Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
He rolls his shoulders. “Fine. He wanted me to attend a more prestigious school like Harvard or Yale. I have the grades. He made sure of it. But pleasing him was the last thing I wanted, so I found an out-of-state school I knew he would cringe at and applied.”
His answer shocks me. “Wait, you could’ve gotten into Harvard?”
“That’s technically three questions. Automatic drink.” Shit. I clink my glass with his, and, to be a good sport, he takes the shot with me. “Just because all I’ve done at school is party, doesn’t mean I don’t have the brains. I got into both.”
“Noah, that’s amazing. You should have gone, even if you wanted to defy your dad.”
“Nah. If I had, I wouldn’t have met you.”
I roll my eyes again. His chuckle is cute, but I ignore it. He refills our shots. “Okay, my turn. Why did you never report your stepdad for abuse?”
I flinch at his question. “I don’t want to talk about that,” I answer and take my shot.
His eyes crinkle at the edges. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. It’s just… I’ve always wondered. That fuckin’ prick should be in jail.”
He should be a lot of things—six feet under being one of them. “Do I get a retry?”
“No. My turn. What did your dad do to make you hate him so much?” A shadow looms over him before he grips his shot and slings it back. “Wow, we’re making really good progress with this game.”
Noah laughs. “Yeah, maybe let’s stick to simple shit, like what’s your favorite color.”
“Black.”
He nods. “Makes sense since that’s all you wear.”
“My turn. Favorite food?”
“Duh, you already know this. Tacos. Okay, this is lame. Drink just because we suck.” We both laugh into our shots and take down another round. “Kinda sucks we weren’t like this when we were dating.”
“How so?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Friends. Feels like we started in the bedroom and never left.”
“My GPA says I left plenty—”
“You know what I mean. We dated, but we never had this. This calm, peaceful part. We were always fucking or fighting.”
I watch him carefully, taking in this unfamiliar vulnerability, the raw honesty in his expression as I acknowledge what we were, what we weren’t, and what he wishes we could have been.
And I agree.
“That would’ve been nice,” I admit, my voice softer than I expected. Then, with a small smirk, I add, “I mean, the fucking after the fighting was nice, too.”
His lips curl into a smile, and I can’t help but mirror it. “I think the tequila is starting to kick in. Maybe it’s time we stop.”
“Do you regret us? I know I was a dick, but… the good times…?”
I hate the sadness in his voice—the worry that what we had was never real. “Not a single moment.”
A partial smile returns. A bell rings throughout the house, notifying us the front door has been disabled. “Looks like the party’s over,” he says as Jackson and the mystery blonde enter the kitchen. Jealousy rages through me, and I can’t help but stare at how close she stands next to him. They seem cozy. Too cozy. He took me to a level of ecstasy I’ve never experienced, only to move on to the next best thing.
“What do we have here?” Jackson asks, his eyes roaming from Noah to me before fixating on the bottle of tequila.
“Happy hour. Wanna join?”
Jackson’s jaw tightens. “I thought we discussed this.”
“Oh, we did? Sorry. I must’ve missed it.” Noah looks my way and winks. I can’t help but giggle. Shit, that tequila works fast.
“You two are done.”
Just like that, my good mood sours, twisting into something harsh and angry. How dare he? He brings her here, parades her in front of me, then has the audacity to treat me like a child, like he has that kind of power over me?
Resentment surges through me.
I push up from my chair and stride toward Noah, grabbing the front of his shirt and yanking him toward me. He stumbles, caught off guard, his eyes wide with surprise. Before I can second-guess it, I press my lips to his. He freezes, tensing against me. I know I’ll regret this later. But right now, I don’t care.
I pull back enough to meet his stunned gaze, my voice dripping with defiance. “Let’s leave the grown-ups alone and go up to your room.”
Noah’s eyes sparkle with glee. “Yeah. Fuck yeah.” I don’t bother to look at Jackson as I snatch Noah’s hand and drag him up the stairs. As soon as we get to his room, I push him inside. He grabs the back of my neck, crushing his lips to mine in a kiss not meant to happen. He lifts me and drops me on top of his bed, his body covering mine. “Fuck, George,” he growls, kissing down my neck. Warning sirens blare in my mind, screaming this is a bad fucking idea. Hurt or not, this is going to confuse Noah. I try to ignore them, but when he slides his hand inside my skirt and slips between my legs, images from last night rush through my mind.