Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 85453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
I’m still confused while shadowing Kamil up the bleachers of the basketball stadium. Cash was super flirty during our short walk, but that’s as natural as breathing for him. It is his most well-known trait.
Kamil drags me from my thoughts by introducing me to a beautiful woman with dark skin and crazy curls. “McKayla, this is Jasmine.” He bumps shoulders with Jasmine before finalizing his introduction. “Jasmine, this is McKayla, Milo’s girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend?” Jasmine spits out in shock, her brows hiking high on her adorable face. “Since when?”
With her stare not pronged with the spitefulness I got hit with when I arrived hand-in-hand with Cash this afternoon, I slacken the curiosity grooved between her manicured brows with a well-crafted lie. “Only a couple of weeks. It’s very new.”
“But clearly something since he invited you to a game,” Jasmine butts back in, her brows waggling.
“Milo never lets anyone attend his games. He hates being distracted,” Kamil announces before telling Jasmine to play nice.
I can’t wipe the surprise from my face. Cash made it seem as if my attendance was a requirement of our ruse. The knowledge that he doesn’t do this for all his ‘girlfriends’ is as pleasing as the tingling jolt that rocketed through my body last night. Perhaps even more so since it makes me believe Cash’s underhanded claim that last night wasn’t a one-off.
As Jasmine gestures for me to sit on one of the reserved seats one row back from the court, a door on the other side of the stadium pops open. My heart does a weird flutter when Gabriel enters the packed stadium. It isn’t a good spasm.
I feel a little dirty when he rakes his eyes down my body like I am as sullied as he said I’d be if I ever lowered my standards so much for a man like Cash Mancini.
For a second, I thought maybe he was judging Cash too harshly. Not many people see how Cash opens every door for me and carries my books back to my dorm after each tutoring session. But since Gabriel was more interested in a kiss for his so-called ‘gallantry’ for walking me home, I didn’t have time to blurt out all the facts.
I only had enough time to go with my gut instead of my head for a change, meaning Gabriel’s lips landed on my cheek instead of my mouth.
My intuition paid off when I spotted Cash in the shadows of my dormitory.
Well, so I thought.
Gabriel had spotted him too, but he didn’t see his stalking as endearing. He told me he was taking the game too far and that I’d never get as much out of our agreement as Cash.
I was shocked at his knowledge he knew about our agreement but also grateful he had no clue that it was created because of him.
That would have been downright embarrassing.
My thoughts are returned to the present when Jasmine asks, “You know Gabriel Sutton?”
After returning Gabriel’s unexpected wave, I reply, “Yeah, we ah, have a handful of classes together.” I almost said ‘I watched him for years’ but figured it was best to save that for when she isn’t a stranger, and I’m not doubting an infatuation that started before I understood what it meant.
“Nice.” Her smile is genuine but uneased. “Does Milo know that?”
Again, I nod. “We’ve discussed it.”
It takes Jasmine a couple of seconds to reply, and when she does, it doesn’t seem as if she said any of the words streaming through her head. “Good.” After plonking her backside into a seat I’m sure people would pay a fortune for, she asks, “How much do you know about basketball?” She laughs when I grimace. “That bad?”
“I’ve never watched a game,” I confess.
She leans in until our shoulders touch, then whispers, “Then you’re in for a treat.”
I thought sports was boring, that it was nothing more than watching imbeciles chase a ball in a range of ways. I never took in the atmosphere and how it sucks you in no matter how hard you fight it.
It is an invigorating time, and I can’t wait to soak it in all over again next week.
“I told you. Crazy, right?” Jasmine says, her smile as large as mine.
“It is…” I don’t have words to explain how stupidly giddy I feel. My heart is smashing my ribs, and my insides won’t stop flipping. I feel good. Great even.
My euphoric high doubles when Cash’s long-range shot ricochets off the backboard before falling into the net. I’m not solely stoked he got a three-pointer. I am ecstatic about the wink he hits me with and how everyone he’s given me tonight has made me the envy of the crowd.
Even Gabriel’s eyes lock and hold with mine for seconds after every point Cash scores.
After what I expressed before the game and last night, I shouldn’t want his attention. But for some stupid reason, I do.