Page 290 of His Virgin Romance Series

The moment she left, Zack turned to me and shook his head. “I’m trying to be a grown up here,” he said, in an accusing tone.

“Grown-ups drink.”

“On the job?”

I sighed. “Fuck… being a grown-up sucks.”

“Tell me about it.” Zack nodded. “So… back to our conversation… have you spoken to your parents since?”

“Nope,” I said, trying to act indifferent about that. “I have nothing to say to them, and I doubt they have anything worthwhile to say to me.”

“Even your mom?”

“My mom has no opinions of her own,” I said bitterly, recalling the fact that Mom had not jumped in to even attempt to defend me when Dad was tearing into me. “She follows Dad around and obeys his every command. It’s nauseating.”

“I’m sorry, dude,” Zack said.

I shrugged. “It is what it is,” I said dismissively, even though my feelings on the subject of my parents were vast and complicated. I didn’t let myself think about it too much because it was too damn painful sometimes.

“And the community service… how’s that going?” Zack asked.

“It’s… going,” I said.

“Oh boy.”

I groaned. “The men hate me,” I admitted. “And I don’t know if it’s personal or if they’re just trying to teach me a lesson or something. Whatever… it’s not like I care, it’s just annoying to have to go there every day and deal with that shit. Not to mention it makes doing the work that much harder because no one’s willing to help me out at all.”

“Fuck, that blows. And no one’s willing to make things easier on you?”

“Why would they?” I asked. “I’m a nobody to them. There is one guy who’s been pretty decent to me though.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“He’s the one I report to everyday… his name’s Seth. He’s actually really nice to me.”

“Well, that’s something.”

I narrowed my eyes at Zack. “It’s a small something, but I guess I’ll just have to take what I can get. It’s just hard to be positive, man… I have so much shit to deal with. I can’t sell pot, which means my source of income is down the drain. I have to resort to going to all these lame ass job interviews that require your average corporate stooge. And then there’s the roommate issue. I still haven’t found one.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Zack nodded. “You’re looking for a roommate.”

“I wouldn’t have to if you just moved in with me and took care of half the rent,” I pointed out.

“Please,” Zack said. “If I moved in with you, I’d get nothing done.”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning you party so hard it leaves no time left over to be productive.”

“I’m productive,” I said defensively.

“You’re an artist,” Zack said. “What you do is very different. I happen to be one of those corporate stooges you hate so much.”

I smiled. “No offense.”

“Fuck you.”

I laughed, and a second later the waitress showed up with our pizzas and our drinks. She set them down in front of us, gave Zack a parting smile, and then walked away. Zack watched her go with obvious appreciation.

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