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)
I tried to ignore him, but it was hard to ignore how my heart was pounding painfully in my chest. He always knew how to rile me up. To counter it, I took a deep breath, looking around. At the beautiful, luxurious furnishings from another time. At the people dressed in their finest clothes, myself included.
Kyle was quiet too, but when I looked over, he wasn’t watching our surroundings, he was studying me.
“What?”
“How’d you do that?” He reached over, catching the tendril of hair I’d left hanging down between two fingers. “Did you cut it?”
“No. I pinned part of it back—you just can’t see because it’s tucked under the rest.”
“That’s good. You know Jay would throw himself off a bridge if you cut your hair.”
I laughed. “Yeah, probably.”
He rubbed his thumb over the dark strands. “And the curl?”
“I used a curling iron.”
Finally, he let go. “A lot of effort, but if I get a vote, it was totally worth it.”
I smiled. “It's kind of nice to hear a guy appreciate stuff like that. Some men expect a woman to look gorgeous and then feel cheated when they realize she doesn’t look that way 24/7.”
His eyebrow cocked upward. “Then those men are idiots.” His gaze was on my hair again. “But I’ll tell you a secret. You look great even when you’ve just rolled out of bed wearing a sweatshirt and leggings, with your hair in a ponytail.”
My cheeks heated. “Somehow, I doubt that.”
“It’s true, and I’m not the only one who thinks so.” He gave a low, rumbly laugh. “Haven’t you ever noticed the three of us stopping whatever we’re doing when you do that thing with your hair?”
“What thing?”
“When you redo the ponytail.” Kyle made some kind of motion with his hands on his head that made no sense to me. “You know, when you bend over and let your hair fall forward and then gather it up. When you bend over in those skin-tight leggings that make your ass look… shit, what was I saying? Oh yeah, then when you pop back up, the ponytail looks perfect.”
“I do that?” Embarrassment flooded my system. Bending over at the waist in a houseful of men was probably not the best idea ever.
“All the time.” He drew the words out, and the expression on his face was downright wicked.
It was too intense to look at for long, so I trained my gaze on his empty plate. But I couldn’t help the way my lips twitched upward. “And while I’m doing that, you’re sure it’s my hair you’re watching?”
“Absolutely.” Amusement filled his voice. “Why, what else would I be watching?”
“I don’t even want to think about it.”
“As I said, men are idiots.” He grinned. “I have no idea why young women don’t give up on us altogether and just make out with each other and let me watch.”
A laugh escaped as I shook my head. “Not sure what to do with that statement. It ended in a very different place than it began.”
He scoffed. “And you call yourself a tutor.”
A waiter showed up. “More champagne, sir?” Kyle accepted, but I put my hand over my glass. One was enough for me. I needed to keep my wits about me on a date with a man like Kyle.
“Why are all the waiters men?” I asked after he left.
“Because the female ones are called waitresses.” He cocked his head to the side, giving me a disappointed look. “Seriously, I may need to find a new tutor.”
I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean. All the wait staff are men.”
“Not men, pledges.”
“They’re pledging a fraternity?”
“One of several. Which makes them cheap labor.”
“Can we get them to finish clearing out the basement?”
He laughed. “Tempting.”
“Jayden’s got a whole plan for how it’ll look down there. He’s got every corner plotted out.” I smiled. “And it’s not even his house.”
Kyle shrugged. “He can do what he wants.”
“Don’t you care what it looks like down there?”
He shook his head. “Not really. I know what I’m good at. Sports. Carrying heavy shit up and down the stairs. Making pretty girls blush. I don’t need to be a great brain.”
“You’re smart, too.”
“Not smart enough to major in cryptocurrency like the chief nerd himself.”
Why did he keep bringing up Lucas? “Cryptology,” I corrected.
“Whatever.”
I studied his face, and a memory surfaced. “You know his major is Cryptology.”
Kyle looked irritated. “Yeah, so? I was making a joke.”
“At your own expense.”
“Again, I repeat, so?”
“You did the same thing when you let me think you were betting on sports during class.”
“Jesus, Tori, you need to grow a sense of humor.”
I refused to let him sidetrack me. “Why make jokes that make you sound—”
“Dumb?” he cut in. “Why not? I am dumb.”
“No, you’re not.”
“That’s not the popular opinion.”
“Which one of us is the future teacher? You’re not dumb, Kyle. It’s okay to show people the best side of you, not the side you assume they’re expecting.”