Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 97882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
“Put me down, you Neanderthal!”
He just laughed and carried her inside the bar as Clay did the same to Giana, although she didn’t protest, just grabbed for the back of her skirt to make sure she wasn’t flashing anyone her ass. Clay seemed to read her mind because he covered it with one of his gargantuan hands, which made Giana smile and kiss his forehead as he carried her inside.
“You want a ride like that, too?”
I froze at the sound of his voice, but managed to turn slow and calm, like I wasn’t affected at all. “Do you want a knee to the groin?”
Holden chuckled, his eyes a bit glossed as he tucked his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He still wore his NBU hoodie, but something about those jeans had me even more dizzy than the joggers had this morning.
He watched me for a moment, rolling his lips together like he wanted to say something else. Instead, he gestured with one hand toward the bar, and I led the way.
Loud house music thumped through the walls even before Holden jogged around in front of me to open the door. I was tempted to roll my eyes at the move, but it would have been a betrayal to the soft spot inside me that actually found it sweet.
We were carded at the entrance, and once we were inside, I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the team that had completely taken over the place. It was just a dive bar close to the South Hartford University campus, but it was covered in our colors, from the pool tables and dart boards in the back to the throbbing dance floor.
“Julep!”
I turned to find Giana waving me over to a table near the dance floor where she, Riley, Zeke, and Clay all were. Leo was there, too, along with a cheerleader I recognized but didn’t know personally.
I felt Holden following behind me, felt the humming buzz of his nearness just as loud as the music vibrating through my bones. When we made it to the table, though, he moved to the other side, socking Leo on the arm as Clay handed him a beer.
I tore my gaze away from him, focusing on Giana who had just slid me a pink, fruity-looking shot. I didn’t even know if shot was the right word, considering it was a big enough glass to be a cocktail.
I groaned. “Oh, God.”
“It’s just one,” she said sweetly.
Riley gave me a look that said don’t believe her.
I stared at the shot warily. I knew I’d be fine with just one, maybe a drink or two after. But I also knew I had to cut it off after that. Otherwise, my light, happy buzz would go south, tipping me over the line that thinly separated that kind of drunk and the kind that had me making bad decisions.
The kind I’d made for too long after Abby died, that had nearly driven my father to his breaking point.
Not that Mom had been particularly thrilled, either, but she’d long since given up on me. When I acted out, when I ended up in the back of a police car in front of their house or vomiting in their guest bathroom or doing the walk of shame from a guy’s house whose name I couldn’t even recall — she didn’t get upset the way Dad did. She’d just let out a spurt of a laugh, shake her head, and go back to drinking her chardonnay like she was better than me.
She blamed me for Abby, and I couldn’t even hold it against her.
Because I blamed me, too.
“To the team,” Giana said, holding up her shot. “And to the championship title that’s yours for the taking.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Zeke said, tilting his cup of water toward us.
We all threw back a drink or shot, depending on what we had in hand, and then Clay pulled Giana into him and said, “Ours. You’re a part of this team, too, you know.”
She smiled on a blush, and I looked away a little uncomfortable when they started kissing.
“I want to dance,” Riley said, but instead of pulling Zeke out onto the floor, she hooked my elbow.
I was tugged away before I had the option to decline.
The dance floor was packed, and Riley dragged me through the crowd right up to the front of the DJ. The music was so loud this close to the speakers that I felt it like a heartbeat.
Giana joined us, and together we made a tight little circle. Riley danced without a care in the world, winding her hips and rolling her body to the beat. Giana seemed a bit shy at first, but she closed her eyes, and then slowly, she began to move, too.
I wished I had my pole. I wished I had something strong and sturdy to hold onto, to hold me steady. I loved dancing when I had that chrome partner, but without it? I felt uneasy, like a new baby giraffe figuring out its impossibly long legs.