bekannt vor. Vielleicht war sie es, die meine Aufmerksamkeit erregte. Aber als der Mann fortfuhr, brachte mich irgendetwas dazu, mitten im Gang des Supermarkts wie angewurzelt stehen zu bleiben. „Es wird immer schwerer, die Guten zu finden. Bio-Babykekse, die nach grünem Tee schmecken, sind wirklich das Allerletzte.“

„Mensch, du weißt aber schon, dass es sich verdammt merkwürdig anhört, wenn du solche Sachen von dir gibst.“ Die neue Stimme schien nicht überrascht zu sein über die Wendung, die die Unterhaltung genommen hatte, aber ich konnte fast heraushören, wie der zweite junge Mann den Kopf schüttelte.

Für mich war seine Reaktion gut nachvollziehbar. Die meisten Leute liefen nicht in der Öffentlichkeit herum und erzählten lauthals davon, wie gerne sie Kekse aßen, die für Babys bestimmt waren. Schon gar nicht im Supermarkt.

Die erste Stimme schien jedoch nicht gekränkt zu sein. Tatsächlich hatte das Gespräch einen vertrauten Unterton an sich, so als führten sie es nicht zum ersten Mal. „Wieso? Sie schmecken mir eben und ich liebe es, Dinge zu tun, bei denen ich mich wieder wie ein Kind fühle. Es erinnert mich an die Leute, die fünfzig Dollar für ein Malbuch und teure Buntstifte ausgeben, damit sie sich beim Ausmalen entspannen können. Ist genau das gleiche Prinzip.“

“Who wants spinach and whole-wheat baby biscuits? The fruit-flavored or even vanilla ones are so much better.” The male voice was familiar, maybe that’s what drew my attention, but as the speaker continued, something had me stopping in the middle of the grocery aisle. “It’s getting harder and harder to find the good ones. Organic green tea baby biscuits are not fun.”

“Dude, you know that sounds so weird when you say shit like that.” The new voice didn’t seem surprised at the direction the conversation had taken, but I could almost hear the second young man shaking his head.

I could understand where he was coming from. Most people didn’t go around talking about eating baby cookies—at least not in the grocery store.

The first voice didn’t seem upset; in fact, the conversation had a familiar feel to it, like they’d had it before. “What? They’re good, and I enjoy doing stuff that makes me feel like a kid again. It’s like all those people who color and buy those fifty-dollar books and expensive crayons to help them relax. Same thing.”

“Um, I think there’s a bit of a difference between my mother coloring intricate designs in one of those stupid books and you eating baby cookies and watching cartoons.” There was a pause, and I heard the cart moving around. “What brand of diapers did my mother send us here for?”

I should’ve kept going. That would’ve been the mature thing to do, the right thing. But no, I stood in the middle of the grocery store, trying to look like I was debating which paper towel roll to grab, while really listening to the most curious conversation I’d ever heard in public.