Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 253(@250wpm)___ 211(@300wpm)
After class, Mac throws out a blanket invitation to go to the campus pub.
“Who will be there?” Brody asks.
“A few of the guys from the team.” He adjusts his ball cap. “And probably those girls from your dorm, Barbie and what’s her name?”
“Annabelle,” Brody supplies.
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“I’ve got a chemistry assignment I need to tackle, but thanks,” Brody says. “I’m going to hit the library so I can grab a couple of research books, but I’ll catch you all later.”
Mac turns to Chase. “You’re going to bail too, aren’t you? Don’t make me ask Gage to come with me.”
“Oh yeah. Definitely bailing. Have fun.”
“You suck.” He fires the bird at Chase, then turns his megawatt smile on me. “You want to ditch him and come with me?”
“It’s a tempting offer, but I’m good, thanks,” I deadpan and hug Chase’s well-developed biceps.
“That was a test, and you passed. I like this one.” He claps Chase on the back and ambles off. He doesn’t make it ten feet before he’s accosted by a group of girls.
“He’s…interesting.”
“He flirts with literally everyone.”
“Yeah. I gathered that.”
“I’ve never seen him hook up with someone though.”
“Wait, seriously? Not even kiss anyone?” It’s hard to believe, but I guess you can’t always judge a book by its cover, or its flirtiness.
“Nope. Not even a peck.” Chase looks at me. “You heading back to res?”
“Yeah. I have a night class but I’m stopping by my room first. How about you?”
He nods, gaze moving over my face as he tucks his finger under my backpack strap. “I can carry this for you.”
“I have a black belt; I can handle a backpack.”
“I know. But I’d like to carry your books for you, all nineteen-fifties-style chivalrous like.”
I tip my head. “Is this to make up for the unchivalrous face fuck on the hotel bed?”
His eyes flare.
“Which I loved, by the way,” I tack on, in case he thinks otherwise. I’m pretty sure all my moaning and humming and generally pleased noises should have tipped him off to that fact already.
“Yes. No. Yes. I loved that too, so fucking much. But we shouldn’t talk about it right now or I’ll need to use your backpack or maybe even your body as a shield because it’s making things happen in my pants.” Chase half-groans that statement as his eyes heat.
I lick my lips and glance down at his crotch.
“Don’t do that; he’ll know you’re looking and embarrass me,” he whispers.
“We don’t want that.” I hand him my backpack and he falls into step beside me as we make the trek across campus to our residence building. “So you were talking about me to your hockey bros,” I say conversationally. I can’t believe he’s walking me back to res. And carrying my books for me. I feel like I’m in a movie right now.
“I thought you were avoiding me. Which you were, and I wasn’t sure what I’d done wrong or if I could fix it,” he admits. “So I told the guys about you, and Brody mentioned that Barbie and Annabelle, while sometimes helpful in keeping the hard-core fans at bay, can also be super bitches to basically everyone who isn’t a hockey player.”
“They don’t exactly exude warmth.”
“They really don’t. He also mentioned that not everyone is a high-level extrovert like myself, and that sometimes it’s important to check in on my quiet friends to make sure they’re not swimming in a mental lake of terror when they’re put in situations that are outside of their comfort zone,” Chase adds.
“That’s an astute observation.” Brody seems nice.
“Brody is an astute guy,” Chase agrees as he adjusts my backpack straps.
It’s not light. I have three textbooks in there and each one must weigh eight pounds. But he’s a hockey player so he can handle it, I’m sure.
Some guy comes up to Chase to ask him about an upcoming game, and we end up stuck chatting for a couple minutes. Chase keeps looking at me as he talks about the other team. It feels uncomfortable just standing here, while he’s told how well everyone needs to play or risk disappointing the entire campus.
“Is it like that for all of you?” I ask. “You had to be the best of the best in your high school to play here. Is it overwhelming to have everyone put their expectations on you like that?”
“It comes with the territory. We’re all used to being the best. Now most of us are at the same level, with a few standouts.”
“Are you one of the standouts?” I ask out of genuine curiosity.
“I want to be. Brody definitely is. Even as a first year, the potential is there. He has so much natural talent. I think he’ll be even better than his brother at some point, as long as he doesn’t get too in his head about it.”