Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
I pop to my feet, relieved this convo is behind us. “I’m heading over to the studio to work on my routine.”
And if I’m lucky, I’ll burn off some of this pent-up sexual frustration Ford stoked to life.
Chapter Twelve
Ford
My gaze meanders to Ryder and Juliette who are seated across from me on the other side of the table. She’s perched on his lap as they grin at each other like a couple of saps. Even though the music is loud, and the bar is packed to the gills, they’re oblivious to it all.
It’s only when a curvy body drops down on my thighs and slender arms loop their way around my neck that I blink back to the present and find Darcy Erickson smiling at me.
“You look entirely too serious for a Saturday night at Slap Shotz.”
My lips quirk as I force a lightness into my tone that I’m not quite feeling. “Nah. Just taking it all in and letting my mind wander.”
She presses closer until her warm breath can feather across my flesh. “We could always head back to my place if you’re looking for a little peace and quiet.”
Nope. That’s definitely not what I’m looking for.
I shake my head and relax against the chair, attempting to create a bit of distance.
Darcy’s a super nice girl. We’ve had a couple of business classes together and got to know one another. She’d park herself next to me during class whenever possible. Then she started turning up at our home games and the bar afterward to help celebrate.
I get the feeling that she’s waiting for me to ask her out. Over the past few months, she’s dropped a shit ton of hints. Like little breadcrumbs she’s waiting for me to notice and pick up.
Except…I’m not interested in Darcy.
I’m not interested in anyone at the moment.
All right, that’s not altogether true. There’s one person I’m interested in. She just hates my guts.
And we’re related.
Sort of.
“Thanks, but I’m good.” I nod toward Wolf, who’s lounging across the table. He radiates leave me the fuck alone vibes. “I’ll never hear the end of it from that surly bastard if I take off early.”
Disappointment floods her big brown eyes as she scrapes her lower lip with her teeth. I’m sure the look is meant to be sexy.
It has the opposite effect.
In fact, it’s tempting to wrap my hands around her waist and physically remove her from my lap. There’s only one girl I want taking up residence on my thighs and her name isn’t Darcy.
That thought is enough to make me laugh.
Can you even imagine Carina perched on my lap and petting my chest like an overzealous groupie?
Fuck…that girl would be more likely to take a giant chunk out of me.
With her teeth.
We’re talking full-on Hannibal Lector.
My gaze coasts over the crowd searching for the hot blonde. She showed up earlier with Ryder and Juliette. One look at me and she promptly spun on her heels and stalked away.
I shouldn’t have expected anything less. She’s been shaking her ass on the dance floor nonstop for the past hour.
I’ve always enjoyed watching Carina dance. I could—and probably have—done it for hours at a stretch. When we were in high school, I’d slip into the studio while she practiced. There was something about her graceful movements that never failed to soothe everything inside me.
She was like my own personal Xanax.
When I don’t immediately find her, my brows pinch together, and I crane my neck, glancing around the bar.
“Ford?” Darcy presses closer, attempting to reclaim my distracted attention.
I force my gaze to hers. “Yeah?”
“Are you sure you don’t want to get out of here?”
“Yeah, I am.” As reluctant as I am to hurt her feelings, I don’t want her to think I’m leading her on. “You understand that I’m not looking for anything serious, right?”
Her face falls as her gaze slides away. “Yeah, I do.”
I’ve always tried to be upfront with girls when hooking up. Short of having them sign a disclosure form that states they fully understand this is a one-night encounter, I don’t know what else to do.
And Darcy?
We’ve never actually screwed around because I know she’s not looking for a couple hours spent between the sheets. She wants a boyfriend and for some reason, her sights are set on me. I’d almost feel better about the situation if she slept with a couple of the other guys on the team.
A flash of long blonde hair catches my attention and my head swivels so fast that I nearly give myself whiplash. Looks like Carina’s hanging out at the bar. There’s a bright smile on her face.
When was the last time she looked at me like that?
It’s been years.
I’m so intent on staring at her that it takes a handful of seconds to realize that some dude is attempting to shoot his shot. Not only is he standing entirely too close, but he’s playing with a lock of her hair, winding it around his finger as if trying to reel her in like a trout.