Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 149510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
There’s a finality in her speech as she throws open the door at the end of the hall to reveal a sunken room full of no fewer than fifty people. Bodies writhe and people shout as they hold cash in the air for runners who circle the room to exchange it.
Ace and Julia move through the door expediently, but Blake pauses, holding Scottie and me up from doing the same.
“So, you need my number?” Blake questions Lexi, having paid attention to the entirety of her speech like the best student in the class. “For the texts? And, you know, anything else would be okay too.”
She looks from him to us, including the three of us instead of answering him directly. “I already have your number.”
“How?” Blake asks, mystified, and this time, she looks directly at him.
“Because I’m the smartest girl you’ll ever meet.”
“Well, smart girl, how about you give me your number?” Blake grins. “Feels like it’s only fair.”
“I don’t date football players.”
“Why not?”
Lexi smiles then, the first real smile I’ve seen her make since we arrived. What she doesn’t do, however, is answer. “Have fun. If you lose your ass tonight, sorry about your luck. Though, if you’re as smart as I hope you are, you know that betting is never about luck.”
She walks away, and just like that, we’re dismissed.
“I’m going to marry that girl,” Blake whispers as he watches her move to the center of the room where what looks to be a boxing ring with a cage surrounding it sits.
I use my own momentum to push Scottie and Blake farther into the room, going up and around a group of people before climbing down into the sunken center to where Ace and Julia are standing in the back row. Students jostle back and forth as someone in the front stumbles and falls before their friends pick them back up to standing.
Ace spots us coming and turns to help Scottie jump down beside Julia first. Blake follows, though his eyes still wander the room, looking for Lexi.
“Yo, Blake,” Ace says through a laugh when Blake trips off the step and falls into them. “How about you pick your jaw up off the floor and pay attention to what you’re doing, dude? I’ll never live it down if I bring the Dragons quarterback somewhere and get him injured.”
“I’m going to marry that girl,” he repeats as he stares at Lexi, who’s now on the far side of the ring collecting money, one of her feet through the ropes, prepared to climb in.
“Do you even know who that girl is?”
“My future wife?”
“I’m not sure if you noticed, Blake, but Lex didn’t appear all that interested in you,” Julia chimes in, a little smile on her lips.
“Yeah.” Scottie giggles. “Kind of seemed like she didn’t give a shit about anything you were saying.”
“Mark my words, ladies. That girl will be mine.”
Both Scottie and Julia laugh some more, and Ace and I look at each other like Blake has lost his ever-loving mind.
“Listen up, everyone!” Lexi calls from the center of the ring, a microphone in her hand and her voice echoing throughout the room. “Tonight’s official activities will commence shortly. But we’re going to need a volunteer to step up to the challenge.”
“What’s the challenge, Lex?” a guy yells from the crowd.
She smiles. “A guy with big enough balls to fight Donnie Marks.”
“Wait…he’s a fucking ex-UFC fighter, Lex! Are you nuts?” another guy yells out.
“Looks like your balls are too small,” she teases and glances out toward the crowd. “C’mon, you assholes, someone needs to step up. Otherwise, we might as well pack it in early.”
“Dayum,” Ace mutters when Donnie Marks steps into the ring. “He’s a big motherfucker.”
“Don’t you dare, Ace,” Julia states firmly as she pokes him in the chest with her index finger.
“What? You don’t want me to fight him?” he questions with a grin on his lips. “I can hold my own, babe.”
Julia’s lips move down into a frown. “If you manage to hold your own, I will personally finish you off later.”
“Wait…what?” Ace’s eyes go wide. “Finish me off? Sounds kind of nice.”
“As in murder you, you idiot!” she exclaims and shoves him in the chest.
“Are you sure that’s what you mean?” He starts to open his mouth again, but Julia slaps her hand over his lips.
“Shut up, Ace.”
He laughs. And then I’m certain he licks her palm because she jerks her hand away on a disgusted laugh.
“Ew! You’re so gross!”
“By the way, whoever volunteers to fight Donnie gets ten percent of the betting pool,” Lexi announces, and my ears perk up.
Ten percent of the betting pool? I look around the room, taking in the size and scope of the crowd and quickly deducing that most of the people here look like they come from families with parents who keep their bank accounts stocked full of cash.