Total pages in book: 199
Estimated words: 200280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1001(@200wpm)___ 801(@250wpm)___ 668(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 200280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1001(@200wpm)___ 801(@250wpm)___ 668(@300wpm)
“Yeah, not your babe either,” I tell him, wrinkling my nose slightly.
He leans forward. “Not yet. But you will be.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Is that the truth again?”
“You bet your pretty little ass it is.” Then he actually looks at my ass by bending further forward. “Not little. Tight though.” Grinning, he continues, “You bet your pretty tight ass it is, babe.”
Okay, can I just smack him a little?
He’s so drunk that I’m sure one’s enough to put him in his place.
I resist though. Only because I don’t want to make any waves and draw attention to myself.
Or who I am or who my brother is and all that.
Although to be honest, the chances that these people will recognize me are very low. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t live in town and I’ve hardly been to any of their games before.
But still.
“Right.” I somehow keep my smile in place. “As much as I’d love to stay and chat with you guys, I really want to catch up with my friend tonight. So can you,” I gesture with my hands, “make way, please.”
The goatee guy smirks. “We can. If you tell us your name.”
“Krista,” I say instantly.
Of course it’s a lie; I’m not going to tell them my real name.
“Krista,” he repeats.
“Yup.”
He looks me up and down. “Very pretty. Suits you.”
“Pretty name for a pretty girl, right?”
His smirk widens. “I’m Rocky. This here is Joe.”
I swing my eyes over at Joe, who hasn’t said anything since his initial greeting. And the reason, as I find out after looking at him, is that he is looking at me weirdly. As if he’s trying to search for something on my face.
Fuck.
Please tell me he isn’t trying to place me or something similarly disastrous.
Still I keep my cool. “Hi, Joe. Hi, Rocky.”
“So who’s your friend, Krista?” the goatee guy, Rocky, asks me.
I bring my focus back to him. “That wasn’t the deal.”
“How about you tell us and we’ll let you go.”
“You don’t know her.”
“We know everyone at this party.” He raises his brows, which I think was meant to look all arrogant and sexy but due to his drunkenness looks kinda sloppy and comical. “In fact, you’re the only person we don’t know and —”
“No, we know her.”
Joe speaks for the first time, and Jesus, this is what he decides to say?
“What?” Rocky frowns at him.
Joe frowns back. “Yeah, we do.”
“No, we don’t.”
“We do, asshole.”
“Yeah? Then who is she?”
At this, Joe frowns harder. “I think she’s…” His frown becomes even thicker. “Bobby’s sister.”
Rocky throws him a flat look, or what passes for one while inebriated. “Fuck off. Bobby’s sister is Barbara.”
Joe’s brows twitch with confusion. “All right then. But she’s someone’s sister.”
“Duh, fuckface,” Rocky snaps. “She has to be someone’s sister.”
“Or girlfriend.”
Rocky gets super upset at that. “Fuck you, Joe. She isn’t anyone’s girlfriend.”
“Or she could be someone’s side piece.”
Rocky gets up in Joe’s face. “Yeah. She’s going to be mine.”
“What, your girlfriend?”
“Why the fuck not?”
“Because you’ve already got one. And I don’t think Simone’s gonna like you fucking around on her.”
“Simone’s not here, is she?”
“Because she’s fucking cramming for a test,” Joe reminds him.
“Yeah, which ain’t exactly supporting her boyfriend who’s just won a game.”
Now Joe is the angry one. “You never deserved her, you fucking pig.”
“Fuck you again, Joe. And I don’t want her. I’ve already got what I want in front of me.”
They argue some more.
And all through this my emotions go from fear when Joe looked like he recognized me — especially when he said that I was someone’s sister, which I am — to amusement at Rocky and Joe fighting idiotically to actual anger on this Simone’s behalf. Of course I don’t know the girl, but there’s a thing called sisterhood. And this asshole jock boyfriend of hers is ready to break her trust.
I’m with Joe here. This guy does not deserve her.
“Hi, excuse me,” I chime in, deciding to break up this argument and move things along, and thankfully they both stop talking. “Can we focus on me for a second, please?” I first address Joe. “You’re right. I’m someone’s sister, but you don’t know them, okay? And you don’t know me. I don’t go to your school. I don’t even live in town. I’m visiting. There. Does that satisfy your curiosity?” Then I turn to Rocky. “And as flattering as all your drunken and pot-infused attention is, I’m not interested. I wasn’t interested from the get-go, but now that I know you’ve got a girl, who by the way sounds really responsible and amazing, studying on a Saturday night instead of wasting her time partying with you, there is no chance in hell that I’ll ever be interested in you. Are we clear now? Can I go say hi to my friend?”
Or the guy that I’ve been semi-stalking for the past week.