Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 149510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Shit!
Ace wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me close, dwarfing me in the frame of his incredibly tall body. I shrink into the cover gratefully, leaving little more than my eyeballs exposed as Donnie flashes a dark smile.
Finn shakes off the punch with ease, his mouth set in a firm line.
“You still wanna keep playing, buddy?” Donnie teases, enjoying this little stroll through Dickson University’s underbelly like a kid in a candy store. Finn doesn’t respond, opting for stoicism instead, but when Donnie does some kind of jump kick toward Finn’s chest, making contact and pushing him back to the cage, I have to cover my eyes.
“C’mon, Finn!” Ace shouts from over top of me, rocking my body forward along with his own. “You got this!”
I hold my breath for a few seconds, but Ace’s muttered, “Shit,” pretty much solidifies that I’m watching the rest of the fight from behind my hands.
I peek through my fingers occasionally, especially when Ace jostles and screams enough to knock me off-balance, but each time I catch Finn taking another punch to the face or a kick to the ribs, I shut my eyes again.
“Kick his ass, Finn!” I hear Blake’s voice through the absolute crush of sound. I glance under Ace’s arm to see Julia yelling too, but I can’t hear her at all.
The rest of the crowd is starting to get louder by the second, the room appearing to be in favor of the UFC fighter. Money is on the line, and they want Finn’s blood, classmate or not.
Finn dances backward before jabbing Donnie with a punch to the teeth, but Donnie swings back, and I close my eyes yet again.
A reverberating crack reaches my ears, and my heart sinks to my shoes. I squeeze my eyes tighter, so hard I feel the strain in my hair, but when I hear Ace shout, “Yes, motherfucker!” I sneak a peek through my fingers.
Donnie is flat on the floor, with Finn on top of him, wailing one punch after another into his bloodied face. Donnie’s trying to block the assaults with his hands, but it’s no use. Finn’s punches are coming too fast and too hard for him to do anything about it.
I feel like I’m in the courtyard watching him beat the hell out of Dane all over again, only this time, it’s more violent. More aggressive. More…primal.
Blood spurts from Donnie’s nose and his face goes slack, and Lex calls over to Connor, “End it! Ring the bell!”
The bell rings, but Finn doesn’t stop, working Donnie with an aggression that overwhelms his handsome features with vibrant agony. Like the violence embodies him and sickens him all at once. It takes Connor and two other guys to pull him off the bloodied UFC fighter, and I’m convinced they only succeed then because of Ace’s sharp and cutting voice as he yells to get Finn’s attention.
“Winner! Finn Hayes!” Connor announces into the mic, grabbing Finn’s hand to raise it in the air while what appears to be a paramedic assists Donnie to his feet. The UFC fighter shoves him away, muttering something about being fine, and Ace fist-pumps the air in excitement, jostling me all over again as he drags me into the ring.
“Fuck yeah, Finnley! Fuck yeah!” Ace cheers, wrapping his arms around Finn and swinging him into a throat-choking hug. Finn’s eyes meet mine over Ace’s shoulder, blood coating his eyes, nose, and teeth as it runs down from a couple of cuts in his eyebrows.
Everything disappears between one moment and the next—the crowd, the boos from disappointed bettors, the commotion over on Donnie’s side of the ring, and Lexi taking over on the mic. All I see is Finn, who overwhelms my thoughts during the day and my dreams at night.
I shove Ace out of the way and pull Finn’s face toward mine by his chin. “You’re such an asshole,” I say to his face. “Do you have any idea what could’ve happened?” I shove at his chest, hard, both delusional enough to think I can actually move a guy who just beat up a UFC fighter and senseless enough to think it’s safe. “How fucking stupid! You’re damn right about us, you know that? We are different! We’re so different, I don’t even know—”
I’m prepared to say more, but he shuts me up entirely with another kiss. His mouth to mine, the metallic taste of blood from his busted lips reaches my tongue, and for some fucked-up reason, it makes me kiss him harder.
Clashing tongues, wrestling lips, and hearts on fire, we vie for supremacy in a fight of our own. Finn’s hand at the base of my skull, I give in willingly as he finally takes control, tasting and taunting me so much my equilibrium spins.
Just as I suspected, there’s something chemically catastrophic between us, and it’ll either make us stronger or kill us trying.