Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 138775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Wow, what a lovely thought.
But I didn’t dwell on it long.
The main course was steak—filet mignon, if I was guessing right. It was seared on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth tender on the inside. It was perched on top of a swirl of truffle mashed potatoes. On the side were roasted carrots that had a caramelized edge to them.
The food was incredible, and it was easier to eat since Kyle was busy greeting people. “Do you know everyone here?” I asked at one point.
“Pretty much.”
That appeared to be true, because I’d barely eaten three bites of my steak when yet another young man showed up at our table. This one had on a black tuxedo like Grant, but the similarities ended there. He had curly red hair that looked like it hadn’t met a comb it couldn’t chew up and spit out.
He looked from Kyle to me and back again. “Where’s—” he started, but Kyle interrupted him.
“This is Victoria.”
The guy left after a half minute of small talk. After that, we were left alone until the dessert round. Yet another young-looking waiter brought a little bowl of something he announced was crème brûlée.
“That looks amazing.”
“You do the honors,” Kyle said. When he spotted the confused look on my face, he elaborated. “You’re supposed to tap at the caramel topping to break it into pieces.”
“Oh. Okay.” I tapped at it with the edge of the small spoon provided until cracks appeared in it. “Now what?”
“We share the dish.” Kyle scoffed, as if I should know. Then he leaned in, his voice lower. “Then you find it so damn delicious that the minute you get home, you jump into the bed of the guy who brought you here.”
A laugh sputtered out of me even as my thighs clenched at his low and rumbly tone. “Thank you for thoroughly explaining the process to me.”
“Well, it’s your first time, so I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss any of the steps.” He made an attempt to look innocent. “Sometimes the student becomes the teacher, Victoria.”
Okay, now his teasing was definitely getting to me. The gleam in his eyes made my pulse speed up and little shivers trickled across my skin.
He reached out, placing his hand on mine and rubbing his thumb across my wrist. “There are lots of things I could teach you.”
I was saved from having to answer by the arrival of yet another visitor. Kyle looked murderous at the interruption, but his friend, a tall guy with dark blond hair, didn’t seem to notice. Kyle introduced him as Matt and told me he was a pitcher for the team.
“Good to meet you, Tori,” the new man said. Then he clapped Kyle on the back, winked, and said, “Nice upgrade.”
I played that back in my head after he left. ”Upgrade?”
“No one listens to Matt. Including his catcher.”
Suddenly it clicked—what Matt had just said and what another guy had said earlier. “Firecracker… that must mean that redhead, right? The one who was all over you the other day? What was her name again?”
“Jasmine,” Kyle said cautiously.
“So you’ve brought her here?”
“A few times.”
“Did she wear a blindfold?” I asked, and his eyes lost focus for a moment. Now I was trying very hard not to picture Kyle and Jasmine together doing all kinds of perverted things together.
Then Kyle’s eyes cleared. “Yes. All women do. It’s not an insult. It means you’re one of an elite group who gets to experience this.”
“And how many times did Jasmine experience it?” My eyes narrowed.
“Are we talking about our pasts now?” He leaned back in his chair as he studied me. “How far back? Because if you want to talk about the past, you’re the one who kissed three men in a row on Thursday.”
“You arranged for that!”
“And you went along with it.”
“It was your idea. If you wanted me to turn it down, why suggest it in the first place?”
He shrugged. “It was fun. You must’ve thought so too, since you stayed for all three rounds.”
“You stayed for two of them,” I pointed out, crossing my arms across my chest.
“That was Jay’s idea.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. He thought you might like it.” Kyle frowned, and I worried he was judging me for enjoying it, but that wasn’t it. “He surprised me, actually. I always thought of him as Lucas 2.0, but he’s actually a pretty decent guy.”
“So is Lucas.”
“Agree to disagree. And I thought we agreed not to mention him again tonight?”
“You’re the one who did.”
“Oh.” He cocked his head to the side as he thought it over. “I guess I did. My bad—and just for that, you get the last bite of crème brûlée.”
I wasn’t going to say no to that. But after I’d eaten it, a blissful smile on my face, Kyle’s expression turned downright evil. “Just remember what happens after that.”