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)
He’s still holding on to my waist.
I tear away and fly backward so fast I nearly slip, catching myself on the counter behind me.
Ari snakes around Brady then, smiling until she looks this way. Her face falls.
“Oops,” she mutters, but then her keen eyes take in the scene, narrowing as she looks between us all.
I don’t know what the fuck she sees because I can’t even figure out what I see.
“Hi,” I say lamely. “We were working on our class project.”
Brady nods, his expression smoothing out to one of impassiveness, and I decide I hate that look on him. He looks away, not acknowledging Alister at all, and walks into the space. He sets a few bags down on the counter and turns back for the door.
“I was just carrying these up,” he says, his hand on the doorknob. He takes a step, and panic flares in my gut, my stomach sucking in, but then he stops.
I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding when he looks over.
His grin is instant. “Call me when you’re ready for our date.”
My brows snap together, and he yanks his head forward, breaking eye contact as he walks out, closing the door softly behind him.
Date?
We don’t have any plans tonight…
It hits me then: He only stopped to say something to keep up the façade, because it would be weird if a boyfriend saw another man—an ex at that—in his girl’s dorm room and just left without a word.
He had to say something, or the ruse would be over.
He didn’t care that Alister was in here alone with me or that he saw me with my hands on the man’s chest.
I mean, why would he?
Better question…
Why do I feel like he should?
Ari walks into the kitchen, smiling tightly as she squeezes past Alister, who moves back to where his bag is. He starts to put his computer away, and Ari’s eyes snap my way, eyebrows lifting in question.
“Want me to go?” she whispers.
“No. We just finished,” I whisper back, my attention moving to Alister just as he steps this way.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asks with an unmistakable hopefulness that makes my stomach clench with unease. “I could get you coffee, and we could walk over together?”
“No, I’ll be out already. I’ll see you in class.”
With a final nod, he slips out the door, and I groan loudly, dropping my head onto the counter.
“I can feel you staring at me,” I mumble into my arms.
“Do you have anything you want to share with me?” she says slowly. “Maybe something you need a little help working out?”
Do I?
I shake my head no.
“Are you sure, Cameron?” There’s worry in her tone, and something tells me it’s not all for me.
I stand, nodding again, and avoid her gaze as I move into my room.
I crawl into bed, hitting my pillows and flipping them over several times to try to find a comfortable position, but apparently there isn’t one.
Maybe I need a heated blanket.
Maybe you need a warm chest to sleep on.
The thought stops me cold, and I moan, throwing all the pillows onto the floor.
I tug the blanket over my head and sigh.
Yeah, okay.
Sleeping alone suddenly sucks.
And the next few days don’t get any fucking better.
I’m sicker than a fucking dog.
I frown at my word choice.
I know it’s something I’ve heard my family say a thousand times over, but what does it mean?
“Jesus, Cameron,” I groan. “You’re clearly bored to shit.”
I sigh, kicking my covers off and flipping onto my back.
I hate feeling like shit.
To make matters worse, Ari and the others followed the team bus out of town yesterday; they’re playing a team that’s only a six-hour drive up north. It was a morning game today, but Ari, Paige, and Payton decided to stay one more night so they could take Deaton to the zoo tomorrow. The boys should get back in later tonight sometime, though.
Picking up my phone, my finger hovers over Brady’s name, but I’m not sure why.
We haven’t talked much since Wednesday, what with me being home sick and him hitting the road Friday afternoon. When we did, his responses were pretty basic. I haven’t bothered him today because I didn’t wake up until a few minutes after the game started and after another few hours of in-and-out, shitty sleep, I figured he was knocked out on the bus. On the chance that he was, I didn’t want to wake him. It’s hard enough to sleep on that thing from what the boys have said.
I text Ari back, letting her know I’m fine and not to have too much fun without me. Just as I let it fall on my chest, it starts to ring, the dorm RA’s picture flashing on the screen.
“Hey, Cameron,” she chirps the second I answer, and I cringe at her chipper sound. Love her, but my head feels like it’s made friends with the concrete.