Bared Souls - Ellie Wade Page 0,101
benefits since freshman year. I’m glad that it wasn’t awkward for them when they ended things. I would’ve hated not to be able to hang out with both of them at the same time.
“Not really, no. I went on a Tinder date last week, and it was bad. I don’t understand how people do that—the whole meeting on an app situation. It’s so impersonal and fake. I just want to meet someone the old-fashioned way, face-to-face, you know?” Amos says, taking a drink of his beer.
“Okay, Grandpa.” I chuckle, hitting his knee with mine.
He squints toward me. “You have no room to talk there, Mutt. We all don’t marry our first kiss.”
“True.” I grin.
“How is married life?” Quinn asks. She extends her hand in front of her toward the house. “Obviously, you’re doing well. The house is amazing, and you seem so happy.”
“It’s wonderful.” I press my lips together, containing the giddiness that comes every time I stop to think just how grateful I am. “I don’t know. It’s just perfect. I’m very lucky.”
“You deserve it,” Amos says.
“Thanks.”
It’s true what Amos said. I would suck at navigating dating life online or through apps. All of my friends have gone out with many people, and each relationship has been less than ideal. Leo’s best friend, Ethan, has dated more crazy women than any one person should have to deal with.
And then there’s Leo and me.
He is my one and done, and it’s not lost on me how rare that is.
FORTY-EIGHT
Leo
The basketball swishes through the net.
I clap my hands in front of me. “I missed my calling,” I kid.
“Yeah, it’s the NBA’s loss,” Ollie teases. “Let’s take a break. It’s hotter than balls in here.”
“Yeah, the air is going to be turned on tomorrow,” I say as the two of us head over to the bleachers and sit down. I grab my water bottle and take a big swig.
It’s crazy to think that Alma and I bought an old school. It was a small Christian school that had been fully operational until a month ago. Their student body has outgrown this place, so they’re constructing a larger school a few miles away.
It’s perfect for our needs. It was quite the find.
Over the last few years, I’ve volunteered at a lot of places, and I realized that it’s good for me to help kids and teens who come from abusive or neglectful backgrounds. While I brainstormed with Alma, we came up with the idea to open up a center for these kids. It will be open after school, on weekends, and on holidays. Basically, anytime when the kids aren’t in school, we’ll be open if they need a place to go.
We’re going to provide tutoring, which Alma is heading. There will be a counselor on staff to talk with anyone who needs it. We’ll have sports, crafts, and games. Eventually, we want to provide lessons for life skills. We want a cooking room, where kids can learn to make meals for themselves and bake. We want an automotive section, where teens can learn to change their car’s tire or oil. All of the life skills that parents should be teaching—how to budget money, cook, clean, hygiene, self-care, and personal safety—will be taught here.
I had a shitty childhood, but I had money, and I can’t deny that wealth has its benefits. Alma didn’t have the best childhood, but she had the will and determination of a goddess. We want kids and teens in the area to have people looking out for them and to have their backs even if their parents don’t. We want them to always have a safe place to go, so they don’t turn to other things that are dangerous.
This center has been a long time in the making. Alma and I started working on the concept of it a year before we were married. Now that we’ve acquired this building, we get to see it all unfold.
“So, have you decided on a name for the center?” Ollie asks.
“Yeah, we’re calling it The Lion’s Lair. Alma came up with it.” I shrug. “She wanted it to be named after me, and apparently, my name means lion in some language—Latin maybe? And a lair is a lion’s home, his safe place. It’s cheesy, I know, but she likes it.”
“No.” Ollie shakes his head. “It’s awesome, man. What you’re doing here … is incredible. You’re going to change lives. You’re going to save kids, hopefully from ever becoming me or you and living