Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 107077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 535(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
“Great.” I shut down my computer before shoving it in my backpack along with my book. “I should probably take off and get out of your way.”
There’s a teeny tiny part inside me that hopes she’ll tell me to stick around.
Stifling a yawn, she stretches her arms above her head and arches her back. “Yeah, I’ve got some stuff of my own to finish up. Thankfully, that didn’t take as long as I thought it would. Once you caught on, we were good.”
Instead of focusing on that semi compliment, my gaze drops to her breasts as they press against the fabric of her sweatshirt. Even though she’s thin, they’re surprisingly generous in size. I rip my attention away before she can catch me ogling her. This is a girl who would have no problem slapping me upside the head if she caught me checking out her rack.
“Do you need a ride tomorrow? I can swing by and pick you up before your first class.”
She shakes her head as her arms fall back to her sides. “No, my mom isn’t using her car. I’ll be able to borrow that for the time being. Hopefully, mine won’t be out of commission for too long.”
I rise from the chair and haul my backpack onto my shoulder. “You live here with your mother?” For some odd reason, I’m relieved it’s not a boyfriend.
“Yeah.”
When she doesn’t elaborate on the situation, I keep the conversation moving. “I’ll call the shop in a day or so to see if they’ve had a chance to assess the damage. Then I’ll let you know.”
She nods before rising to her feet and walking out of the kitchen into the living room before loitering at the front door. Her hand is already resting on the handle as if she can’t hustle my ass out of here fast enough. Which is probably the way she feels. All I’ve done is eat up her time.
My feet slow as her gaze stays pinned to mine. Another sizzle of awareness shoots through me. “Thanks again for your help. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Her lips lift into a small semblance of a smile. I think it might be the first she’s ever flashed at me.
“It wasn’t a problem.”
I almost snort, knowing that she’s being polite by lying.
“We both have tight schedules, but I guess we can try to get together a few times each week until the semester ends.”
“As long as we can work around practice, that would be great. How about tomorrow afternoon at one o’clock at the library?”
“Yeah, I think that’s doable.”
“Good.” I shift my stance but don’t make a move to leave. Lola isn’t like anyone else I’ve met, and spending time with her has only piqued my interest and left me with a lot of questions bubbling beneath the surface.
It’s kind of funny…most of the girls I’ve been with are carbon copies of all the others. There’s nothing about them that surprises me or makes me want to dig deeper and figure out what makes them tick.
But that’s exactly how I feel about this one.
She’s like a puzzle I want to solve.
The question is—will she allow me close enough to actually do it?
11
LOLA
Last night, I was up until two o’clock finishing up homework before falling face first into bed. This has—unfortunately—become a pattern. The good news is that I remembered to set my alarm for the morning and was up early enough to make a massive cup of coffee, which I’m currently nursing as I make a mental list of everything that needs to be accomplished for the day.
“Hey, Lola—wait up.”
I swing around, only to find Demi jogging toward me with a bright smile. That girl has always been a morning person.
Bitch.
Even with the caffeine pumping through my system, I’m still barely cognizant.
Heads turn in her direction as she catches up with me. Demi is gorgeous with long, dark hair and a toned, athletic body from years of running around on a soccer field. It wouldn’t surprise me if she ends up playing for the Women’s National Soccer Team after college. She’s always been a dynamo on the field. I try to catch as many games as I can, but with my schedule, it’s not easy to carve out the time. Plus, as much as I hate to admit it, sitting in the stands only makes me realize how much I miss the sport. Watching everyone on the field doing something I used to love kind of sucks.
“Hey, how are you?” I ask.
“Good,” she says with a slight huff. “I’m glad we ran into each other. I wanted to invite you to my birthday party on Saturday.”
“This Saturday?”
“Yup,” she says with a nod.
I quickly run through my schedule for the restaurant. “I should be able to make it. Even if I have to work, I can swing by afterward.”