Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
My phone rings in the cupholder. When Reese sees that it’s my mom, she grabs it, and answers, “Hey, Ann.” She places the call on speaker.
“Hey, sweetie. Did I call you or Cooper?” Mom chuckles.
“Coop. He’s forcing me to go to a bonfire. He’s driving.”
“Hi, Mom,” I say.
“Hi, honey.”
“What’s up?” I ask her.
“I just wanted to call and say hi. The two of you disappear to college and suddenly stop calling your mother.”
“I’m sorry, Mom.” Guilt washes over me. “Classes and football are taking up a lot of time.”
“And the ladies,” Reese adds as helpful as ever.
Mom laughs. “I don’t want to know. Please tell me you’re being safe.”
“We are not having this conversation,” I tell her.
“Fine. I’ll have Dad call you tomorrow.”
“No. Please don’t. It’s all good, Mom. I’m covered, promise.”
“Literally.” Reese cackles. “He already has a harem of football groupies following him around like a little puppy.”
“Keep him grounded, Reese.”
“I try my best.” She smiles over at me sweetly.
“You kids have fun. Be safe. Cooper, call me tomorrow.”
“Will do. Love you.”
“Love you,” Reese tells her.
“Love you both,” Mom says, ending the call.
“Laugh it up,” I tell her. “Just wait until I talk to your mom. In fact, I should call her tomorrow. Just to say hello.”
“Go right ahead. She’s not going to believe anything you tell her. I’m the good one, remember?”
“Oh, I remember. Just like the time we snuck that stray cat into your bedroom. What were we, ten? You had these big tears saying she was lonely and convinced me to help you sneak her into your room.”
“Frisky. She was lonely,” Reese defends.
“Right. Until she had a litter of kittens that you had me smuggle into my house.”
“It’s not my fault you weren’t watching them,” she sasses.
“I was ten!” I counter. “I don’t even like cats. I was just doing it for you, and I’m the one who ended up getting busted.”
“It’s not my fault you didn’t tell them it was my idea.”
She’s right. I never do. I’ve defended her since day one. My buddies gave me a hard time for being friends with a girl—girls have cooties, or so they said. I defended her then, and I’ve spent the last ten years doing the same. I’ve defended not just her, but our friendship countless times, and will continue to do so.
“You’re lucky I love you,” I tell her.
“Yeah, yeah. You got me here, you can stop with the buttering me up thing.”
“Come on,” I say, parking my Jeep in the open field. “I promise you’re going to have a good time tonight.”
“I thought we made a pact. No promises we can’t keep.”
“I can keep this one. Now, get your ass moving, Latham.” Pulling the keys from the ignition and grabbing my phone, I climb out of the Jeep, hitting the lock button on the keyfob once she’s out as well.
Chapter 2
Reese
My palms are sweaty, and I’m pretty sure it’s my shaking knees that have me stumbling, not the uneven ground of the field. I can’t believe I let him talk me into this. Then again, I can. Cooper Reeves and his big brown eyes are convincing. So much so, that I rarely tell him no. Well, I tell him no a lot, but he always talks me into some crazy plan and has me tagging along for something that’s out of my comfort zone. Case and point, this bonfire.
It’s not that I’m anti-social. The opposite, in fact. However, I tend to steer clear of social situations where Coop is the main event, at least in the eyes of the cleat chasers. I have thick skin, but a girl can only take so much. He tries to protect me from it, but there’s always one or five that get their digs in. I could fight back, but really, what’s the point? They’re never going to accept that we’re just friends. It’s as if a guy and a girl having a platonic relationship is unheard of. We’re not abnormal. High school was hard, and I’m hoping college is better. Partly, because I was planning to let Coop do his thing, I’ll do mine, and we can meet in the middle as time allows. My best friend apparently didn’t get my mental memo, which is why I’m walking through a dark field about fifteen miles from campus.
“You sure this is school-sanctioned?” I ask him as I grab ahold of his arm to keep from tumbling over on this rough terrain.
“I might have stretched the truth just a little. Coach won’t be here, but he knows about it. He says it’s good team-building. He would have found out if I had bailed, and he needs to know I’m a team player.”
“Do you not already show him that when you’re out on the field?”
“Loosen up.” He throws his arm over my shoulders. “Don’t take a drink from anyone but me.”