Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 295(@200wpm)___ 236(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
“I meant what I said last week. I don’t want to stay away from you. And now that we—”
“Don’t finish that sentence. Not in public.” She sighs. “I like you, too, but for so many reasons this can’t work.”
“Name one.”
“For starters, my dad will murder you if he finds out.”
“What does it matter if you’re with me or some other guy on campus?”
She turns away from me, and I slide my hand under her chin to guide her eyes back to mine.
“You’re making a scene,” she says. “Everyone will know there’s something going on between us.”
“Maybe I want them to know.” I drop my hand to my side when she shakes me off. “If you were my girl, I would never hide you. I’d want everyone to know you are with me.”
“But I can’t be your girl, Preston. You know how this will end. Even if we see each other until the end of the school year, that’s where it will end. You’ll get drafted into the NHL and leave me behind. It happens all the time. I don’t want to be another statistic.”
“You never told me why your dad has these rules to begin with, and why you go along with them?”
She grinds her teeth. “I’m not ready to have that conversation.”
“I want to know you, Bex, but you’re not making it easy for me.”
“Everything comes easy to you,” she counters, and then her tone changes. “We can be friends like we talked about before. Let’s see how that goes.”
“Friends hang out together,” I remind her. “They don’t ignore each other’s texts and calls and run away from them on campus.”
She laughs, most likely getting a kick out of what she’s been doing all week to avoid me. “I’m well aware.”
“Come to this party with me on Saturday.”
She bites the inside of her cheek. “Where?”
“The Delta Sig house.”
Her eyebrows lift. “A frat party? That’s not really my scene.”
“Humor me.”
She sucks in a deep breath and lets it out. “Okay. Fine. Can I bring Taylor with me since this isn’t a date?”
“Sure, invite whoever you want since it’s a non-date.” I laugh. “It sounds so fucking stupid saying that out loud.”
She smiles. “You looked adorable saying it.”
“Men are not adorable. That’s something you say about an animal.”
“But you are…” she coos, “… adorable.”
“I don’t think friends are supposed to say things like this,” I challenge.
“I suppose you’re right.”
I dip down to whisper in her ear, “I guess I shouldn’t tell you how all I can think about is your tight, wet pussy. Or how hot you sound when you moan my name.”
She clears her throat. “Um… probably not.”
“Say it. Please.”
“What?”
“My name.”
“Preston,” she breathes.
“Fuck, you’re making me hard.”
She takes a step back from me. “Then stop doing this.” Bex motions her hands in front of her. “All of this. You. It’s so distracting.”
I laugh at her comment. “Touché.”
“I don’t see how we’re going to be friends,” she confesses.
“Me either. But we can try. We can be friends with benefits. No attachments. No breaking your last rule. What do you say?”
Taylor calls Bex’s name from the other side of the cafeteria ending our conversation. She flags Bex down and yells about it being time for practice.
“I have to go,” Bex says. “I’ll see you around, friend.” Her mouth curves up slightly when she says the last part.
“Smart ass,” I mouth.
She winks, and then she’s gone.
Bex must be enjoying my slow, painful torture. Women are so hard to read, and Bex is like decrypting an unsolvable cipher.
“Dude, you are so fucked,” Drake says to me when I take my seat at the table.
“Tell me about it,” I mutter.
Chapter Fifteen
BEX
The week blows by in a blur of practices, late night texts from Preston, and tons of homework. Preston was equally busy with little time to talk. Our schedules are similar which makes it easier to align our non-date nights. Like tonight.
“Are you sure this dress isn’t too short?” I ask Taylor, who leans over to check out my backside.
“Nope. Your ass looks perfect in this dress. Parker will definitely approve.”
I shake my head, laughing. “I’m sure he will.”
Taylor chose a short, tight bandage dress from her closet paired with red heels. She even made me wear makeup. I feel so unlike myself in this outfit and layers of eyeshadow and mascara. I’m like Taylor’s very own Barbie doll. She knows I hate picking out clothes, so she offers to do it for me.
My mom was never around to teach me simple things like how to dress. She wasn’t even there when I got my period. I thought my dad was going to have a nervous breakdown when he had to deal with me crying on the bathroom floor freaked out by womanhood. But we got through all the weird, awkward times. Taylor helped me through the rest.