Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
The waitress brought my fourth beer of the night, and I went to work on it. Layla and Trey made their way back to the table, their faces flushed, and I got up and motioned for Trey to follow me toward the door. Every eye at the table went wide, and all of the color drained out of Trey’s face. To his credit, he didn’t hesitate. Just got up and followed me.
When we were a safe distance from the table, I stopped and turned to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He flinched. “Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I think you and Layla are good for each other. You have my blessing, so don’t worry about it, okay?”
Surprise and relief washed over his features, and he adjusted his glasses and smiled. “Seriously? You don’t care?”
“Not a bit,” I admitted. “In fact, I’m glad of it. I was worried she’d end up with some loser jock.”
When the two of us returned to the table, Trey was all puffed up and confident. I felt warm inside, probably because I was already a little tipsy. I held up my beer and looked around at the faces of my friends.
“To Layla and Trey,” I said. “I think it’s great.”
Everybody laughed, and Layla winked at me, acknowledging our secrets.
I was still nursing my fourth beer, trying hard to not get hammered, when I heard my name called. I glanced up and saw someone I hadn’t thought about in months.
Someone I recognized from the gym. Specifically, from the shower in the gym.
Cameron leaned across the table, smile blazing, looking even more handsome than the first time we’d met. “It’s been a while, Jamie.”
“Cameron. Hi. I’ve… uh… been out of town.”
“Riiight…” he drawled. Then he gave me a brazen once-over. “Jeez, you’re looking buff. I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“Thanks.” A blush crept over my cheeks. “I’ve been on a special workout, and I’m eating right now.”
“Well, you sure haven’t been eating in our kitchen,” Braden said. “We thought you were starving yourself.”
“I don’t eat at home,” I said simply.
I didn’t tell them that I actually ate at a little diner several blocks from the school, or that I was eating grilled chicken and green veggies and sweet potatoes, or that I’d found some expensive organic shakes that might actually pass muster with Kage. I may have been depressed, but I’d made a promise to him that I wouldn’t starve myself again, and I was going to keep that promise.
“Come show me that body,” Cameron said boldly, his sparkling smile still in place. “I want to compare what you look like now to what you looked like before. Maybe I can take some pointers.”
I pushed my chair back and slid out, glad to move that particular conversation far away from my friends. Nothing had happened with Cameron, but it sure felt like it had. Because I’d been thinking it, that’s why. I hadn’t been able to admit it at the time, with the nakedness and the water and the smell of Tom Ford body wash. But the attraction to him, to the whole idea of being with a guy, had been an elephant in the locker room with us that night. And it was all Kage’s fault, because the moment I’d met him, something cracked wide open in me. Something I knew I’d never be able to force shut again.
As I made my way around the table, I caught Layla’s gaze. She didn’t even try to disguise her suspicion. I just shoved my hands in my jeans pockets, ducked my head, and kept on moving. Cameron led me out to the parking lot and to his car, a sleek black Porsche.
Everything about him was sleek and sparkling. His blond hair, perfectly preppy clothes, the heavy gold watch that gleamed at his wrist. He really was great looking.
“Nice ride.” I ran my hand along the spoiler as I rounded the back.
“Get in,” he said as he climbed in behind the wheel.
“Wait, where are we going? I can’t just leave my roommates.”
“They’re busy. And from the looks of it, you were the fifth wheel. Am I right?”
“Well, when you put it that way… Yeah, I hadn’t really noticed, but I guess I was the fifth wheel.”
He laughed and cranked the car, and I slid into the passenger seat. “Since they’re busy, does that mean your place is empty?”
I stared at him, unsure of what to say. What was happening here?
“My roommate has a girl over,” Cameron explained. “That’s why I was out tonight.” He drove to the edge of the parking lot and stopped. Then he cut his eyes over at me and smiled. “Which way?”
“Right,” I said. Then I fired off a text. “Kage, please answer me. I really need to talk to you. It’s important.”