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)
Ari climbs up in the truck bed as I spin, squeezing my torso through the small back window, and turn up the radio. When I stand again, she’s passing me a fresh lemon wedge, dancing her way to me as music blares through the custom speakers in Brady’s Chevy.
The parking lot is bursting with energy, our entire row more or less a mirror of what we’re doing: getting the party started early and celebrating what sportscasters predicted would be a loss.
Joke’s on them. The Avix U Sharks are a force to be reckoned with, and this season is proving to be no different than the last.
I take a third—small—shot, biting down hard on the lemon before tossing it into the bag hanging off the mirror. Arms up, I sway my hips, spinning and enjoying the chilled night air.
It’s been a fucking week—hell, it’s been a month, and I’m so ready to just…let it all go tonight. I haven’t been properly wasted since the week before the semester began, and that’s a college crime if I ever heard of one.
I’ll pay for it tomorrow, but right now all I can think is worth it.
My limbs are loose, and the only thing on my mind is the music blaring in my ears.
Payton is the first of our friends to make it out of the stadium about a half hour later, her camera bag slung over her shoulder.
She smiles as she approaches, drumming her hands on Brady’s tailgate in excitement.
“So, Miss Media Queen, how does it feel to be officially on the field taking candids?”
“Unreal…and feverish!” she teases.
Ari and I both laugh, dropping down on the tailgate to sit as she stands behind the truck.
“I bet, shit. The testosterone alone must be lickable.”
Payton grins, shaking her head, and looks to her watch. “I have to get going. I told Paige I’d be home before ten, and it’s going to take me a good twenty minutes to get out of this parking lot.”
“Which is precisely why we’re having the party here!” I raise my empty shot glass necklace, and Ari spins, grabs the water bottle full of lemon vodka, and pours a half shot. “That and because we don’t have to drive.”
“Have fun, guys, and do your best to get Mason to stay and enjoy his win,” Payton says.
I scoff, and Ari looks over and smiles, shifting to face me.
“Hey, Mase, Payton would like you to stay with us and party so you can enjoy your win.”
I put a deep frown on my face, pursing my lips, and use my most Masonlike tone I can muster, “No.”
Ari laughs, shaking her head. “No?” she mocks. “That was the best you could come up with? We’re role-playing here.”
“Sorry, little freak-a-leak. Some of us haven’t gotten to the role-playing stage in life, Miss I’ve been practicing the sexy sous chef and the lowly little dishwasher he falls madly in love with.”
Ari’s jaw drops open and then she shoves me off the tailgate, making Payton catch me as we all laugh.
I simply spin and start dancing again, pointing up at my best friend with a teasing grin. “Anyway, that’s essentially what Mason would say, right? With a few other words like it means nothing without her and she’s who I want to celebrate with and I don’t care that my son is asleep. I want to watch him breathe because apparently that’s a thing parents like doing.”
I can’t even keep a straight face, but the others are laughing with me.
“Technically, that all sounds about right, if worded a bit oddly,” Payton jokes, nudging me in the arm and waving at Ari. “Okay, I’ll see you guys at Sunday dinner tomorrow.”
We wave our goodbyes, and when a guy from the truck beside us drunk dances his way over with a grin, flapping a giant AU foam finger in the air, I take the bait and indulge him until the end of the song.
Ari hops back up, swinging around the tailgate and tugging a few of the girls from our dorm up with her, and before the next song can start, there’s a good ten of us girls singing loudly to some Carrie Underwood.
We’re living our best damn lives right now, and it’s everything.
Not sure how much time goes by, but when the students around all start to whistle and yell, we know who’s stepped out and spin to cheer along with the others as we watch the team file through the crowd, the top trio headed right toward us.
People clap Mason on the back, reaching out for high fives and bro daps of all kinds, and Ari grabs my arm in excitement, her eyes misty as she stares at her twin brother.
He deserves all that star praise he’s getting, and it’s such a cool-ass thing to witness.
People chant Brady’s name too, others screaming out about Chase’s touchdown with three seconds on the clock.