Page 128 of The Genius
Jerking my head back, I gave her a sharp look. “Insensitive? I did everything I could to break the news to Mom in a way that wouldn’t leave her heartbroken. That should qualify as being sensitive to others’ feelings.”
Rochelle scrunched up her face in an expression of pity. “You just don’t get it, Shelly.”
I had heard those words from her a million times; I turned my back on her, walking away.
I’d only taken a few steps when Rochelle called out to me. “Don’t get mad. Like you said – end of the day, a child is always a miracle, even if I don’t understand why you would submit yourself to producing it the way you did.”
I turned to look at her and spoke in a flat tone. “Having sex is the natural way to produce a child.”
“That might’ve been true in the past, but we humans have progressed since then.”
I gave a small laugh. “You wouldn’t see it that way if you knew how good sex can feel with the right man.”
Rochelle wrinkled her nose up. “I’m not tempted.”
“That’s your loss.”
“But if I were to pick one of the Nmen, it would be Hunter for sure. Or maybe Tristan; he’s very charming.”
I suppressed a smile and looked to the soccer field. “I can’t believe they’re still fighting,” I muttered. Raven and Nero were sitting on the grass with the others while William and Plato were now going at it.
Rochelle got up and looked in that direction too. “I hope your child gets Marco’s curls.”
“And his eyes,” I added. “He has really nice eyes.”
“He does.” She smiled at me. “And he’s sharp too.”
“That’s why I like him so much. He’s challenges me because he’s intelligent like me.”
“Let’s not push it. No one is like you,” Rochelle teased and tilted her head.
“Rochelle and Shelly, over here,” Mila called out from the doorway to the school. We waved back and walked over to her.
“Do you want to help me prepare for a fun game that we can all play?” Mila asked.
“Sure, what kind of game is it?”
“It’s a memory game. We have to remember things about each other.”
“That shouldn’t be too hard.” I lit up in a smile. “Sounds like my kind of game.”
“I know, but you can’t participate.” Mila smiled at me. “It wouldn’t be fair to the others.”
Crossing my arms, I frowned. “What kind of backward logic is that?”
“You’re too good, Shelly.”
“Are you going to tell the best fighter that he can’t fight because it’s not fair to the others?”
“No.”
“Are you going to tell the best runner that he can’t run because he’s too fast for the others?”
“No.” Mila shook her head.
“Will you tell the person who cooks the best that they can’t be in the kitchen because they make people like me look bad?”
“No, of course not, but it’s not the same thing.”
