Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
I bump her shoulder with mine. “It can’t be easy, though.”
“It’s not, but we’re supporting each other, and that’s what relationships are about.” She looks over at Tally. “I’m sorry another Terror player is helping you move in.”
“It’s okay. Anyone who knows hockey knows my last name anyway. It isn’t like I’ll be able to keep it a secret.” Tally hugs Rix.
We all pile on.
Dallas appears in the doorway, followed by Flip.
“Uh, everything okay?” Dallas’s forearms and biceps pop under the strain of the box he’s carrying.
“Everything’s fine. Just girl bonding,” I assure him as I shamelessly eye-fuck him. I’ve learned recently that he and the guys often work out in the gym at his building. Occasionally, I’ll poke my head in to say hi so I can get an eyeful of his sweaty hotness. Then I wait in his penthouse until he’s done and jump him the second he’s out of the shower.
He winks. “I’m all yours later tonight.”
“You’re always all mine,” I retort.
“Wow, that’s some heat coming off you two. Do you need a couple minutes alone?” Dred asks.
“He’ll be fine for a few hours,” I say.
“But will you?” Dallas kisses my cheek and sets the box on the floor. With eight of us crammed in here, there’s almost nowhere to turn that doesn’t involve bumping into someone.
“Aw, man, this reminds me of my freshman year.” Flip sets his boxes on top of Dallas’s and flops down on the bare mattress. “University was good times.” His smile falls a little, and he points at Tally. “But you should definitely not do any of the things I did.”
She rolls her eyes. “University is all about experiences, and I plan to have a lot of them.”
“I’m with Flip that you shouldn’t do any of the things he did in university. Yes to new experiences, but no to bad choices you’ll potentially regret,” Rix says.
Tally narrows her eyes. “Everyone raise their hands if they didn’t go to a keg party during their university days, drink too much, vomit, and wake up with a horrible hangover.”
None of us raises our hand. “Okay. Point made,” I note. “But Flip isn’t referring to the keg parties as much as he’s referring to everything else.”
“I’m going to grab some more boxes.” Flip hops to his feet and heads for the door. I swear the back of his neck is red, like this whole conversation embarrasses him. I don’t know how talking about his past makes him feel, but having his reputation for sexual exploits can’t be easy.
“You Badass Babes can start unpacking. Flip and I will manage the rest of the boxes,” Dallas says.
“Tristan and Nate are on the way over to help,” Rix tells him.
Essie pulls out lip gloss and reapplies it.
“Cool. We’ll be done in no time.” Dallas kisses me on the cheek and follows Flip out of the room.
Rix pokes her head out the door before she turns back to us. “Was Flip blushing? I swear he was blushing.”
“I thought the same thing!” I reply.
“Interesting,” Dred muses.
“Why is that interesting?” Tally asks.
“Because Flip isn’t known for feeling any kind of guilt or embarrassment over his past actions,” Dred explains.
“I wonder what it was about that specific conversation that made him feel some kind of way.” Rix surveys the room. “Where do you want to start?”
“My bedding is in that box over there, and that one has my fall clothes, like sweaters and hoodies and stuff. We could start with those?”
We help Tally set up her room, make her bed, hang her posters, and get most of her clothes put away. Dallas and Flip bring up the last of the boxes, which contain Tally’s books, and Tristan and Nate show up with pizza and cake.
Nate hangs back, looking a little unsure of himself. Tristan stands on the threshold of the room, eyes bouncing around as he nods his approval. “Nice work. Two thumbs-up, and I approve of your band posters. So does the rest of Canada.”
“My dad loves The Hip.” She makes the sign of the cross. “Rest in peace, Gord.”
We all do the same. The Tragically Hip are a beloved Canadian band that lost their lead singer to cancer. I went to one of their last concerts during my university days.
“We have food and a cake,” Tristan announces, like we can’t see or smell it.
“We can eat in the dining room! Let me show you!”
We follow Tally down the hall to the common area she’ll share with her roommates. A small dining table with six plastic chairs takes up one corner. There are also two love seats and two chairs that don’t look particularly comfortable.
“Are you the first one to move in?” Tristan sets the pizza and paper plates on the table.
“One of the other girls was here earlier, but I think the rest of my roommates are coming this afternoon. Two of them are from Sudbury, and another one is from Ottawa, so it’s a drive,” Tally explains.