Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“I moved my truck around back. The guys all moved theirs before we left this morning.”
“Do we need to move?” I ask him.
“No. That’s why we all moved. We want the two of you to be in the driveway. Everyone else can fend for themselves or park on the street,” Cooper speaks up.
I turn my head to look at him. “Thanks, Coop.” He pats my leg where it’s resting on my thigh.
“Go on now.” Tessa waves her hand toward the kitchen. “I can’t eat all those brownies on my own. Nixon will want this shiny new ring back,” she teases.
“No way.” Nixon cuddles her close to his chest.
“What about the two of you?” Dustin whines.
“Our girls baked,” Nixon says with a smirk.
“Thought she wasn’t your girl?” Dustin counters. His gaze is locked on Cooper.
“Best friend is close enough,” Cooper fires back.
“Come on,” Hank grumbles. “The sooner we get this shit over with, the sooner we get the goods.” The three of them amble off to the kitchen.
Tessa looks at me, and we both burst out laughing. “We better go get the goods,” she says in her best Hank impression.
“Agreed.” I turn to look at Cooper. “We hid them in your rooms. Be right back.”
Tessa and I race upstairs and grab our three containers each. Our thought process was each guy could have their own, and then one left over for the party. The guys are already in the living room by the time we make it back downstairs.
“That took like three seconds,” Trey says, holding his hand out.
“Your reward.” I hand him a container.
Tessa gives one to Dustin, Hank, and Nixon. I put one on the table next to the chips on the far wall and hand the other to Cooper.
“Thanks, Reese’s Pieces.” He pulls me back onto his lap, and I go willingly. I’m just a friend, sitting on another friend’s lap. No one has to know that I’m pretending it’s more—that it’s real, and his intentions are just like Nixon’s. A girl can dream.
The party is in full swing, and I’ve lost count of how many times my cup has been filled, and emptied. I said I wasn’t going to drink too much, but watching all the cleat chasers hang all over Cooper made the decision for me. I don’t have the right to be upset or even irritated. He’s not mine. However, I care about him. He’s still my best friend, even if my heart sometimes forgets that’s all he is. I don’t want him to get trapped by some floozie and be stuck with her for the rest of his life. Everyone at CU knows that Cooper, Hank, and Nixon are going to the draft. They all know they’re kickass football players. They also know that comes with fame and fortune.
“Hi, Reese, right?” a masculine voice asks.
Slowly, I turn my head to find a guy standing there who I’ve never met before. “Yeah.”
“I’m Hunter. It’s nice to meet you.” He holds his hand out for me to shake. He offers me his left, and well, my beer is in my right, so I offer him my left as well. A giggle escapes me when I realize what I’ve done.
“Sorry about that,” I say, barely managing to get the words out without slurring.
He smiles. “I’ve seen you around. This is the first time you’ve ever been without a group of guys around. That’s pretty intimidating, considering it’s usually the entire CU football team.”
“Meh.” I wave my hand in the air. “They’re all harmless.”
“So, which one is your boyfriend?” he asks, taking a drink from his own red cup.
“None of them. We’re all just friends. Well, Cooper is my best friend. We grew up together, but nope, none of them is my boyfriend, you know, like sexually,” I ramble. I have a feeling sober me is going to be embarrassed about this conversation in the morning. That is if I can even remember it.
“Good to know. It’s hard to tell sometimes.”
“Really?”
He nods. “It’s kept me away from you all year,” he confesses.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around.”
“I transferred last year. We’ve had a few classes together, but like I said, you’re always with a pretty big group of guys. I just assumed one of them was yours. It’s not until now I decided to take a chance and say hello.”
“I’m glad you did.” I smile up at him. He’s tall but not as tall as Cooper. Then again, I’m short, so everyone is tall to me.
“You want to dance?” he asks.
It might be the alcohol, but I swear I see a slight blush on his handsome face. “Yes.” Tilting my cup to my lips, I drain it and toss it into one of the many trash cans we set around the house. No way am I drinking out of it again after leaving it unattended. Nope. I’m not that drunk.