Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 149510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 598(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
It takes every bit of self-control I have not to run directly to the door to find out. Frankly, I don’t know that it would have held out if it weren’t for Kayla grabbing me by the hand and pulling me into a quiet hallway back behind us.
“What’s going on?” I ask, trying to pay attention to her and split focus with the door at the same time. It’s out of my eyeline, though, so I have no choice but to behave pretty quickly.
“Girl, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Dane and Nadine just made a bet with someone to take three more shots each.”
Well, hell. If that isn’t karma telling the girl with the boyfriend that the hot guy she’s crushing on is going to have to wait, I don’t know what is.
Finn
We’re not even through the front door of the fancy Delta Omega house when I have to dodge the first elbow to the face. It’s not some crazy partygoer, though, but my roommate, announcing his presence like he’s a member of the royal family.
“Ace Kelly in the house!” he cries obnoxiously, garnering the shouts of an apparent fan club shortly after. I’m not surprised he’s popular—he’s charismatic and rich. But I am surprised by the number of people who already seem to know who he is within the first week of school.
With a roll of her pretty blue eyes, Julia steps around him, and I take that as a cue to do the same. When she smiles back at me, I’m reminded why Ace does nothing but talk about her. Her features are almost delicately feminine, and her eyes are a crystal-clear blue ocean that seem to go on for miles.
“Come on, Finn. Let’s go get a drink. You’re going to need it, living with Ace.”
I chuckle and follow her gratefully, not bothering with the tedious explanation of my general aversion to alcohol. It’s not that I’m righteous or sanctimonious or some bullshit—you just see it a little differently when you grow up with a mean-as-fuck drunk.
She shoves her way through a group of writhing bodies first, me following behind, and takes a cup of beer from the guys at the keg on the far side of the food bar. They eye her longingly, dicks perking in their pants like ears on a dog, and I find myself crowding her back possessively. Maybe I’m fucked in the head, but for some reason, I’m feeling protective of Ace and his feelings, even if he doesn’t realize them yet.
Because for all he says they’re just friends, I sense there’s more brewing beneath the surface. I’ve only known Ace for a week, but six out of seven cumulative days have been spent on the topic of Julia. A guy doesn’t talk that much about a girl without deep feelings being involved.
If I got paid a dollar every time he brings her up, I’d be a rich fucker too, and all my problems would be solved.
The tallest one of the drooling suitors is still an inch or two shorter than I am, so my back crowding makes him change the way he’s looking at her entirely. The determined scowl on my face may be another reason his hot-girl hope bubble has been popped, but Julia, thankfully, doesn’t seem to notice any of it.
She hands me the first beer and takes another. “Thanks,” I remark, relegating myself to the idea of just holding the cup until I can find somewhere to put it down.
Julia lets me turn her away from the two of them—which I finish out with a wink over my shoulder—and guide her back out into the living room through the crowd. She turns to smile at me gratefully when we’re not being absolutely choked by bodies anymore, and I actually return it. Just like Ace, she’s got an undeniable magnetism.
Ace comes bounding over, and I step aside to allow him the space to flail. Julia laughs, and against my will, I do too. He’s just that kind of guy.
“Oh, man,” he pouts. “You got beer without me?”
“Here,” I offer, holding my cup out. “You can have mine.”
Ace wraps an arm around my neck and pulls me toward him. “Aw, schnookums! You’re the best.” I shove him away jovially, and he laughs.
“You want me to go get you another one, Finn?” Julia offers.
I shake my head. “I’m good.”
Neither she nor Ace pushes the issue, and I allow myself to like them both a little more, despite my better judgment. It’s not that I don’t want the full college experience or that I don’t want to make any friends at all. I just have a bigger, conflicting goal while I’m here, and if Ace’s parents are friends with Ty Winslow, chances are good that Julia’s are too. And I’m not so sure they’ll like me after I eventually follow through with my plan to turn his world upside down.