Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32145 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 107(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32145 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 107(@300wpm)
“Great?” I interject before Bubbles can shove her foot into her mouth. I’m not pro-violence toward women, so I figure I better cut things off before it gets messy.
“Um…” Tessa hums.
“You’re right. Great is a fucking bland term. Gorgeous? Funny? Smart? Like I run fast to keep up with her.” I clap the two smaller girls on their shoulders and squeeze. “Glad we are all part of the Fleur cheer squad. Don’t forget I’m first in line. Tucker, you ready?”
“As a turkey on Thanksgiving,” he chirps.
“But you won me.” Bubbles tries to stop us.
“Nah, Bubbles, you aren’t doing the math right. See that guy over there?” I point to our quarterback.
“Roman?” she says.
“Yes, Roman Park. He hands the ball off. He throws the football. He’s the captain of our ship, and so really, all the points scored are because of him. He won you. You need to reward him.”
Bubbles frowns as she takes in this new information, but when the lines on her forehead smooth out, I know she’s accepted this football math of mine.
“Right. The quarterback.” She nods. “Come on, Tessa. Let’s go tell the big boy his prize.”
As the two girls push through the crowded locker room toward Roman, I grab Tucker’s arm and head for the parking lot.
“What the hell does ‘ready as a turkey on Thanksgiving’ mean?” I ask when we reach my car.
“No idea. It was the first thing that popped into my head. Why’d you send Bubbles to Roman? He’s a strict observer of the no-nut November policy.”
I gun the engine. “That’s not my problem.”
“Are you really serious about Fleur? Because I kinda thought it was something you made up so that people would stop thinking you and your sister were a thing.” Why are we back on this again?
“I think Dunc is doing a good job of convincing everyone that my sister and I aren’t a couple.”
Tucker thinks about this for a second and then nods. “True. I mean, Fleur is hot with the red hair and shit, so I could see—”
“Friend, if you want to keep your balls attached to your body, you best stop right there.”
Tucker makes a zipping gesture across his mouth and stays quiet for the rest of the ride.
The after-party is in full swing when we arrive. An older man wearing a camel-colored V-neck sweater and sporting a pair of thick glasses holds out a bowl when we arrive. “Keys. You get them back as long as you blow a 0.0 on this.” He jerks his head toward a machine which I assume is a Breathalyzer.
Tucker plucks the keys out of my hand and tosses them in the bowl. “No problem, Mr. Severs. This here is our new wide receiver. Scored multiple times tonight.”
“Nice. I thought I recognized you. Welcome to the Severs’ house. Don’t get drunk. Don’t kill any of the plants and have fun.”
“We will!” Tucker salutes the man and then leads me farther into the house. “Old man Severs owns the car dealerships in town, which is why they have all this money. His kid, Matty Severs, is only a sophomore, but they’ve held the after-parties for the last two years because he wants Matty to start next year.”
“I don’t know him.”
“Matty still plays JV. He’s not that good, which is the reason for the parties. There’s your girl.” He points to Fleur. She’s standing behind someone sitting at a table trying to bounce a ping pong ball into a cup. I cross over to her and place an arm around her shoulder.
“Sorry for being late.”
She twists around. “Van?”
“Now, who else is putting their arm around your shoulders?” I scan the nearby crowd for offenders.
“No one. I’m just surprised you’re alone.”
“Tucker is here.” I jerk my head toward the bar where he is chatting up some girl I don’t know.
“But what about the girl?”
“What girl?”
“Bubbles?”
This whole line of questioning confuses me. “Are you and Bubbles friends? I wasn’t aware the two of you even hung out.”
“We don’t, but she said that—”
“Ah, I get it.” Fleur must have heard about Bubbles’ prize and thought that I was the winner. It strikes me kind of funny, in a bad way, that Fleur thinks that I’d take Bubbles up on her offer. “I’m not that type of guy, Fleur.”
“But you and me, we’re fa—”
I drop my mouth on hers because right now, I’m not interested in hearing that Fleur doesn’t think this relationship is real. I’m going to prove to her it is.
Chapter
Thirteen
FLEUR
The second Van’s lips land on mine, everything around us slips away. I feel his arm come around my waist, pulling me flush against him, making my breath hitch. My lips part enough to allow his tongue to slide right inside me.
I let him kiss me. I want him to. There’s nothing I want more at this moment. His tongue strokes me softly and sweetly. He’s taking his time as though he’s savoring every second of it.