Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“Let’s see how good I am after your test.”
We spend the next thirty minutes going over everything coming up on the test. Then I give him some practice problems to solve. He does surprisingly well, only needing a little bit of help. Cage is smart, he just doesn’t apply himself.
“Okay, let’s do one more,” I say, checking the time.
Cage leans back on his chair, his shirt rising up a little, showing the edge of his waistband.
“Wanna make a bet?”
“What kind of bet?” I ask before I can think it through.
Cage perks up, excited about me not shutting him down immediately like I should have.
“You shock me every day, you know?”
“I shock myself too, now tell me this bet of yours before I tell you to shut up.”
“How about… I bet you, I can solve this one on my own. No help at all.”
“You’re that confident already?”
“I have a great teacher, and I work better with an incentive.” He shrugs. “So, let’s make a bet. When I win, I’ll get… a kiss. You have to kiss me, right here, right now.”
No, no, no! I should say no. It’s a terrible idea, but curiosity gets the better of me. How am I even entertaining this idea?
“What do I get when I win?”
“I mean, you won’t win, so it doesn’t matter, but if you did hypothetically speaking–win, what would you want?” He rubs at his chin, which has a day’s worth of stubble on it.
I don’t have to think about it for long. This has been bothering me since the weekend.
“You tell me the real reason you don’t like football and why you play it if it doesn’t mean anything to you. “
The smirk on his face is wiped away in an instant and replaced with a deep frown. “That’s stupid. I love football.”
“Take it or leave it.” I cross my arms over my chest, trying to act tough when, in reality, I’m shaking like a damn leaf.
“Fine, I’m not going to lose anyway, so get your lips ready and pucker up, buttercup.” He takes the paper from my hand and starts working on the problem while I sit on pins and needles watching him do it.
What the heck is wrong with me? Why did I agree to this? I’m only feeding into his ego, giving him what he wants. I’m stupid, so stupid, but I also want the truth.
As I watch him write on the paper, I realize he is on the right path. Excitement bubbles up inside of me at the thought of him winning the bet. Is he really going to kiss me?
When he lays the pen down and slides the paper over to me with a grin, I literally stop breathing for a minute. I look down at what he’s written and open the book back up to compare it to the answer. It’s the same.
Oh shit. Dear Lord in heaven. Someone save me from this GQ model.
He solved the problem without me and won the bet. He won.
As soon as he sees it too, a smile the size of Texas spreads across his face. “I won.”
“You did.” I swallow thickly.
“You owe me a kiss.”
Suddenly my mouth goes dry, and the air in this room seems thicker, maybe hotter too.
“Okay,” I whisper as he leans in slowly. The smile on his lips disappearing with every inch he gets closer.
When he is so close that I can feel his minty breath on my skin, I close my eyes. A moment later, his lips are on mine. It’s an innocent kiss, just our lips are touching. Still, I feel more now than I ever have before.
There is a feeling deep inside me, trying to rise to the surface. I can feel it clawing on my inside, begging me to let it free. I want to push it away, push him away, but then he leans in more, deepening the kiss, and I’m so close. So close to letting go, to throwing my arms around him and climbing in his lap.
So close, and then my phone starts to ring, the sound is high-pitched and bounces off the walls and into my ears. I pull away quickly, sitting up straight, I look at Cage who is still leaning into me.
My lips still tingle when I grab the phone from my pocket and check to see who’s calling. It’s an unknown number, but I know the area code, it’s from my hometown.
Could it be my mom? A thousand and one scenarios run through my mind. What if she got hurt? What if something happened to my brother? What if…
“Sorry, I gotta take this.” I push up from the chair, my knees slam into the table, the impact rattling my teeth. I can’t be bothered by the pain though. Opening the door, I step out of the room before pressing the green answer key.