Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98023 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
I sigh.
Fuck.
Tossing my clothes and shit into my locker and grabbing a towel, I head for the showers and make quick work of rinsing off the grime and sweat. I’ll take another shower when I get home, one where I can soak and fucking mope, but this one, with fifteen other fucking dudes, is purely mechanical.
Sufficiently clean, I shut off my shower, wrap my towel around my waist, and head back to my locker in silence. I dress in a pair of loose shorts and a T-shirt and toss my duffel over my shoulder before heading for the door.
No one bothers me as I get rid of my towel in the hamper and exit, so I take the opportunity to put in an earbud and crank up some music. It’s old-school Yellowcard, and the frantic cadence of “Way Away” matches the desperation of my mood.
I let myself jam and feel the music as it blares in my ears, all the way down the hall to the player exit, and shove through the back door into the surprisingly still high sun of summertime. The door falls closed with a thud behind me, though I can barely hear it over the volume of my music, and the street in front of me is mostly quiet.
Maybe that’s why I startle so hard when I feel a tap on my shoulder from behind, and I spin around like a top.
Lexi Winslow is the very last person I expect to see.
I hurriedly take out my earbuds and tuck them into my pocket, the volume of my song still playing slightly in the background. “Lex? What are you—”
She lunges forward and slams her lips into mine, effectively cutting me off and answering me all at once. Maintaining my boundaries, it seems, has paid off in a big way.
I kiss her back, wrapping one strong arm around her back so firmly I almost lift her feet off the ground and sinking my other hand into the back of her blond hair. I get lost in the feel of her body and the smell of her hair and push her backward, all the way until her back is against the hard brick exterior of the stadium. I taste and touch and feel every bit of her mouth with my tongue, and when she finally manages to push me back, the two of us are breathless.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, her eyes looking up to meet mine. “For avoiding you.”
“Shit, Lex, if it always resolves like this, you can avoid me all the time.”
She laughs through a sigh, pushing me back just enough that there’s a six-inch space between us. I frown, but she smiles. “I…I want to really try this. It’s not been fair that I’ve been fighting you every step of the way, and these ten days of no contact from you… Well, they’ve helped to make me see that. But I’m not ready for anything to be public yet, Blake.”
I look around at the space on either side of us. “We’re in public right now, Lex.”
“I know. Which was pretty stupid of me, I can see now, but at the time, I just…needed to talk to you as soon as possible and I knew you would be finishing up with practice now.”
It’s not exactly a Shakespearean love poem, but damn, coming from Lexi Winslow, everything she just said is practically a sonnet.
I can be patient on the public thing if it takes a little longer. The important thing is that she wants to give this an actual try.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Let’s try this in private first. I can do that.”
“You can?” she asks, a beautiful beacon of hope shining in her voice.
“Yeah. In fact, let’s go—”
The door bangs open beside us, and Lexi jumps as I turn, distancing myself from her warm, beautiful body just a little more. Hank and Ron are laughing and chatting on their way out, when Hank spots me standing there. “See you tonight, man.”
I nod. Fuck. “Yeah, dude. See you tonight.”
He jerks up his chin, and he and Ron move on. I blow out a breath, reality having smacked the air clean out of me. “I…well, I told the guys I would go out with them tonight. I’m supposed to meet them at seven. I didn’t know you were going to show up here, though, because I sure as fuck wouldn’t have if I had. But I’m not supposed to meet up with them until later.”
“It’s fine,” she says. “Just get in touch with me later tonight when you’re done.”
“Wait…what? But I have a few hours. I can—”
“Later, Blake.” She steps forward to press a quick but discreet kiss to my lips. “I promise.”
“Because we’re really giving this a shot?” I ask, the need for confirmation undeniable.
“Yes.”
“Well, Lex,” I say and wink at her, “I think it’s going to be a very short night.”