Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 97882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
He reached for his fork, and then his eyes shot up to mine.
A flash of that night at the pool struck me like lightning, the sound of his heavy breaths, the feel of his hands pinning me, of him burying himself inside me.
I tore my gaze away, looking down at my own plate as I reached for a French fry and popped it into my mouth. It was bland and hard to swallow with how dry my mouth was.
I didn’t even recognize myself anymore, not since Saturday night. I didn’t know the girl who’d danced with Holden Moore, who’d found him at the pool and — instead of turning around and going right back to her room — had stayed and watched him, instead.
Watched him, and then teased him, and then surrendered to him completely.
My cheeks flamed at the memory of his head between my legs, even more so at how I’d dropped to my knees and quite literally begged for him.
“What about you, Julep?”
I blinked, mouth hanging half open with another fry between my fingers. “What?”
Riley smirked. “Are you a crazy person who loves this weather like Giana and Zeke, or do you miss summer, too?”
I set the fry down, shrugging. “I don’t know, this isn’t so bad if you’re inside. I don’t necessarily want to be out driving in it later, though.”
“Ugh, driving in it is the worst,” Leo agreed.
“But I don’t much care for the heat of summer,” I admitted. “I think I like the spring the most, the in-between, when it’s warm but not hot, and the nights are still chilly, and you can enjoy the sunshine but not sweat your ass off.”
“That’s funny.”
All heads swung to Holden, who took a big gulp of his water without continuing.
“What’s funny?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I just would have pinned you as a summer girl,” he said, and his eyes zeroed in on me. “Since I know you love to swim so much.”
Flames licked along the skin of my neck, and when Holden’s mouth curled into a teasing grin, I tried my best to give him a warning glare without it being enough that anyone else would notice.
Giana turned to me, confused. “You swim, Julep?”
“Sometimes,” I lied, because if I said no, it’d just raise their suspicion more.
“That’s cool,” Riley said, smiling.
She carried on the conversation, talking about how her brother, Gavin, and she used to race each other to the swimming pool every summer. But I wasn’t listening anymore, I was staring at Holden, who just grinned right back at me as he cut a piece of his chicken breast and bit it off the end of his fork.
Clay narrowed his eyes at me first, then at Holden, and then I looked back down to my plate before he could try to put any other pieces together.
“I need to run,” I said suddenly. “I forgot about something JB needed me to work on.”
“Are we still on for studying on Sunday?” Giana asked as I stood.
“Yeah, sure,” I said without thinking, and then I bolted.
I knew he was following me before I even turned to confirm it, and I waited until I’d dumped my tray and swung into the hallway. Then, I glanced over my shoulder, and cut a hard left into the first room that was unlocked. It was primarily used for reviewing game film, and it was dark when Holden followed me inside.
I pulled the blinds closed as soon as he did and turned the lock.
“What the hell are you doing?” I hissed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I scoffed, folding my arms. I could only see a soft silhouette of him with the lone sliver of light beaming in-between the shade and the edge of the window.
“Are you trying to get us caught?”
“I’m trying to get you to talk to me. Like you promised.”
I clamped my mouth shut, ignoring the ache in my chest at his words. “Holden, we made a mistake.”
That word hung between us like a death sentence for a long, weighted pause.
“Is that what that was?” He tested the space between us, his hand just gently resting on my hip. He thumbed the skin there, and I closed my eyes before forcing myself to step back.
“Yes.”
“You sure about that?”
Once again, he stepped into me, this time both hands holding my waist as he backed me into the wall. I gasped at the feel of him pressing in on me, at the warmth of him invading my space. He pressed a light kiss to my neck, his mouth hovering there as he spoke again.
“Didn’t feel like a mistake to me.”
I wet my lips, dizzy from his touch. “Then you’re blind. Or an idiot. Or both.”
“We didn’t get caught.”
I sobered, pressing my hands to his chest and separating us. “And yet here we are, testing the possibility of that yet again.”