Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 112951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
I said, “Don’t. We’re not friends. There’s no reason you need to call me. We’re classmates. We’re working on a project together, and we made out once. It won’t happen again. Don’t mistake a few heavy moans for a newfound liking of you. I hated you on the first day of class, and trust me, that never thawed.”
I hung up and expelled a ragged breath.
He was being a fucking decent human? Fuck him. I didn’t need his kindness or his concern. I didn’t need the moments when he’d show up to mess with me, or bring me coffee and ask me to sit in his Jeep with him. Those moments might’ve messed with another girl’s head, but not me.
He was another Parker. I’d just forgotten for a brief second.
I wouldn’t again.
Gage should’ve called by now, but I wasn’t in the mood to sit and twiddle my thumbs.
Not wanting to get up and grab my cell, I dialed his number from the landline.
He answered, and I didn’t hold back. “You ditched me at the football game, then sat with my friends, and where’d you disappear to afterward? If you’re all about Casey, do you realize the looks she was getting? It was like Assholes Abound, Come on Board.” My voice went up. I was close to hysteria here. “And if you want to know what happened, there’s a video of it going around.”
“I just saw it.”
He didn’t sound like he cared. I barked out a laugh. “Right. I get that you might not care what I did, but I’d think you would’ve cared about what Casey went through.”
“Spare me the lecture.”
“Yeah. Okay. Consider it spared.” I started to hang up, but he spoke again, stopping me.
“I’m standing outside your dorm, wondering if I should chance your wrath to come and check on you, or just leave you alone. I never have any clue which way to go with you, and I get it. You got a bad hand, more than a few because of Blake and me, but fuck, Kenz. You looked mental in that video.”
The second person to say that within a few minutes. I held my tongue. He had some valid points.
“Others aren’t going to see your rage, but I did. I—” He sighed into the phone, “It took me back. Okay? I didn’t realize how much Parker screwed you over.”
“That wasn’t about Parker.”
“Yes, it was. And it was about all the shit you had to deal with in high school. I get it. I get why you don’t want people to know about Blake or me, or that you’re friends with Raymond Linde or even that you know Shay Coleman. It was a logical response. That’s what I told myself. I thought about it rationally, but it wasn’t until that video that I understood it. It was a punch to my junk.”
I winced. “Did you have to use that metaphor?”
He laughed. “Yeah. Well. It fit. Look, I’m outside your dorm. I’d like to come inside and hang out with my sister, but it’s your choice. I’m currently hiding in the trees, looking like a creep, but I’ll do whatever you want.”
“What about Casey?”
“I went to the bathroom. I meant to walk out with them, but I ran into some guys I knew and I wanted to find out the plans for tonight. The stands were empty by the time I finished talking, and I just assumed everyone left. I ducked out through a different fence because it was closer to my truck.”
“I meant, aren’t you worried about Casey?”
“I’m more worried about my sister. You’re my first priority over a girl I barely know.”
The first thawing shall commence. “Thanks.” It felt good to hear that. “Sorry I was a bitch just now.”
“Yeah. Yeah. I don’t care. Your bitchiness comes in handy. It makes you a fighter, and you’ve fought for me before. But can I come in? What’s the verdict here?”
“Uh.” The room suddenly felt too small. “I’ll come out. We can get food or something.”
“Sounds good.”
We made plans for me to meet at his truck, and I stared at the phone after I hung up. I owed Shay an apology. I should call him, tell him I was sorry. I didn’t. I sat there, and I couldn’t make myself reach out and pick up that phone again. I sat there for a full ten minutes, trying to will myself to do it until I knew it wasn’t going to happen. That was one stone I couldn’t put back, but I’d see him tomorrow. I’d be nice-r then. I’d try to make it up, but actually apologizing and saying the words, I don’t know why they wouldn’t form for me.
I was heading down the stairs through the back door when Casey entered from the second floor. I was a few steps away and paused. My hand was on the handrail, but I put it in my shirt’s pocket.