Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 282(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56410 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 282(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
He threw his arm over the back of the couch, and she felt her eyes widen. “Alex, what the hell is that?” She leaned forward and pulled up the sleeve of his shirt. Dark ink in intricate designs and lines started right above his wrist and moved its way up his arm. She couldn’t pull his sleeve up high enough, but the ink kept going.
“What?” he asked like this wasn’t some big news.
“When did you get a tattoo?” She leaned back and stared at him with what felt like wide eyes.
“A few months back.”
“Do Mom and Dad know?” No doubt they’d freak if they saw that. They considered tattoos beneath them… trashy was the word they used.
He shrugged. “Yeah, they found out.” He chuckled deeply. “But like I told them, my body, my choice.”
She rolled her eyes.
“They video called me right after I got it, and I didn’t bother trying to hide it. Was shirtless when I answered.” He shrugged. “Figured I might as well get it done and over with, like ripping the Band-Aid off real fast.”
“They didn’t say anything to me about it.” She wasn’t surprised though. They wouldn’t have wanted to “taint” me with the abomination they’d consider Alex’s tattoos. “I bet they freaked out.”
His smile widened. “That’s an understatement, but what can they say? I’m an adult and pay my own bills.” He was right, but still.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
He looked at her again. “I wanted to surprise you, princess.” His words were sincere. “Wanna see it?” She nodded. He stood and lifted his shirt and turned around.
A shocked gasp left her. The majority of his back was covered in dark, intricate lines. “Holy hell, Alex. That’s a lot of ink.” She glanced up at him.
He dropped his shirt and sat back down. “Honestly?”
She stared at him like he lost his mind.
He chuckled. “It all started when I lost a bet.”
Her eyes got bigger. “You got that because of a bet?” She could hear the incredulous note in her voice.
At least he had the decency to look embarrassed. “Kind of. I wanted it for a while, but I got drunk with my buddies and they dared me.” He shrugged again.
She stared at his chest as if she could still see the ink through the material. “Well, I like it. It’s shocking, but looks really good.”
He grinned and put his hands behind his head, regarding her. She noticed he’d bulked up since the last time she saw him.
“You’ve been working out.” She stated the obvious.
“Yeah. Coach has been busting the guys’ balls on getting bigger and staying in shape, especially since we came to practice hungover on more than one occasion.”
Her phone beeped with an incoming message, and she pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the screen. A smile formed on her lips when she saw it was from Reese.
She typed out a quick response then put her phone away. Alex watched her intently, as if he could see what she was thinking.
“What?” she asked.
“Don’t ‘what’ me. What was up with that text?”
“What do you mean?” She kept playing dumb.
“You had a look.”
Keira feigned innocence. “What look?”
“The look a girl gets over a guy.” His voice was even but hard, taking on a brotherly sharp edge.
She stayed quiet, and they seemed to have some kind of stare-off. Keira wasn’t going to hide her relationship from Alex and had planned on telling him—was excited even. But the way he watched her made her rethink saying anything right now.
“So you like some guy?” He tried to sound so nonchalant, but she wasn’t buying it. Alex was very protective, always saw her as that typical “little sister” in all ways, so that of course meant he scared off any guy who would show interest in her. Not that any guy actually did, but he’d sure as hell do it if given the chance.
“So, princess, who do I need to put the fear of God into?”
She laughed, but the sound died when she realized Alex was serious. “Stop it, Alex.” Shifting, Keira looked anywhere except at him. “So, football’s going good then?”
“Don’t change the subject, Keira.”
She shook her head and glanced back at him. “I’m not changing anything.” The hard look on his face told her he wouldn’t let this go. So she took a deep breath and decided just to get this over with. “Fine. I am seeing someone, but you don’t need to get all protective or anything.” He lifted a brow at her statement. “He’s a good guy. You’d like him.” She didn’t know that for sure, but despite Alex having gone to BMA and being one of the top football players at the academy, he wasn’t a snobby asshole like the rest of them. He was down to earth. “You have nothing to be worried about.” She laughed awkwardly, not because she didn’t believe or mean those words, but because Alex looked like he was gearing up to greet Reese with a shotgun the first time they meet.