Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 101736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101736 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
With our shots done, all that was left was for Preston to drink. He fished the ping pong ball out of the front cup, set the ball aside, and as he brought the beer to his lips, he studied me.
The intense stare we’d shared across the pool was back, trapping me in my body. How did he do that? The way he stared at me was as if I was the only person he could see. He hadn’t noticed me in years, and now he was making up for that lost time.
I swallowed thickly, breaking his gaze, and nervously tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. Even though I wasn’t looking at him, I sensed his attention was fixed on me, and excitement buzzed through my system.
“You’re up, Preston,” Colin said.
The cup he’d drunk from was set on the counter nearby, and then Preston’s relentless gaze came back to me. The corners of his mouth lifted in an evil smile as he readied to take his shot.
Like me, he went for the direct approach from above. He wound up, released the ball, and I tracked it as it flew toward our cups in seemingly slow motion. Down it dropped, splashing perfectly into one of them.
Damn.
I was disappointed to have to drink, but begrudgingly impressed. His smirk was proud and victorious, and I didn’t understand why I found it so sexy. Hadn’t I left the crush back in high school?
Madison went next, and when the ball bounced high into the air, Colin easily slapped it away. It meant it was my turn to drink, and I peered at the cup with trepidation. I didn’t like the taste of beer, and who knew how long this had been sitting out?
Please don’t be warm.
I took the ball out of the cup and did the same thing Preston had done the last round—I watched him as I drank.
The beer didn’t taste warm or quite as bad when I was preoccupied by the sight of him.
When I finished, I strolled the few steps to the counter, stacked the empty cup inside the one he’d placed there, and returned to my end of the table. Colin had rinsed off the ping pong balls in a cup filled with water and handed one to me.
I made my second shot easily.
Preston and Madison exchange a what the fuck look with each other, and then his annoyed gaze turned to me. He’d been stunned and maybe amused the first time, but this? It was less cute.
“Something you should know about Syd,” my brother said, “is she’s really good at stuff like this.”
Preston’s eyes narrowed. “Stuff like this?”
“Games,” Colin clarified. “Things that use dumb skills. She wins every time.”
“You mean she’s lucky.”
Preston’s tone had been accusatory, but my brother’s was plain. “No, I mean she’s good.”
He took his shot, which bounced close but rimmed out. Preston snatched up the cup I’d landed my shot in, pulled out the ball, and slammed the drink. When he’d cleared away the cup, his gaze zeroed in on me.
“I hope you’re thirsty, good girl.” He put emphasis on the word, teasing me, and dear God, it sent a surge of electricity down my spine. He’d said it like being good was actually a bad thing, and the muscles low in my stomach clenched.
He wasn’t wrong. I was a good girl, but sometimes, especially when I thought about him, all I wanted to be was bad.
He lined up to take his shot, only this time he wasn’t successful. The ball pinged off two rims and flew away, landing on the ground and rolling across the carpet. The cocky expression he’d had froze, then drained away, and I had to press my lips together to hold back my smile.
“I wasn’t looking.” My brother pretended to be confused. “Did it go in?”
Preston sighed, and then he snorted. “That’s what she said.”
Madison’s gaze flashed up to the ceiling for a second, the joke too stupid to acknowledge, before focusing on the game.
They put up a decent fight, but she and Preston were no match for Team Novak. On the third round, Colin finally landed a shot, and then we rolled full steam ahead and annihilated them. It was clear Preston didn’t like losing, but as the game went along, his irritation faded. His curiosity about me seemed to outweigh it.
“We’ll team up on the next round,” he announced when he finished the final cup of beer. “You and me together? We’d be unstoppable.”
Oh, lord. Warmth crawled up my neck. Once again, he’d only meant the game, but my mind took the meaning elsewhere.
You and me together.
Had he ever thought about it? I wasn’t that dorky fifteen-year-old anymore, and he’d broken up with Cassidy a long time ago.
I opened my mouth to agree to another round, but Colin shook his head. “No. She drove here.”