“He’s my stepfather.” Squaring my shoulders, I find my resolve. “Then again, rumor has it, affairs with older men aren’t exactly out of the question for you.” Not without sleeping in his bed every night.” Her gaze turns calculating.

“Lord knows I couldn’t live under the same roof with Black Hallows’ most eligible bachelor.

“Just between us girls, is it weird having a father who’s only a few years older than you?” She fans herself with the paper in her hand. I look around, but her next question forces my attention back to her. In other words, the reason we’re having this interview in the first place. Something I probably should have realized sooner given she has yet to ask me a single question about Cain’s campaign for mayor. There’s an unmistakable hint of pettiness in her statement, and I know without a doubt this interview is about to go downhill fast. Pretty girls like you never go unnoticed, do they?” Reporter bitch looks like the cat who ate the canary. There’s already a brutal flush creeping from my toes all the way up to my hairline. Not looking at all put off by my snark, she continues, thrusting her iPhone at me to record my response. The only thing I’m excited for is watching Netflix and munching on the raw cookie dough I have a date with. This chick has officially earned her spot on my shit-list for not only sticking me in the same vapid box as every other eighteen-year-old girl but failing to do her research. “Are you excited for the annual Black Hallows Masquerade Ball this Saturday?” the reporter, interviewer, royal pain in my ass asks.

Cards of Love by Ashley Jade