Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 71858 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71858 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Her thighs were a little bigger, too. Not much, but enough to know that the girl from high school was gone, and in her place was the woman that I didn’t know yet.
Not intimately.
We may not have seen each other all that much over the last eight years, but we’d definitely spoken.
I knew the woman she’d become, but I didn’t know her, know her.
I would be remedying that tonight.
“Are you going to get out, or are you just going to stare at my ass all day?” she called over her shoulder.
I licked my lips. “I’m going to stay right here and admire you.”
She rolled her eyes and then walked inside, leaving me in my car.
My car that she hadn’t said a thing about, which had me curious.
I leaned over and slammed the lock down on her side—and it was her side. No other woman had ridden in this car. Not ever—and then did the same to my own side before pocketing my keys and slamming the car door.
When I arrived inside, it was to find nobody.
Rolling my eyes, I walked around the hostess stand into the small dining area, and found her in my favorite spot.
I walked to her just as she shoved a chip in her mouth.
“How did you know this was where I liked to sit?” I asked.
No matter how long I had to wait, I would.
Because I didn’t like to be the center of attention.
It was downright exhausting, and everyone knew who I was in this town.
Everyone knew the fighter pilots.
Everyone.
Sadly, I wasn’t the exception to the rule.
“You’ve never been a very in your face person, Troup. It’s not hard to figure out that you don’t really like being around people all that much.” She lifted her brow. “And I just assumed that hadn’t changed.”
She was right.
I had friends, sure, but I only had two really good friends that I trusted and liked to hang out with.
Other than those two, Easton and Beckham were it for me.
I sat down in the seat facing away from the door and grimaced.
She rolled her eyes and stood up, gesturing for me to take her spot.
I did, hating that my back was to the door.
She sat down and grimaced, too, and I realized that just like me, she didn’t like her back to the door, either, but was willing to endure it.
For me.
My grin got wide as I reached for a chip.
“What do you think?” I asked as we ate.
She dipped her chip into the salsa.
“I like it but…” She paused. “I don’t think there’s enough spice to it.”
“That’s because there are two kinds,” I said. “There’s the mild, which they serve first, and the hot that they only serve upon request.”
Her eyes lit.
“Let’s order some,” she pleaded.
When the waiter next came by, I did, along with queso and tortillas.
Beckham was all but moaning as the man left.
“I’m going to have to run tonight to get all these extra calories off,” she admitted.
My head tilted slightly to the left.
“Or, you could just stay with me all night. I’ll take care of all those extra calories,” I winked. “I thought that was what we agreed upon already, anyway.”
“I didn’t want to assume,” she sighed. “Troup, I want to stay with you if you’ll have me. In fact, if you can find a way to make it happen, I’ll just move right the hell in.”
My lips twitched. “That won’t really be doable if you’re supposed to be with my brother. This town knows who I am.”
Unfortunately.
They’d know in a heartbeat that something was going on with us.
Hell, they already might because not only did I take her to my favorite restaurant, but I would be taking her to the bar to meet my friends.
People noticed me. And they sure the fuck would notice when I have a girl with me when I never have girls with me.
“Tonight only then,” she pouted, reading my face.
My lips twitched. “Tonight only.”
Over the next hour, we enjoyed dinner, catching up on ‘old times.’
I couldn’t stop staring at her, either, fucking obsessed with the beauty she’d turned into.
Now, I wasn’t saying that she wasn’t beautiful before, but there was just something about the older Beckham that made my heart squeeze in my chest.
Like, so fuckin’ beautiful I couldn’t stand it.
I wanted to reach over and drag her into me.
Instead, I stayed in my chair until it was time to leave, and didn’t make this any more difficult than I needed to.
CHAPTER 10
You would be loud too if I was riding you.
-Motorcycle club T-shirt
BECKHAM
“Ohhh!” the shorter man in front of us said. “So this is the infamous ‘girl’ that always makes poor little State look so sad.”
“The girl that makes him turn down every single woman that comes onto him,” another said from his side, this one taller and skinnier.