Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 97882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
“Maybe… if you’re lucky?” I rasped, lifting my hand. Holden’s gaze was on mine until I extended my pointer finger and tapped it right in the center of his chest.
He seemed enraptured by that finger, his throat tight as it held his focus. I dragged my nail down the center of his chest, keeping my eyes on that nail until I hit the top of his abs. They tightened at the touch, and I smirked, letting my gaze slowly wander back up as I lowered my voice to almost a whisper.
“I’ll help you with your deodorant so you don’t smell like such a moldy foot.”
I said the words sweetly, crinkling my eyes with an exaggerated smile before I stepped back and gestured for him to lead the way inside.
Holden looked like he wanted to pop off with some smart remark of his own, tongue in cheek and eyes watching me like he appreciated the challenge I didn’t even realize I’d raised.
But if he did have something else to say, he resisted — just as much as he resisted the urge to grab his gym bag off my shoulder when I retrieved it from the back seat.
It killed him already, not being able to take care of himself. I hoped as much as he did that he’d only have a week or so of this before we could introduce movement and get him on the road to recovery.
For all our sakes.
Holden
I knew Julep walking me inside was a mistake.
I knew before I opened the door, leading with my left hand while the other lay suspended in a sling around my neck. I knew before my three roommates paused their video game, mouths wide like that of a trout before they hopped up and rushed over to help Julep with my bag.
I knew, and yet I still had to watch it happen.
I had no choice.
“Hey, sweetheart, let me get that,” Leo said, attempting to take my bag from Julep with a wink. I couldn’t help but smirk to myself when Julep pinned him with a glare and shrugged away from him, adjusting my bag even higher on her shoulder.
“Welcome to the Pit,” Kyle added, tossing his arm around her shoulder. “To what do we owe this… pleasure?”
His eyes trailed down the length of her while I gritted my jaw and tried not to boil over. I had absolutely zero right to feel any sort of possession over that girl.
And yet…
“Are you both fucking stupid?” Braden interjected, and he gave my roommates murderous glares before his eyes softened on me. “What’s the verdict, Cap?”
I swallowed, glancing down at my arm in the sling. “Cuff tear.”
That same silence that had burned my ears in the hospital fell over us then, all eyes floating to my already-swelling shoulder.
“He’ll be fine,” Julep said when no one responded. “And back before the season is over.”
Kyle grinned from where he still had his stupid fucking arm around her. “With you at his bedside? I have no doubt.” He leaned in a little closer then. “And my room is just down the hall, if you ever want to check on me, too.”
My jaw ached with how hard I clenched it, but I didn’t have time to tell him to fuck off before Julep leaned away from him and pointed her finger into his chest, her smile wide and dazzling. “Hey, aren’t you the one Riley Novo embarrassed in a game of five hundred before making you shave her name into your head?”
Kyle’s face fell flat, and he removed his arm from around her as Leo and Braden laughed so hard they both doubled over.
“I like her,” Leo stated, thumb pointed at Julep.
“Oh, joy. My whole life has been made,” she said, deadpan.
I knew without him saying it that that made Leo like her even more.
I climbed the stairs to my bedroom, Julep on my heels and the guys blessedly returning to the couch to continue the game they’d paused. Every now and then, I glanced over my shoulder and watched her take in our home with an amused, yet simultaneously confused expression on her face.
The Snake Pit was an eclectic house, filled with memories and relics of many North Boston University players past. It was first purchased in 1982, gifted by the quarterback’s dad to him and three of his friends on the team. What they thought would just be their place to crash and party at in their tenure at the school turned into a house full of history, passed on from generation to generation. Who got to live in the Pit was usually voted on by the entire team, and it was almost always the quarterback and three of the team’s top partiers.
Because balance, of course.
They needed someone to hold up the house, make sure it stayed in good shape, and made sure the team stayed on track — both on the field and off it. But they also wanted players who knew how to have a good time to keep the legend of the house alive and well. It was one of the top places off campus for parties, especially during football season.