Breathe In (Just Breathe, #1)(13)

I still can’t make my smoothie without waking the maidens in my room, so I settle for some fruit, raw yogurt and mix my power greens powder into coconut milk to tide me over until I finish showering. Letting my hair air dry, I put on sweats to wear until its time to leave. No need risking getting dirty the cute outfit I picked out for the day as I make breakfast for everyone. I do have an apron, but I always manage to get food on myself somewhere.

It’s after six thirty now and Maggie and Jared are going to need to get up soon, so I start making a little noise in the kitchen as I prepare breakfast. I make a lot of food for us knowing that it’s going to be a long, but fun day. I set out some smoked salmon, bagels, cream cheese, cut up some apples, pears and kiwi and put them onto a plate along with dried cranberries, dried mango and nuts. I add in two times as many ingredients in my blender for a smoothie, enough to be about eight ounces for each of us. Last, I get some free range turkey bacon cooking as I put some fresh, homemade cinnamon toast slices in the broiler that will be topped with some non-pasteurized butter. Just before hitting the on button for the blender, I tell Sadie to go wake up Jared and Maggie. Seconds later, I hear them grumbling.

“Mom. I don’t want to go to school today,” Jared whines, trying to be cute.

“Happy New Year!” I shout from the kitchen.

Both of them stroll in with their hair tossed a mess and rubbing their eyes.

“Ooo, Mom made us food!” Jared sings.

I give him a playful glare and smile.

“I don’t know why you won’t date, Emma. You’d be a great mom,” Maggie claims.


I choose not to respond and just ignore her statement. Jared and Maggie watch closely for my reaction, but I refuse to give them the satisfaction.

I know that Maggie just wants me to be happy, and because she will be happy being married with kids of her own, I think she believes that I would be too if I’d just give it a try.

I don’t date. I’ve never dated and that’s by choice. I’m not a virgin by far. I’ve had a number of men that I’ve slept with. Okay — I’ve slept with a lot of men, but I don’t do relationships. I simply use men for sex. A girl has needs too.

I won’t sleep with just any guy, I have certain criteria that need to be met before a man is even considered. For starters, it has to be a man that I don’t know. I’m not into the whole one night stand thing, though a few of them turned out fine, however, I’m not interested in knowing a guy too well. I like my privacy and my distance. Guys have to be more like an acquaintance of a friends’ acquaintance so I have little to no interaction with them once I’ve had my fill. He needs to be handsome — attractive. I need to be physically turned on by the man enough, but how he speaks plays a huge roll. I’ve slept with some dumb ones, the male model type who have braun, but barely any brains. They are the easiest to lie to about what I do and where I live, but they are the ones who usually get attached the quickest, so I’m only able to use them about three or four times maximum. I stay away from the jock brains or the jocks with too much muscle that they can barely move — their type just doesn’t do it for me. I’ve slept with a few cute geeky guys, but I like men with more meat on their bones. A physically fit man has a bit more stamina. I tend to sway towards the average guy. The type that are easy on the eyes, decent build, and who usually get overlooked at first glance by most women. The only challenge with them is that they have a tendency to want a relationship too, like the models, but the average men last about two to three times longer.

There are also edicts that I’ve established for myself to minimize any casualties. I have several golden rules that I haven’t swayed from since I started sleeping with men. One, no dating or going out on dates. Two, never let them know where I live. Lie if I must. Three, never pick up a guy in a particular social setting where I may frequently attend. Or, never sleep with a guy whom I have the chance to run into on a regular basis. Four, never have a guy over to my place for any reason. Jared is the only exception — and maybe a few of his gay friends, but they don’t count. Five, end things before they start to want more. Six, always use protection. Seven, never sleep over at their place. Once we’ve finished, I get dressed and leave. This usually shocks them. I guess I act more like a guy than they expect. Eight, always have more than one exit strategy.

“What time does M?qīn need us today?” I ask, chewing on some fruit.

“She needs us around nine,” Maggie confirms as she stuffs a huge bite of her bagel topped with cream cheese and salmon into her mouth.

“Good. Then we’ve got enough time for you two to get ready and head down on the train without rushing,” I say to keep them focused on some semblance of a schedule. I gulp down my smoothie.

“What time are we supposed to meet Romeo?” Jared harangues Maggie while taking a few bites of turkey bacon.

Maggie looks at him with her eyes squinting a little and her mouth scrunched to one side in what appears to be her contemplating how to respond, “Twelve-thirty.”

She tries so hard to appear angry, but Maggie has never really done angry well. Actually, I’ve never really seen her angry.

Jared and I chuckle a little.

“I hope you aren’t going to wear sweats today, Emma,” Maggie says, trying to change the subject.

“No. Of course not. I planned on changing after we had breakfast. Besides, I can dress however I want. I’m not the one meeting . . .” I attempt to pick on her too, but I fall short of calling Henry Romeo.