Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“Whatever, bro.” Marco started scanning the crowd for his next conquest. I did the same, but I wasn’t looking for a conquest. I was looking for… There he was. Walking in and getting a bright yellow wristband placed on his wrist.
Jay.
He had on a FU bomber jacket—deep purple with a gold collar and sleeves—and a pair of faded blue jeans that hugged his long, lean legs as if they were tailor-made. He must have gotten a haircut too, the sides buzzed short and the top trimmed and styled with a matte paste.
Maybe that’s the appointment he was talking about earlier.
His friend Maddy was with him, appearing the complete opposite of Jay with her midnight-black leather jacket and dark black pants. She would have blended in with the shadows if it wasn’t for her neon pink hair.
I waved over the crowd, catching Jay’s attention. He waved back. Smiled.
Goddamn, that was such a cute smile. Sexy too. He had kind of pouty lips that made my blood run a little hotter. I straightened up on the stool and hand-pressed the front of my gray button-up, which, admittedly, was pretty wrinkled.
Maybe I should have ironed this… Did I even own an iron?
“Hey, guys,” Maddy said as the two approached. The bar was loud, but I didn’t have any trouble hearing her through the catchy pop song and cluster of conversations surrounding us.
I introduced my friends, getting an extended look from Colton after I introduced Jay as my good friend, to which Jay quickly added, “Mostly just roommates.” Colton could tell that was a load of shit, and honestly, so could I.
Living around Jay these past couple of weeks had helped me pick up on a few tells of his. One of them being a quirk to his lips whenever he was saying something that could be interpreted in some other way. I didn’t think he lied—I didn’t consider Jay a liar—but I knew that in this instance, he wasn’t being fully truthful. And the slight slant to his lips proved that.
I let it slide. I understood why he was being cautious. He’d just met this crew; he didn’t have to trust them right from the jump.
Unless… was he being truthful? Did he really not think we were at least good friends?
“Want some beer?” Colton offered. “We’ve got plenty.”
“Sure,” Jay said, grabbing a plastic cup from the stack in the center of the table and handing it to Maddy before grabbing one for himself. I poured them both full cups. Maddy thanked me, but Jay, interestingly enough, didn’t.
He did something even better. He lifted his glass and winked at me. Smiled. It was a loaded look.
It all began to happen after our talk. I really felt like I had cracked through whatever assumptions he’d formed about me based off my last name. Even when it was us alone in the dorm. He asked to play a couple of rounds of a video game with me and had gotten me hooked on a show he was watching about reality TV stars living in a mansion and tricking each other.
It didn’t matter that I only knew a fraction of the cast. Hearing Jay laugh or gasp or go off on a rant about why that person shouldn’t have gone home over someone else was honestly some of the most fun I’d had in a while.
I licked my lips. Couldn’t help it. His smile didn’t waver as he looked away, toward the bar, taking a sip of the beer. I watched his throat move as he drank. I could see the gentle push of his pulse against his skin. I wanted to kiss him, mark each inch of that sexy throat, kiss my way down to his—
“Helllllo?”
“Huh, what?” I looked to Maddy, who had tapped my shoulder.
“I was asking what that game was called? The one we played the other day.”
I told them the name, the conversation opening up to how the best strategy to beat me would be. I didn’t like the gang-up forming, but I was also happy to see Maddy and Jay fitting into my friend group pretty effortlessly. Jay was a little on the quieter side, but I knew it wouldn’t take him long before his inner performer started to shine through. And sure enough, about ten minutes after they walked in, he was already performing a monologue from Les Mis when someone mentioned something about loaves of bread. The guys were cracking up, Jay appearing to eat up the attention.
“Damn, alright, so you’re like a big theater person, then, huh?” Colton asked. He was already on his fourth cup of beer, the flush in his face giving away how drunk he was getting. “I fucking love theater people, man. You guys rock.”
Jay did an exaggerated bow. “Thank you for appreciating the arts,” he said in a bougie accent.