Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 122514 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122514 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
He was right. She was super sweet, and once she was gone, I had to face the music.
My friends’ silence aside, I had just enough money to cover three months of rent. What had I been thinking accepting Trent’s proposal to work at camp for the last few weeks? I hadn’t been thinking. That’s right—I’d been drinking. I was dumped and fired, all in the span of twenty-four hours. But reality was back, and I had to get my shit together.
If I didn’t shape up, I had no idea where I could ship myself to.
My parents’? Someone’s couch? My car?
It could be a new, sad drinking game. Take a drink wherever you end up, and then just get sauced because what’s a better way to handle it?
Sighing, I opened my laptop and clicked on the classifieds.
Five job applications filled out later, I couldn’t deny as I was getting ready for bed. I was hurt. I thought one of my friends would’ve texted—Reese at least. My phone was still blank when I climbed into bed. I turned it off, then on again, just making sure, but it showed the same thing: no incoming texts or calls, and it had worked earlier with Loser Ex, so it was working.
Still. Because I never liked to admit defeat, I texted Reese.
Me: No words? Are you mad at me?
I waited, and five minutes went by. Ten. I brushed a tear away at the twenty-minute mark.
One hour later, I had my answer.
He wasn’t going to respond.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
I fell out of bed, no joke.
I’d been starting to wake up. I was stretching and scooting to the end of the bed. Then BANG, BANG, BANG, and off I fell.
Hello, floor.
I winced, rubbing my elbow. That hurt, but then the banging on my door started again.
“You took my phone!” a voice yelled.
That was Reese and, oh shit—had I?
I hurried to the front door. My neighbors were hardcore Thunder fans. If they were home, they would recognize Reese’s voice. They watched every one of his interviews on ESPN. I knew, because I could hear them blasting them from their computer at all hours of the day. I used to think I was dedicated, but they put me to shame.
Flinging open the door, I grabbed him. “Stop talking.”
He was alone.
He was glaring, and he was pissed. Really pissed. His jaw was doing the clenching thing too.
“What?”
“You fucking left, that’s what!”
Oh. He did care. I bit my lip to stop a grin from showing.
“I texted you what happened.”
“Yeah.” He scoffed, starting to go through my apartment. Finding my bedroom, he went in and began pulling items out of my bag. I hadn’t unpacked, like, at all. I still had on the clothes I’d left camp in. I just hadn’t had it in me to take off his shirt, and he noticed, his scowl lessening, but then he pulled out a pair of shorts I hadn’t realized I’d grabbed.
“A-ha.” He pulled his phone out of the pocket and tried to turn it on. “It’s dead.”
Crap. I felt a pounding behind my temples and rubbed there. “Sorry. It must’ve been with the pile of my clothes. I was packing in a hurry.” And I was slightly hysterical at the time. “Oops.”
He didn’t answer. Seeing my charger, he took my phone off and put his phone on. When it started charging, he turned back to me, his arms crossed over his chest.
“That crisis is averted. Now you want to tell me what the fuck happened?” His eyebrows went up. “Because I have news to share with you also—news about you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah.” He yawned. “But I need coffee first. Your friends showed up at my cabin, pounding on the door. Then I had to go and pound on Coach’s door, and there was a fucking early-ass meeting this morning. I had to promise two extra charity events before Coach let me come here today and not leave with the team.”
My head was spinning. “What are you talking about?”
Reese ignored me, going into my kitchen. My coffee pot wasn’t on, so he began looking through my cupboards. “Where’s your coffee?”
I moved him aside, ignoring the tingle at just feeling him again, being so close to him again, and pointed to the table. “Sit. I’ll do this. You tell me what happened.”
He went over and sat down. “You tell me first, because I think what I have to say is going to take longer.”
I pulled out the coffee, put in a new filter. “Nothing really major. Keith told me the board hadn’t approved me working there, so they only had the funds to cover me for two weeks. So, you know, I was fired. Then I came out and your coach was there. I thought maybe it was him behind it, which he confirmed when you left. He wanted me gone, and to be honest, I kinda understand why. He was protecting you.”