Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 36132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
“Hmm… okay.” Christian took his hand in his. “Are you scared now?”
Alexander went still. The hand in his was a little smaller than his own but much bigger than Mila’s and unmistakably male.
“What are you playing at?” Alexander bit out. He didn’t remove his hand. He would be damned if he let this guy think he could be so easily flustered.
“To be honest? No idea.” Christian laughed a little. “I just like ruffling your feathers.” Christian entwined their fingers. “Still not scared?”
Alexander looked in front of him. It was completely surreal. His fingers were entwined with another guy’s. He was holding another guy’s hand. “No.”
“So you watch me creepily when I don’t know about it, but you wouldn’t look at me when I’m actually talking to you. Okay. But if you keep looking at that girl, she’ll start thinking you have a thing for her. She’s already giving you hopeful looks. You’ll break the poor girl’s heart, you know.”
“Pot, kettle, black.”
Christian gave him an innocent look. “I don’t break people’s hearts. Being nice and friendly doesn’t hurt anyone.”
Alexander snorted. “Just admit you’re a flirt and a player.”
Christian narrowed his eyes. “Even if I am—and I’m not saying I am—so what? Why do you care?”
“I don’t care.”
Christian raised his brows, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “For a guy who doesn’t care, you sure seem to have a lot to say about it, Alec.”
Alexander leveled him with a look.
Christian grinned, squeezing their fingers tighter. “What? Something bothering you, baby?”
“Don’t call me that,” Alexander grated out.
“What? Alec or baby?”
“Both.”
“Okay,” Christian said, nodding with a serious expression on his face.
Alexander was instantly suspicious. “Okay?”
“Sure.” Christian smiled at him softly.
The smile was…disconcerting.
Alexander looked from Christian’s lips to his eyes. “There has to be a catch.”
“No catch,” Christian whispered.
“Hi, Chris!” some girl called out, waving.
Alexander flinched, realizing how close his face had been to Christian’s.
“Hey, Donna,” Christian said with a rather strained smile.
The girl looked at Alexander curiously. “New boyfriend?”
Christian leaned into him and planted a kiss on Alexander’s scruffy cheek. “Yep. Gorgeous, isn’t he?”
The girl nodded, showed him a thumbs-up and walked away.
Alexander unclenched his jaw. “Do you get off on annoying me?”
“Get off? Not exactly,” Christian said a laugh. “So I annoy you, huh? I feel pretty damn proud. I bet not many people can say they get any kind of unscripted reaction out of you.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Cocking his head, Christian studied him with unusually serious eyes. “I don’t know… It’s like you have some kind of filter inside of you. It only allows you to show appropriate reactions and emotions, suppressing the hell out of everything else.” He chuckled a little. “Am I making sense?”
“No, you aren’t,” Alexander said.
“See, you’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Retreating behind the mask. Refusing to look at me. It’s like you’re scared to look at me for long.”
Alexander turned his head back to him. “Why would I be scared to look at you for long?”
“I don’t know. You tell me.”
“Actually, yes. I’m scared,” Alexander said. “I’m scared of looking at you because I might accidentally strangle you.”
Christian’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “Okay.” He took Alexander’s hands and put them on his neck. “Come on, then.”
Alexander looked into the dark brown eyes. There was challenge in them now. Challenge and something else. Christian ran his tongue over his lip. Christian’s pulse beat rapidly against his palm.
And Alexander realized he really wanted it. He wanted to squeeze. He wanted to squeeze his hands around this neck and watch Christian gasp, pant and beg him to stop.
His hands tightened. Christian’s lips parted. Alexander leaned in—
“Hey, guys!”
Alexander dropped his hands and stepped back, more than a little disoriented. What the fuck was that?
He was only vaguely aware of Mila’s pecking him on the lips and saying something to Christian. His heartbeat was still thundering in his ears.
He registered what Mila was saying too late.
“…come tomorrow evening, then?” Mila said.
Christian threw a strange look at Alexander and hesitated. It was the first time Alexander had seen him look unsure about anything.
“I don’t know,” Christian said, raking a hand through his hair. He was slightly flushed. “I’m pretty busy this week, actually. Gotta get ready for finals—”
Mila laughed. “It’s okay if you don’t want to, Chris. Just say it. There’s no need for any excuses, really.”
Christian gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry. But I’m really busy, actually.”
Mila kissed him on the cheek. “It really was fun, but all good things must come to an end, I guess.” She took Alexander’s hand, entwining their fingers. “See you around.”
“Yeah,” Christian said, glancing at their hands before shoving his own into his pockets and turning away.
Alexander watched him go.
“Alexander?”
He looked at Mila. She was frowning slightly. “Were you fighting with Chris? You had your hands around his throat.”
Alexander’s mouth went dry.
“He annoyed me,” he heard himself say. It wasn’t a lie. Why did it feel like one?