Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 125852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125852 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
She shrugs, and I cross my arms in a pout.
“All right, everyone. As you can see on the class syllabus, we’ve finished the review and basic introduction, and we’re moving right along. This is when things will start to get tough. Take a few minutes, even number chairs turn to the left, odd to the right.”
Wait. No, no…
“Take your phones or a notepad out, swap numbers.”
I sit forward in my seat, literal sweat building in places I’d rather not mention as I—the person in the even-numbered chair—look left, right into Alister’s waiting eyes.
“This person is your new best friend. Your lifeline. Introduce yourself and get familiar.”
Alister sticks his hand out, and I glare at the offending appendage, looking back up at him just as the professor blows up my Avoid Alister Plan when he says, “Say hello to your course partner for the remainder of the fall semester.”
Alister smiles wide, and my head falls to the desk with a groan.
I keep speed-walking, chin lifted high into the fucking sky and thoroughly ignoring my best friend’s laughter as she does her best to keep up with me. Too bad for her, her legs are shorter.
“Cam, come on!” she chuckles.
“You and your man are officially on my shit list.”
“Liar.”
“Nope.” I shake my head, hustling across the path and onto the large strip of grass. “This is all your fault.”
“Is it, though?”
I cross my arms and spin, my fake-mad face breaking when she literally slams into me, bouncing back with a cackle.
I groan into the air, then take her arm and yank her with me, trying to get away from this area as fast as possible in case the ass himself decides to follow me across campus. “Why is this happening, Ari? He just…gets into class today and then bam, he’s my partner? It’s like he’s the stallion and I’m the broodmare getting fucked.”
She laughs, but when she looks over, her features mollify a bit, making me frown even harder. “Tell me the truth.”
My lungs shrivel a bit as I wait for her question.
“Is it that you don’t want to be near him because of what he did to you…or is it because when you are around him, you aren’t sure you care what he did anymore?”
“Of course I care,” I snap, tugging my arm from hers. “You know how fucked up all that had me.” What’s sad is it wasn’t even really about the guy but the fact that I was so blind to what was happening. A hit to the pride, I guess you could say, and if anyone had asked before then, I wouldn’t have assumed myself to be prideful. Guess I was wrong. I felt pathetic when I learned what I’d fallen for, and now when I look at Alister, sometimes that’s all I see—a tragic me staring back.
So which part of what she’s asked is the right answer?
Do I not want him near because of what he did…or because he sometimes makes me feel like I’m not mad at all?
Ari and I both stop, and my best friend tips her head, staring me down.
I glare at her, not wanting to answer, but she holds her ground and my eyes snap shut in confession, my palms lifting to press into my eye sockets. “Fuck me, Ari. Why am I like this?”
Her arm comes around my shoulders, and she steers me as she starts walking again. “No one is going to judge you if you decide you want to try again with him, you know.”
“I’m going to judge me, Ari. I deserve better than a lying asshole who only approached me for personal gain.”
“So he’s not swaying you in the slightest with his little pop-ups and gestures?”
“I’m pissed off, not a robot. The guy’s practically throwing me a touchdown every time he looks at me, and all I’ve got to do is take it to the end zone.”
“And do you want to score?”
“I want to slap him and kiss him at the same time.”
“Kinky.”
I whip around, cheeks growing pink as Alister steps up. I open my mouth to yell at him, but he simply holds out a flower.
Hesitantly, I reach out and take the wilted, I don’t even know what kind of flower, trying to plan exactly what I’m going to say after he lets it go, but I don’t get that far.
I no sooner accept his little gift than he dashes past.
Ari and I both spin, watching as he jogs over to a small group of guys—baseball players, by the looks of it.
He doesn’t look back once, but me?
I watch him until he’s gone, and unfortunately for me…I think about him long after that.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Cameron
It’s Saturday night, the boys just won 29–18, and while we haven’t even made it out of the parking lot yet, I’m already on my second shot. It pays to have a rowdy group of boys who drive to the stadium rather than walking like most of us—we get to stash our stash beneath their seats.