Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 65884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
“Red,” I replied automatically. “You?”
“Blue. Bears colors. And that’s a good lead-in to boring questions.” He gestured broadly as if giving me the floor. “What d’ya got?”
Okay…
I cleared my throat and asked the first thing to pop into my head. “What have you liked best about your four years at Smithton?”
“Uh, lots of things. I love being at a small college, I have great friends, I—”
“You don’t have to answer right now,” I intercepted. “I’m giving you a sample of what I’ll ask when the camera is rolling.”
“Oh. Well, roll it now. I’m here.”
“I’m not the videographer. That’s Robin’s domain, and he’ll be all kinds of ticked off at me if I take his fun away.”
Ty nodded. “Right. Other questions?”
I inclined my chin in a businesslike fashion. “Do you have any pregame rituals? How do you handle pressure situations on the ice? What’s your fitness routine? Do you ever get nervous before a game?”
“Really? No weirdly personal questions? That seems like a sketchy oversight.”
I bristled at the critique. “Out of curiosity, what constitutes weirdly personal?”
“How about, ‘Are you dating anyone? Girl, guy? Do you ever date both at the same time? Have you ever been caught in a compromising position with your dick out in an alley and—’ ”
“I wouldn’t ask you those types of questions,” I said between my teeth. “My goal isn’t to make you uncomfortable.”
Ty crossed his arms. “If that was true, you wouldn’t have been sneaking around a parking lot in the dark, looking for me.”
I growled. “That’s not what happened.”
“We’ve been round and round on this one. We both know that’s exactly what happened.”
Okay, yes, that was true and I was still mortified, but darn it…
“You’re mean,” I snapped, unthinking.
Ty’s lips twitched but he didn’t laugh. “No, I’m calling you out on your bullshit. That’s different. I hate that you know something about me that I wouldn’t have shared since I barely fucking know you.”
“Whose fault is that?” I huffed. “Gosh, maybe next time you’ll keep your penis in your pants and avoid an indecent-exposure moment!”
“Are you judging me?”
The safe, congenial stance was to apologize and feign shock that anyone would suggest that I of all people would cast judgment, but this…this…hockey player was a real turd.
“Yes, I am. I’m judging you.” I stood abruptly and fixed Ty with my best glare. “If a zombie apocalypse happens in Smithton it’s going to start in that alley, and you’ll be sorry. Creatures crawling out of trash cans, slithering through the ivy…yuck. Personally, I’d hate to get caught on my knees or with my best jeans around my ankles with a five-eyed, three-armed hairy beast coming at me out of the blue. But by all means, go ahead, take your chances. Don’t forget about basic germs, bacteria, and disease-carrying vermin too. Dis-gus-ting. Sex is amazing, but I’ll take my BJs the old-fashioned way—behind a closed door, thank you very much.”
Ty widened his eyes as his face lit with laughter, and I couldn’t blame him. My cringe-worthy speech was a sure sign I’d lost my last thread of patience. Now I was hopping mad and he was grinning like a fool, looking more gorgeous than ever.
Not fair. Why were the handsomest ones always the biggest jerks?
“You wound me.”
“Well, if the shoe fits, wear it. No one can claim I haven’t tried to be nice, but I’m done apologizing for something that amounted to nothing more than being at the wrong place at the wrong time. So…stuff it.”
“Damn, you’re feisty,” he said, clearly amused.
“And you’re a…”
“Go ahead. Give it to me.”
“You’re a blockhead,” I blurted. “And jerk face and a…a…real asshole.”
Ty’s eyes widened comically before he burst into laughter. “Ouch.”
“Indeed,” I huffed as I stumbled to perch on the edge of the desk. “Shall we start over?”
He lifted his brow imperiously. “Only if you can be civil.”
Civil? Me. Really?
Ooh, I wanted to wring his neck.
“That would be easier to do if you’d quit attacking me,” I replied haughtily. “I’m not your enemy.”
“You’re like a mini villain, though. Someone with the power to fuck things up on a whim, and acting like you don’t would be naïve. And that’s why I don’t like this situation.”
“What do you want me to do about it?”
Ty puffed out a frustrated breath. “Even the field. Give me some dirt on you.”
“That’s ridiculous, not to mention childish. And sadly, I don’t have any good dirt. I vote, I pay taxes, I haven’t had a brush with the law—not even one parking ticket. I haven’t dated anyone seriously in two years, I have good friends, nice neighbors, and—”
“And a famous family,” he finished, moving to the door. “Maybe I’m being an idiot and maybe I need to get the fuck over myself, but you have way too much power here. I don’t like it and I—”
“My father is Ketchum Clomsky,” I blurted.