Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 90257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
The kid manning the keg gives me the once over before his gaze returns to mine. With his babyface, my guess is that he’s a freshman.
“What can I get for you, sexy girl?” he asks.
My lips tremble around the corners and it’s tempting to roll my eyes.
Sexy girl?
Please…
He looks young enough to need a babysitter.
“Just a beer. Thanks.”
He raises a brow suggestively. “Are you sure that’s all you need?”
“Yup. I’m sure.”
Before he can say anything else, Ryder slaps him upside the head. The guy winces and rubs his scalp before turning to glare at Ryder, who’s appeared out of nowhere.
“What the—” His voice trails off when he finds the older teammate glowering at him. “Oh. Hey, McAdams.”
“Are you hitting on this girl?”
The kid throws an uneasy glance my way. “Um, no?” He clears his throat. “I was just being friendly.”
“Well, don’t.”
“Sorry, man.” He drops his voice. “I didn’t realize this little honey belonged to you.”
Excuse me?
“I’m sorry, did you just say I,” I make air quotes with my fingers, “belonged to him?” Before the younger player can respond, I continue, “I’m a grown-ass woman and don’t belong to anyone.” I jerk my thumb toward Ryder. “Least of all him.”
When they both turn and stare—the freshman in surprise, Ryder in aggravation—I pluck the cup from the kid’s hand and stalk away. With any luck, I’ll leave Ryder behind in my dust. Normally, we give each other a wide berth. I don’t understand why that’s changed and he’s suddenly all up in my business.
If he’s trying to kill my mood, he’s doing an excellent job.
Just as I bring the cup to my lips, a deep voice entirely too close for comfort asks, “Haven’t you had enough already?”
I grind to a halt before whirling around to face him. As I do, the room spins. Kind of like I’m on a Tilt-A-Whirl. Ryder’s hands snap out to steady me before I can crash into the people pressing in at the edges. Through the cashmere of my sweater, I feel the heat of his large palms singeing my skin. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to find his handprints permanently tattooed on my upper arms. In that moment, our gazes stay locked. Air gets clogged in my lungs as his blue depths stay fastened onto mine.
“You’ve had more than enough, Juliette,” he says quietly. “I think it’s time for you to head home.”
A potent concoction of hurt and anger blooms inside me. He’s been on a mission to get me out of here all night, and I’m tired of it. The fact that he doesn’t want me around shouldn’t have the power to wound me.
In order to stop the tears from pricking the backs of my eyes, I wrench free of him before lifting the plastic to my lips and draining every last drop.
“Go away, Ryder. I don’t need you watching over me.”
I shove out of his arms before spinning around and stalking through the sea of students. One more shitty comment from him and I’ll probably fall apart. That’s the last thing I want to happen.
He’s done enough damage to my ego for one night.
CHAPTER 10
RYDER
Go away?
Yeah, that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
This entire night has turned out to be one giant clusterfuck.
Everything I say just pisses her off even more.
In all the years we’ve been neighbors, I’ve never seen this side of Juliette. One where she cuts loose and allows herself to live in the moment. She’s always had tunnel vision when it comes to her academic goals. She probably took every AP course our high school offered. I’d be lying through my teeth if I didn’t admit that her intelligence is sexy as fuck.
Almost as much as watching her dance with her friends.
If anyone deserves to have fun, it’s her.
What I didn’t like were all the assholes standing around and ogling her.
It was tempting to bare my teeth and growl.
Actually, that’s exactly what I did.
Even though I was preoccupied, it didn’t take long to notice a number of douchebags loitering in the vicinity, staring at her and Brooke while they danced. Crosby must have realized the same thing because he threw away his bottle of beer before stalking out there and pulling her close to stake his claim.
It was tempting to do the same with Juliette, except I know exactly how that would have ended…
And that’s with a swift kick to my nuts.
I might be a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them.
Usually.
I blow out a steady breath. What’s become apparent is that I won’t be able to talk her into taking off anytime soon. Which means that I’ll be shadowing her for the remainder of the night.
It’ll be over my dead and buried body that she goes home with another dude.
I continue watching from a distance as she heads back to the cluster of people writhing to the beat in the living room. Brooke is exactly where Juliette left her, dancing with Crosby. I search the area for Carina but don’t see her blonde head anywhere. Much to Ford’s displeasure, there’s usually half a dozen guys vying for her attention. Ford might think he’s being all super stealthy, but I’m pretty sure he’s got the hots for her.