Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84826 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Before the party thins and the crowd downstairs disperses, I’m upstairs in Ty’s room, door locked, throwing clothes and books off his queen-sized bed, grateful that it’s not a twin or a simple mattress on the floor, before flinging myself on top of it in a tired heap.
The one beer my friends Tabitha and Maria persuaded me to drink is the sleep aid I need to close my eyes and shut out the racket below me.
CHAPTER 1
ABBY
When it comes to shimmying down a metal gutter pipe, it’s probably not a good idea to get much dignity involved. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of hard work goes into the task, but in order to be successful, you have to let go of your pride. As in, have none. Of course, that isn’t saying much, particularly if you’re wearing a skirt—which, thank God, I am not.
I glance back into the bedroom from my spot in the window at a slumbering Tyler Darlington, who is spread out on his queen-sized mattress, snoring peacefully. His unkempt brown hair sticks out in a million places, matted in some spots from tossing and turning, and an unsavory dark puddle of drool wets the area where his gaping mouth and pillow meet.
Ugh, gross. If only the ladies could see this ‘ladies’ man’ now…
Before sticking my first booted foot out the second-story window, I nervously twist the gold ring on my right hand and take one last look at Tyler, whose eyes are slowly blinking open. He looks around the room and catches sight of me, resting his chin on his elbow, and watches me with an amused look on his arrogant face.
My stomach twists into a knot.
“Are you sure you don’t want to exit out the, oh, I don’t know,
perfectly good door?” His head jerks toward the opposite side of the room, to his sturdy, solid door. With perfectly functioning hinges.
“Um, yeah, I think I’ll pass. They are still out there. Waiting. No freaking way am I getting caught up in that… that…” I wave my hand around airily, at a loss for words. “I can’t face them. It’s humiliating; I couldn’t bare it.”
I will not go out in that hallway. No matter how badly I have to use the bathroom to pee.
I’m too reserved. Most people, especially those who don’t know me well, might even call me shy—and I’m sometimes so easily embarrassed it borders on absurd.
My ears perk up, and I can still hear the chanting from my spot in the narrow window frame, the loud, boisterous voices filling the small space that is my cousin’s bedroom. Somewhere within the long corridor, another door opens and closes, setting off a chorus of cheering, laughing, and shouting.
“Those guys are such fucking morons,” Tyler says as he rolls his eyes, checking the clock on his nightstand and sitting up straighter to fish for his glasses.
“Yeah, and those morons are your fraternity brothers,” I mutter, staring out the window, nervously plotting my best course of action. “You choose to live with them. On purpose.”
“I’ll just stick my head out the door and tell them not to shout at you.”
I shake my head vigorously. “And you think they’re going to listen to you? Please. Those guys have zero boundaries.” I glance down at the gutter, mentally calculating its distance from Tyler’s window, estimating it to be approximately three feet away. Close enough that I could make it, and, if I can safely grab on to the awning, I just might be able to drop down without breaking my neck. “Listen, don’t think for one second they won’t sing that song to me. In fact, they’d have a field day if they knew it was me in here with you.”
“Abby, stop being so damn dramatic.” Tyler sits up and shrugs into a ratty tee shirt randomly plucked from the ground. “It’s just a song. It hardly means anything.”
I stare at him, my mouth agape. “Just a song? Ugh, have you heard the lyrics? They’re foul. Why any girl with self-respect would purposely set foot out in that hall is beyond me. No, I like my chances better.”
I would rather change my name, appearance, and join the Witness Protection Program than walk out into that hallway.
“It beats going out the fucking window.” He stands in his boxers and stretches. “Whatever, man, just hurry up. I’m starving and need to take a leak.”
I shoot him a few daggers. “Wow. Are you this charming with all the ladies?”
“No. Usually I tell them to grab their shit and get out of my room,” he says with a laugh.
Raucous laughter from the hallway fills the room, and someone begins banging on Tyler’s door. “Darlington, get your boney ass out here. Two skanks just came out of Ackermann’s suite.”
My lip curls and I brace myself for the lyrics. Loud singing fills the corridor outside my cousin’s room, and I shake my head, giving him the See? I told you so look.