Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 115590 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115590 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 578(@200wpm)___ 462(@250wpm)___ 385(@300wpm)
“No, I’m not.”
“Moe wouldn’t date that prick.” Chase came to my defense.
The girl turned and walked off in a huff.
“Sorry,” I said.
Chase poured a beer, foam spilling over the top as he handed a cup to me. “Don’t worry about it. Not my type.”
We moved closer to the fire. Chase and I weren’t super close these days, but we’d been friends since forever, and he was the only person I wanted to hang out with here.
“I never see you at these things,” he said, nudging my shoulder with his.
“I never come to these things.” Socializing wasn’t on the top of my priority list, especially not with these people.
A small frown set on his face. “I let you braid my hair when we were six, and you won’t come to a party with me. But Zepp Hunt…”
“It’s not like that.”
“So what? You’re dealing weed for him now?”
I didn’t like the accusation in his voice, but I chose not to answer. I couldn’t exactly deny it, but I wasn’t about to explain the deal I’d made either.
“Are you dating him?” His narrowed gaze drifted beyond the flames of the fire, and I followed it to where Zepp was still on the tailgate, a beer bottle in hand, and the same girl now shamelessly grinding on him. But his attention wasn’t on her or her short skirt. It was pinging between Chase and me.
I sucked in an annoyed breath, my fingers tightening around the plastic cup in my hand. “I already said I’m not.”
“Seemed like it in the bathroom the other day. And he’s looking at you like you are.”
“Well. I’m not,” I said, shooting an angry middle finger at Zepp.
Chase’s face said he didn’t believe me, and it pissed me off. If one of the few people who actually knew me didn’t realize that I had higher standards than to date that prick, I was pretty much screwed. I tipped back my beer, downing it in several gulps.
“Sorry I left you with him the other day. I wasn’t sure…” Chase drifted off, guilt washing his features.
“It’s fine, Chase. I told you to go. It’s not like he’s gonna hurt me.” There wasn’t much I was sure of, but I, at least, knew that.
“You should be careful with them, Moe.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “They don’t play.”
“I know. It’s fine.” I glanced down into my empty cup, and Chase took it from my hand. He strode to the keg, fiddling with the pump.
A loud pop erupted from the bonfire, and I moved closer, loving the red-hot heat on my face. That’s when I spotted Zepp walking toward me like a rolling storm. Each step angry and deliberate. A bottle of liquor swung at his side.
Tension wound through my gut, my muscles tensing. Chase appeared next to me, handing me my drink, seemingly unaware of the disaster heading our direction. I instantly downed the beer because Zepp was only a few steps away.
He looked at me like I was a running back that he was about to tackle to the ground.
“Don’t you dare—”
Thick arms came around my waist, and Zepp tossed me over his shoulder. I dropped the cup and pounded my fists against his back, but it didn’t make him stop. He continued across the dump to the tree line.
He set me down, pinning me against the rough trunk of a pine. His nose was inches from mine. “You’re not here to flirt.” He took a hefty swig from the bottle, his gaze laser-focused on me.
Rolling my eyes, I fished two hundred dollars out of my bra and slapped it in his hand. “There’s your damn drug money.”
He crammed it into his back pocket while invading every inch of my space. “You didn’t wear what I told you to.”
I thought we had already been over that. I leaned in until my lips were almost against his when I whispered, “I don’t belong to you, Zepp. I’ll wear whatever the hell I want.”
The subsequent laugh that came from him pissed me off. Everything about him pissed me off—including the girl who was just in his lap. And the fact that it bothered me irritated me more than he ever could directly.
I pressed closer to him, my anger ready to bubble over. “And I’ll tell you one thing,” I said. “Keep this shit up, and I’m going to make your life really hard.” I patted his cheek a little harder than necessary. “Baby.” Before I could take another breath, he had me caged against the tree. His proximity made me weak in ways I would never admit.
The leather of his jacket creaked as he inched toward me. “You already do.” With one swift movement, he grabbed my wrist and placed my hand against his hard crotch, then offered a full-on, bad-boy smirk. “Baby.”