Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 51122 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 204(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51122 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 256(@200wpm)___ 204(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
When my brain started tracking straight again, I was wrapping my arms around her tight, drinks and all.
I buried my nose in her hair, inhaling her sweet scent, and thought about how much I’d wanted this. How much I’d wanted this since the first time I met her.
There was a cleared throat, and then Banner said, “Not that this isn’t great and all, but can you let us give her a hug, too?”
Blue, laughing as I released her, squealed with delight as she wrapped her arms around Banner next.
I offered him my best ‘I hope you fucking die’ look, causing him to grin.
“Don’t show your hand in the first quarter, bro,” Slone rumbled beside me.
I glared at him, too.
He held up his hands as he said, “Just sayin’, but you gotta finesse this. There’s likely a reason she felt emboldened enough to give you a fuckin’ hug. When did she do that when she was younger? You might age, but you generally don’t grow out of a personality.”
He had a point when he put it like that.
I waited until she was done with the round of hugs with my best friends before saying, “Got you a drink.”
She took it with a profuse blush covering her face, letting me know that maybe she’d acted on instinct when she’d thrown herself at me earlier. Not because she’d actually meant to do it.
I deflated slightly as she said, “Are y’all gonna sit with us?”
Hence the chairs…
“Yes,” Banner said at the same time as Rebel.
We all shuffled around, and I found myself sitting across the table from Banner, Tempy, and Rebel and in between Slone and Blue.
“Where’s Perry?” Blue asked, trying to look anywhere but at me.
Banner went through his explanation, and all the women pouted.
“Where’s your new wife, Slone?” Tempy asked.
Slone and Tempy had once had a thing for each other.
That thing had fizzled out and died when they’d both gone their separate ways after high school. Though, when they were first starting out—Slone and Ari—the subject of Tempy had caused a small rift between them when Tempy had gotten excited to see him and thrown herself at him at a game that Blue, Tempy, Perry, and Rebel had attended.
Slone explained where she was and why she wasn’t there, almost mirroring Banner’s story, and I kept my eyes on Blue as she continued to try to ignore me.
“I hear that y’all might be in the Super Bowl,” Rebel mused.
“It’s looking fantastic,” Slone admitted sheepishly. “If it wasn’t for Titus this season, things might be a different story. We have eight games left, but we have a solid team this year, and Titus seems to be on fire.”
Blue looked up at that, and I took a pull of my beer when her gaze immediately slid to the side.
So she was still doing the avoidance thing.
Noted.
Was it because I made her nervous? Was it because she didn’t want anything to do with me?
Was it because I made her uncomfortable?
“Titus King!” I heard called.
I looked over my shoulder to see another girl from high school.
The one all of us nailed.
However, though she was a little curious in high school, all of the men and women loved her because of her bubbly personality.
It didn’t surprise me in the least when I found out that she’d started an OnlyFans and began selling her underwear for upwards of $50K a piece.
“Hey there, Jumper!” I called as I turned my chair just in time for her to throw her hands around my shoulders and hug me tight.
Last I heard, she was married with kids, so I looked around for her husband.
But in doing so, I turned my back on the table, and the woman who kept avoiding eye contact.
Meaning I missed Blue’s reaction.
CHAPTER 2
Yesterday’s eyeliner can be today’s smoky eye if you believe in yourself.
-Blue to Rebel
BLUE
Earlier that night
“Do you think I’ll see him?”
“Of course, I think you’ll see him.” Rebel rolled her eyes.
Two years ago, Rebel and I had gone in with each other on a bar in Kilgore. It catered to women and was booming.
Women didn’t necessarily have their own ‘places’ they could go to grab a beer, so we focused on making the whole scene welcoming to anything of the feminine persuasion.
Hell, we even employed a daycare in the back so that women could enjoy a cocktail hour while having their kids watched by professionals.
Though, in order to have that happen, we did make sure to have a rideshare service that had car seats available. If the kids went in the daycare, they were forced to use the rideshare service or be picked up—and that was strictly monitored.
We also had bouncers and hired help who weren’t hard on the eyes.
Now, Rebel was my closest friend, though she shared that spot with Perry.
Perry may be halfway across the country, but she was still in my daily life. Even if that was through text messages.