Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 23163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Running fingers through her hair, she looked out the main window and just watched the world go by. Or more specifically their little town.
Blue hummed to himself as they made their way to the pizza place. She rarely visited by herself. When she was with Becky and John, they preferred the diner across the street. Becky had an absolute love for the different varieties of burgers the main chef seemed to have on the menu. So far, whenever Becky thought she’d tried them all, a brand new one came onto the scene. It always made her smile at the annoyance on her friend’s face.
There was a spare parking space around the back of the place. She climbed out and Blue held his hand out as if for her to take, which she didn’t, instead, giving him a strange look.
“Not a date,” she said, reminding him.
He chuckled. “Of course. I was just testing you.”
“Yeah, of course.” She laughed. She moved a little closer to him.
Several people they passed cheered Blue, giving him a high-five and congratulating him on an amazing game. She didn’t comment as they headed inside.
The guy behind the counter told Blue to sit and he’d bring over his regular. They found a free booth.
“Do you ever hate that?” she asked. “All of the attention?”
“Not really. I don’t mind it at all. It’s good for the guys. What I do hate is when they constantly congratulate me as if I alone run the whole team. I don’t.” He shrugged. “I try to do right by the guys, but it’s not always easy.”
She reached out, putting a hand on his. “At least you try. That has to mean something.”
“It does. The guys know I won’t take all the credit, and I won’t.”
Now this was news to her. She’d seen and heard about how much the town loved him. He couldn’t do anything wrong. She’d often wondered about the rest of the team, and now she knew her answer.
Their pizza was delivered in record time.
“Wow,” she said.
“Being the town’s hero does have its perks.” He winked at her. “Enjoy.”
She picked up a slice and took a bite, closing her eyes as the flavors of tomatoes and cheese exploded on her tongue.
It tasted so good.
“Maybe being popular isn’t such a bad thing,” she said.
“Is that a compliment I hear?”
“Not a big one. Don’t let it go to your head.” She couldn’t help but laugh.
“Nah, you see it’s started. You’re curious about me now. You want to learn more.”
“You do have a high opinion of yourself.”
“It’s the only way to be, baby.”
She enjoyed her slice, and in the time it took her to eat one, he was already starting his third. She couldn’t help but smile at him and hated to admit it was a lot of fun hanging out with him.
Blue wasn’t just some dumb jock.
Chapter Three
“What do you get chicks who love to learn?” Blue asked as Mitchell collapsed against his locker.
“This about Laylah again?”
“When is it not ever about her?” he asked.
News had gotten around the school that he was seen out with Laylah and then of course, he’d arrived at school with her in his car.
Picking her up was a step in the right direction. He didn’t exactly have a plan or know what he was going to do. Just that he had to do something to get what he wanted. He wasn’t the kind of guy to admit defeat. Far from it.
“Books?” Mitchell suggested after a short pause.
“But what kind of books?”
“I don’t know. Why is she always reading, anyway? Doesn’t she realize it calls for everyone to want to pick on her?” Mitchell laughed, but Blue was far from entertained. He didn’t like the single thought of anyone hurting his girl.
He grabbed Mitchell’s shirt. “What the fuck are you saying?”
“Whoa, dude, I didn’t mean it like that. Chill. I mean it, chill.”
He was far from chilled and as he looked at his friend, he realized quite quickly how crazy he must sound. Letting go of his friend’s shirt, he forced a smile and a laugh. “It’s fine, but if you find anyone bullying her, you come to me.”
“Yeah, man, sure. You know, I think you need to see someone about this obsession you’ve got with this chick. Like seriously.”
He couldn’t deny it and was about to agree when he spotted her walking with her friends, Becky and John. He’d gotten some of the nerd guys to do a bit of recon to discover if John was a threat to him, or Becky. Neither were. In fact, John was in a long-distance relationship with a girl he met at camp, and Becky hated men of all kinds right now. She was going through what she considered her feminist phase.
After shaking Mitchell’s hand to let his friend know they were good, he made his way over to Laylah. She stood to the left side of Becky, and he put his arm across her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.