Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
“The fuck was I supposed to do?”
“Literally anything but bring her here.”
His jaw tightened. “She needed help, man.”
“So you call her some help.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I snorted a bitter laugh, looking away from my friend. I’d been awake for a whole thirty minutes, and the guy had decided now was the time to mention that he’d brought one of his damn students to the house the night before, “because she needed help.”
Christ, at least he hadn’t fucked her, not that I thought Nolan was the kind of guy to do that.
“Well I know she’s your student,” I growled at him. “I know she’s fucking beautiful, and would have been just your fucking type eighteen years ago.”
He raised a sharp brow at me. “Beautiful, huh? So I guess I’m not the only one looking at students, or noticing her, for that matter.”
I shot him a look. “Fuck you.”
I could see that humor in his eyes, but I knew it was only because it was me. I knew how my friend got. If it’d been anyone else saying “yeah I scoped out that chick too,” he’d have laid me out already. Even if it meant confirming that I thought this whole thing was more than him just “wanting to help her.” But it wasn’t like that between us. Not between any of us. He and Max and I were all too close for petty jealousy shit like that.
“Yeah, I know who she is,” I muttered. “Fuck off Nolan, I’m not going to pretend to be a monk. She took a survey class of mine last year.”
He smirked.
“I looked, I didn’t fucking take her home.”
“I didn’t ‘take her home,’ Jesus, man. She needed a place to stay, and that fucking little prick…” he growled, shaking his head. He’d told me about what he’d seen, with that Matt kid slapping her around, and thinking about it got my blood running hot.
“I could’ve fucking killed the kid, but I took her away from there instead.”
“To here, your house.”
“Let it go, asshole,” he hissed. “She’s here.”
I looked away.
This was how Nolan and I always sparred. It was how all three of us did, really. It was probably one of the reasons we were all still best friend and hadn’t killed each other years ago. We were always honest with each other — we spoke our minds. It was still funny that somehow we were all back together again, and even more hilariously, that the three of us were all under one damn roof. Melanie, my train-wreck of an ex-fiancée was trying to pull all sorts of legal gymnastics to try and keep the house she and I had bought a few months back. I mean, I knew damn well I could have stayed there — it was my house. But then, there was also a pretty real chance of me going to jail when she inevitably brought her new boy toy home and I inevitably threw him through a window.
But fuck all that anyways. I didn’t need that sort of shit where I slept and lived. And here Nolan was with a huge damn house right off campus, so the move had been easy.
Max was the wildcard, as ever. He’d been out of the NFL for six months after that knee thing at the playoffs, and it was clear he wasn’t going back. The man had more money than he knew what to do with, and even if retiring at thirty-two maybe wasn’t his plan, it’s not like the guy was ever going to be hurting for money. But still, I think after the team had moved on without him, he’d just gotten fuckin’ bored out there on the west coast. Naturally, Nolan and I had invited him out, and a weekend visit had turned into a month.
But like I said, Nolan had a huge damn house, and the three of us were all basically brothers anyways.
But fuck.
Yeah, I knew who Cora was. I knew exactly who she was. I’d been teaching a long time, and before that, there’d been the Navy and officer training, and then years as the attaché to the US Secretary of State. I’d seen the world, I’d lived it, and then I’d come back to what I wanted to do: teach. My dad had been a science teacher, and man, I’d always had respect for that.
But Cora? Shit, yeah, she stood out. She was beautiful and sexy as hell, but not like the other college girls who were all always trying too hard. C’mon I wasn’t an idiot. I knew I kept in great shape, had a nice smile, and a full head of hair. And college girls aren’t exactly known for their subtleness. I heard the whispers, and saw the knowing winks. I’d even gotten the flat-out offers before.