Total pages in book: 186
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
Nick, Rook, and my brother piled into the truck, each of them humming with the same volatile energy as I was.
Nick claimed the passenger seat while Rook and Cade slid into the back, Angela B. wedged between them like she belonged there.
“Everyone ready?” I asked.
“Let’s do this,” Nick prompted, twisting his ball cap around on his head.
Rook gave a silent nod. My brother caught my eye in the rearview mirror, and I knew his answer. I dropped the truck into gear and got us rolling. The old Miller Pub was located in a remote part of town without too many prying eyes, perfect for however this panned out. I needed the distraction it would offer, a chance to let loose some of the shit I kept reigned in that was clawing beneath my skin. Sassy had me twisted up in ways that made breathing feel optional, and until I could have her the way I needed, this would have to be enough.
We sat in the parking lot, the truck’s engine off, windows slightly cracked so we had some airflow. The glow from the pub’s neon sign pulsed weakly, flickering like it was barely clinging to life. A steady stream of people shuffled in and out. Most were loud, drunk, and blissfully unaware of their surroundings.
Cade had one foot propped up against the rear door, softly rapping along to Regulate under his breath while aimlessly scrolling his phone. His energy was coiled tonight, but not in a dangerous way.
Rook took a long pull from his blunt, holding it like it held the answers to every question he didn’t want to ask. He exhaled slowly, watching the crowd. Every now and then, I watched him study Kyle Anderson’s black Genesis. It was parked two spots over, sporting a scratched bumper and cracked undercarriage.
Nick shifted beside me, breaking the silence. “How is this place so packed on a Tuesday?”
“Bored college kids. Bad decisions don’t keep a schedule,” Rook answered as he leaned forward, his attention caught by one of the patrons. “I don’t think she’s supposed to be here.”
We all looked to see who he was talking about. A girl in a tight red dress stumbled across the lot, laughing way too loudly. Her heels weren’t made for cracked pavement, and her friends looked equally unsteady on their feet.
“She looks familiar,” Nick said.
“She looks like fun,” Rook corrected.
I chuckled, shaking my head. His idea of ‘fun’ wasn’t legal or sane, not that mine was either, but I had never dabbled in the shit Rook did. Everyone thought he was this quiet, soft-around-the-edges, brooder. Our girls were fiercely protective of him, as if his ass needed to be coddled. All the rest were determined to snag the guy who wasted class time writing poetry in the margins of textbooks, and had the whole dark, mysterious thing going on.
Cade tapped the back of my seat to get my attention. “Xander got the scoop on what had Little Sanj mad at Dead-Weight.”
I kept my expression neutral, waiting for him to explain. Any mention of Ashton, even the nickname we graced him with, was a fast track to souring my mood.
“What’d he do?” Nick pressed, stretching out in the passenger seat.
“He’s been talking to Sarah Myers,” Cade revealed, glancing up. “And we all know Sanj would rather set herself on fire than breathe the same air as that girl.”
Rook didn’t even glance over. “That girl is the one who shouldn’t be breathing.”
“Neither should he, for obvious reasons,” I added.
“If you’re tired of the long game, you can always make him have an accident on the field,” Nick joked.
“No. That would tarnish your rep too much from the empathy crowd. Do it in the locker room where there aren’t any cameras, and we can clear out the witnesses,” my brother suggested casually as ever. “On second thought, let’s just stick with the plan already in motion. Saves us from needing to worry about damage control.”
“Sarah needs to go,” Rook reiterated. “D-W isn’t a problem needing solved any longer. She is.”
“She won’t be an issue for much longer,” I assured him.
Her name alone was a damn landmine. I didn’t have too many regrets besides letting my girl slip through my fingers, but allowing that bitch anywhere near me was one of them.
People used to assume I wasn’t picky and went through girls like plays on the field. I could count the number of times I’d messed around with one hand. Sarah Myers had unfortunately earned a digit. She was pretty in the way yearbook superlatives noticed and surface-level enough that she never expected anything deeper at first. She’d pursued me for weeks, and back then, I was worse off. I was still polishing the version of myself the world saw now, going through the motions.
She caught me outside our high school weight room one afternoon. It had been a shit day, one of those where I was stretched thin and pretending not to be. We hooked up a few times after that, but it never meant anything. I’d told Sass about us before she had to find out through the gossip mill. No details, just enough to be honest, because I never wanted her blindsided or left in the dark after she’d gone through that once before.