Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
I let out a breath as I walked through the house. I’d gotten here thirty minutes ago and had yet to make it out back. Every time I turned, someone new wanted to speak to me. It was like this all the time. I’d always received this kind of attention and loved it for the most part. Lately, not as much, and definitely not tonight.
My plan for tonight was to stay home. Friday was my laundry and homework night unless we had a game. Everyone knew I wouldn't be at any party on Friday nights. I made an exception tonight since it was Aaron’s birthday, and his girlfriend was throwing him a party. I finished talking to the last person I would greet inside, grabbed a beer by the door, and headed outside. I said I’d be here. I didn’t say I’d mingle. I twisted the cap off and started drinking my beer as I reached Nash and Drew. They were helping some of the sorority girls doing keg stands; from the looks of it, their help would be rewarded.
“Are you here to help us out?” A blonde walked up to me, pushing her tits against my arm. I knew this one but couldn’t remember her name. I sucked with names. Faces I could remember. Names, not so much.
“Nah, it looks like Nash and Drew have it under control.” I lifted my beer and walked away.
Get to the wall. Get to the wall. Get to the wall. Even with the drunken crowd, I kept my eyes on my destination: the white wall I’d claimed as mine the first time I attended a party here. It was the closest thing to a sanctuary for me, away from the crowd — not so far that I couldn’t enjoy the party, not so close that they’d rope me into one of their games. I cringed at the reminder of the last time I’d participated in one. I was almost to the wall when I noticed a girl leaning against it. That wasn’t new. Sometimes, they waited for me there. It was like a contest to see who spoke to me first and who I took home at the end of the night. It wasn’t hyperbole. Fairview lived and breathed hockey and had been on a ten-year losing streak before I got here and turned it around. So, everyone wanted a piece of me, especially the women.
This one stood out from the others. She was dressed wrong for this party, with a baggy top that almost reached her knees and black Chucks. It was the look on her face that stood out, though— the clouded look in her eyes, void of emotion, as she watched everyone enjoy themselves. Could she be a new pledge? That was impossible since the semester was almost ending, but she had to be new. She had the kind of understated beauty that was unforgettable — caramel complexion, perfect features, and legs too sculpted for her not to have played a sport. Her dark brown hair hung down to her waist, and her lips were full and currently pursed, which was the only indication that she was paying attention to the partygoers. I hadn’t even realized I’d stopped in my tracks to stare until someone bumped into me and snapped me out of it.
“Oh shit. I’m so sorry.” Someone giggled and squeezed my arm, gasping when she saw who I was. “Oh. Maybe I’m not so sorry.”
I didn’t even bother looking at her as I yanked my arm away. Even if I’d wanted to, my eyes wouldn’t wander away from baggy clothes girl. Why? I had no fucking idea. I closed the distance between this outsider and me. She didn’t acknowledge my arrival, but I knew she noticed my presence from the way she tensed. I took a step and blocked her view of the party. She finally looked up, and up, and up, until she reached my eyes, and all I could think was holy fuck. They were brown. I’d seen countless brown eyes in my life, but hers felt different in a way I couldn’t quite describe. They seemed to hold a vortex, a black hole that threatened to hook and drown you. Her snappy voice pulled me out of the momentary spell she’d cast on me.
“What are you doing?”
“You’re in my territory.”
“Your territory.” She frowned. “Are you pledging this sorority or something?”
She knew damn well it was an all-female sorority, and even though her response was funny, I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of laughing. She continued to study me, her eyes wandering over each of my facial features. I wondered if she’d lie and say she didn’t know who I was. That was how some girls liked to play it, coy and shy and “Oh my God, no way you’re an athlete,” as if my body wasn’t a dead giveaway. I had to admit, from the way she looked at me, this one was either a great actress or genuinely didn’t know who I was.