Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“My secret isn’t as juicy as yours, but it will definitely get me made fun of if it makes the rounds with the football team.”
“You like butt stuff?” She blurts out, and all I can do is burst into laughter.
Full on body shaking laughter, the kind that makes your belly hurt and tears leak out the sides of your eyes. Blair joins in on the infectious laughter, a completely unladylike snort filling the air. We settle after a few moments, and I wipe at my eyes with the back of my hands.
“Butt stuff? Where did your virginal ears hear such a thing?”
“Don’t worry about it. I said I’m a virgin, not a nun.”
“Okay, well, it’s not that. It’s that I often pay for someone to give me a pedicure. I love getting my feet rubbed.
Blair’s face becomes serious. “You’re lying, that’s not your secret.”
I nod, taking a bite of my burger. I nearly groan at the greasy goodness that fills my mouth. I wipe the juice off my chin with a napkin and chew and swallow before speaking.
“It is, and it’s the only one you’re going to get, so you better savor it,” I mock, giving her words back to her.
“That’s not even worthy of the secret I gave you.”
I shrug. “It is what it is, virgin girl.”
“You suck,” she says, her lips passing over the straw as she sucks some of the shake into her mouth.
“Actually, by the looks of it, you suck.”
“You’re so crass, you know that, right? That you’re obnoxious and rude, and completely inappropriate.”
“I am, but I get the feeling you like it.” I shrug and continue eating.
“I like nothing about you,” she says, but I can tell she’s lying.
She won’t admit it, not now, but someday. I make her feel like she’s never felt before, and I can’t deny that she does the same to me. We finish eating, and she tells me about her books, which are mostly romance novels.
Her eyes light up with excitement over them, giving away how much they mean to her. Books, math, and crude humor. Those are her favorite things, or at least the things I’ve noticed about her thus far.
We argue over who is going to pay for dinner, which I end up doing because well, I may be an asshole sometimes, and I’m anything but a gentleman, but I still wouldn’t feel right letting this woman pay. On the way out to the truck with our bellies full and smiles on both our faces, I wish I could forget about everything around me.
I wish time could stand still and that this night could go on forever, but like all good things in my life, the night comes to an end when we pull up at the hotel an hour later.
“You sure you don’t want to stay? I can get you an extra room?” I ask, putting the truck into park while she grabs her bag from the backseat.
“I’m sure, Cage. Don’t worry about me, I’m a big girl. I’m staying with my friend, Mia. She has an apartment here in Blackthorn. I’ll see you on Sunday, okay?”
I almost frown. I could kick myself in the ass, I swear. Blair is nothing to me. Football and fucking girls are what matter. Whatever we shared tonight, it was nothing just two people having a conversation.
“Yeah, sure,” I balk, doing my best not to show my sullen attitude.
I don’t want her to question my reaction. Ignoring her altogether, I get out and grab my bag. Burying the conversation we had just an hour ago, the feelings she spurred, the laughter. I shove it all down, swallowing it deep.
I let all the differences between us build back up and refuse to acknowledge anything else. Silently, we walk across the parking lot and up to the hotel entrance. I can’t help but notice how withdrawn she seems with each step we take.
Not your problem. She is not your problem.
“Blair!” Blair looks up from the ground and straight ahead to a dark-haired, petite woman standing at the hotel’s entrance. There’s a huge muscled guy without a lick of emotion on his face standing beside her.
Honestly, the dude looks like he could be a hitman. I track the movement of his eyes and watch as he drags his gaze over Blair, again without a lick of emotion on his face.
I don’t like the idea of leaving her with them. Who is this fucker? Why is he standing so close to Blair’s friend?
Blair starts to walk a little faster, waving at her friend. I know she’s not my problem, that she shouldn’t mean anything to me, but I need her to help me get my grades up. That’s it. I need to make sure she’s okay so she can continue tutoring me.
“Hey, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me,” I say before we are close enough that her friend could hear me.