Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32145 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 107(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32145 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 107(@300wpm)
“No,” I admit.
“You gave her a nickname?” Sadie’s eyes light up. “Wait, is she why you’re in here?” Both her and Dunc’s eyes bounce between Van and me. The annoyed expression Dunc always has on his face when Van is near him falters.
“We’re together,” Van says loud enough for everyone in the classroom to hear.
“Van!” I hiss. My face starts to warm. Oh my God, he’s making me blush. I hate him.
“What? Is that why you were in his room?” Sadie innocently blows up my spot.
Well, shit. I try to keep my face as calm as possible, feeling Van’s gaze on me.
“You were in my room?” I can hear the amusement in his voice.
“I got lost,” I lie, locking eyes with Van to assert my dominance. It doesn’t work because he freaking smirks, making one of his dimples show. I can feel my cheeks heat even more, my own body betraying me.
“Why didn’t you wait for me?” He places one hand flat on my desk, leaning over it.
“You were busy playing with Rose.”
“I only play on the field, Red.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Why? You like it.”
“I do not,” I lie again. I totally like it, but there’s no way I’m ever admitting that to him.
“Liar,” he says with a full-on smile now.
How the hell does he do that? I’m picking up quickly that the man can really tell when I lie. It’s disarming, and I don’t like it. I feel naked.
“Don’t you two have class or something?” I wave my hand dismissively at the boys and go back to pretending to read my computer screen.
“I had to come find out why my girl is dodging me.”
“I’m not dodging you. I’m busy.” I peek over at him. He’s openly staring at me. I glance around the room and see everyone else is watching us too. Even Mr. Tananger. Word is really going to spread now. That’s probably the real reason Van is here. He wants to make sure everyone knows. Then, maybe he’ll pull back on this overplay.
“What are you all staring at? We have deadlines!” I snip. Everyone quickly looks away. Except Van. “Are we finished?” I focus my attention back on him.
He removes his hand from my desk before coming around it. He leans down. I know I should lean away or tilt my head in another direction, but I can’t bring myself to back down. Van leans in and drops a quick kiss on my lips.
“I’m far from finished, Red,” he says before he turns to head out of the classroom, leaving me speechless for the first time in years.
Chapter
Six
VAN
“Ihope you’re not playing with her.” Sadie has cornered me at the house. I still call it that because it’s not my home. This place belongs to my bio dad and my not-bio brother Dunc. Said brother is sitting in the kitchen nook overlooking the backyard pretending to be engrossed in some game on his phone. I say pretending because it’s obvious he’s eavesdropping.
“When have I ever played around with girls, Sadie?” I tweak a swatch of her hair. The gesture makes Dunc tense up. I rub the hair between my fingers while watching his shoulders bunch closer and closer together. He probably made some vow not to fight me. Sadie got pretty upset with him the last time we got into it at her birthday party. The same party that Red ditched to sneak into my room.
Sadie notices what I’m doing and jerks out of my grip. A scowl scrunches up her face. “Don’t antagonize Duncan.” In a louder voice, she says, “he’s doing this on purpose to jerk your chain. Do not react.”
Dunc stares out the window, probably envisioning ten different ways to kill me, before swinging around to face us. “Don’t worry, babe. I’m saving all of my energy for you.” He gives her a long, slow wink.
It’s fucking corny, and I’m cringing, but Sadie turns bright pink. Wow, I hate this. The idea of my sister having—I can’t even finish the thought. I never want to think of her doing any shit like that. It doesn’t matter that she and I don’t share blood. She's my sister.
“Tell Mom and Cooper I’ve got a position dinner tonight.” I swipe my keys off the counter and nearly run for the door. Behind me, I hear Duncan laughing. That asshole. He knows exactly how to get back at me.
I arrive at the Backdoor ten minutes early, expecting an empty table but Smurf is already there. He gives me a salute when he spots me at the door.
“You’re early,” he says as I pull out a wooden chair opposite him.
“Couldn’t wait to see you, Smurf. An hour without you is like an hour spent in emptiness.”
“Is that Shakespeare?” He frowns.
“I made it up.”
“Not bad. I’m gonna steal it and use it on Ms. Funnel.” He types something into his notes app.