Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
She was confident, and I was intrigued by it. What if I’d also only seen her on her best behavior because her dad was around, other than the brief time we spent together when I’d given her a ride home from the church?
“Pick the spiciest sauce you like and that will work for me,” I said, focusing on our food order again.
“You like spicy?” she asked, arching her brows.
“Love it.”
Her small smile spread into a full grin. “Me too. Let’s get the reaper.”
Nash groaned, and I knew why. He’d ordered the hottest wing sauce on a road trip recently and paid the price afterward.
“Hope you guys are in the mood for a colon cleanse,” he said.
“My colon is made of steel,” I assured him.
“Same,” Jolie said. “Your colon must be delicate, Nash.”
Sawyer reached across the table to high-five her, saying, “First burn, well done.”
“Are there vegan options on this menu?” Jana asked, looking at the back of it.
“Are tots vegan?” Jolie asked.
Jana gave her a withering look, and Jolie tried to suppress a smile. I watched her as everyone else talked, looking at someone else every once in a while. No guy wanted to be labeled a creeper.
When she took her stocking cap off and shook out her hair, I had to shift in my seat because I started to get hard. There was something sexy about seeing her thick, red waves spilling over her shoulders. I imagined that was what she looked like in the morning, fresh out of bed.
The food came, and I checked the text that had just come in on my phone.
Nash: Stop staring at her. Coach will neuter you if you sleep with his daughter.
Shit. If he’d noticed, others might, too. I couldn’t risk anything getting back to Coach, so I forced my attention to my food.
The wing sauce was legit, and though I loved it, just a few bites had my eyes watering. I wiped the corner of one with a napkin and snuck a glance at Jolie.
“I love this sauce,” she said. “You like it?”
“Yeah, it’s good.”
It was good, but fuck was it hot. I’d finished my beer and my own water and our server hadn’t returned to the table, so I grabbed Sawyer’s untouched water and downed half of it.
“So Jolie, what do you do?” Sariah asked.
“I’m still in school. Grad school, studying microbiology.”
Nash gave me an enthusiastic look. “Did you hear that, Boone? She’s got a microscope. If you’re nice to her, you might be able to borrow it and finally get a look at your peen.”
“Shit, Nash,” I said, laughing as I finished a wing. “You’d think you were on stage doing a comedy routine tonight.”
“Microbiology sounds interesting,” Sariah said, ignoring us.
Jolie nodded. “I think so.”
“What are you hoping to do when you’re done with school?” Sariah asked.
“I’d like to teach.”
“You’d be good at that,” Nash said, making his first serious comment of the night. “You’re good with the kids in the youth hockey group.”
“Thanks. I used to babysit a lot. I wanted brothers and sisters so bad, but I’m an only child.”
Sawyer cringed. “I can’t imagine being Coach Gizzard’s only child. He can be pretty intense.”
“He’s a lot different at home,” Jolie said. “Hockey is what he gets most intense about. I didn’t always care for it when I was the one playing, but now we can sort of bond over it. I always say I need to have a defibrillator on hand when I watch games on TV with him.”
I could just imagine Giz yelling at players on the screen the same way he laid into us in the locker room. I admired his intensity, though.
“You get to watch him riding our asses instead of him riding yours,” I cracked.
“Exactly.” She grinned and reached for another wing.
“How has your dad been about you calling off your wedding?” Sariah asked. “Or is that not something you want to talk about?”
“No, I don’t mind talking about it. He’s still convinced I’m hormonal or something. My mom has pretty much come around, so my dad will eventually.”
Sariah gave Jolie a sympathetic look. “Good. If it wasn’t right for you, you definitely made the right call.”
“Your gift is on the way back to you,” Jolie assured her.
Sariah waved a hand. “Who cares about the gift? What matters is that you’re okay.”
“I appreciate that,” Jolie said. “I’m great.”
After another beer and more conversation, she took out her wallet and reached for some cash.
“No, I’ve got it,” I said, putting a palm up.
“No, take this.”
She offered me thirty dollars.
“No, seriously, I’ve got it. I’m sure we’ll all go out again and you can get me back if you want.”
She looked wary but then put the money away, saying, “Okay, thanks.”
I wasn’t going to let her pay next time, but I knew it was the only way she’d let me pick up the check this time. And even though I wanted to offer her a ride home and maybe get an invite back to her place, I kept my mouth shut.