“Personal? Are you kidding? This coming from a man who lets his friends take pictures of his balls and post them on the Internet?”
“I didn’t let him do that. And anyway it was to figure out what kind of spider bit me. No one was supposed to know they were my balls.”
“And that makes it so much better.” She twists her ring around her finger. “I don’t get why being classified as a manwhore is so appealing—especially when being the guy who’s overcome challenges and volunteers at camps and even helps kids afford them is so much less offensive.”
“I’m not trying to be a manwhore. I was trying to be Sunny’s boyfriend, and look how that turned out. I spent my teen years dealing with all the shit that came with being the dumb kid; I’m not interested in going back to that.”
“Who says you have to? Come on, Buck. Life is tough. Teenage years suck balls—cheesy ones that haven’t been washed in a week. You make five million dollars a year. You’re not dumb. Relationship-inept maybe, but definitely not dumb. If you want to change how things are going, you need to do something selflessly selfish.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“Let me explain. Did you know you’re mentioned in an article recently that has nothing to do with who you’ve boned?”
“The only person I’ve boned lately is Sunny. I mean, had sex with. I’m not boning Sunny. That’s not what you do with someone you care about.”
“Sometimes all you need is a good boning, even with the person you love. Anyway, I’m not talking about media perception of who you’re boning. I’m talking about that camp you went to. You did an interview, and it was awesome. People are already falling in love with you.
“Get more positive attention. Stop going to the bars, stop going to Lance’s for parties, and stop getting yourself into more trouble. Find out what’s going to be happening at places before you show up. Regardless of what goes down between you and Sunny, this thing you want to do is good. It’s the version of you everyone should get to see.”
Funny how losing someone important is the thing that finally makes me decide to step outside my comfort zone. Now I wish I would’ve done it sooner.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
MAKING CH-CH-CHANGES
Despite her repeated attempts to get me to stay in Toronto for the night, Vi drops me at the airport.
“You gonna be all right to drive to Guelph from here?” I ask her. It’s almost ten. It’s been a long day.
“I’m good. I’ll stop at a Timmy’s and get a coffee.”
I grab my bags from the trunk. “Thanks for being here for me today.”
Vi wraps her arms around my waist and gives me a hug. “What are sisters for?”
I drop the bags and return it. We might not be related for real, but we’re tight like siblings should be.
“Message me when you get to Guelph so I don’t worry, okay?”
“Okay. And you do the same when you get back to Chicago.”
I wait until she’s in the car and on the road before I go into the airport. I get a seat on a flight that leaves in less than two hours. I upgrade so I can hang out in the VIP lounge and maybe catch a nap.
Vi messages me right after I get through security to let me know she’s made it to the Waters’ house. I don’t ask about Sunny, even though I want to. I do ask how things are with Waters and whether I need to break his nose again for her. I get a voice memo telling me she’ll be the one breaking things if it comes to that. She sounds sad. I don’t like it, but it’s not my relationship to manage, and Violet knows how to deal with Waters better than me.