Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 113934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
None of them were Michelle.
Standing up, I grabbed my phone and wireless earbuds. “I’m heading out for a run.”
Chuck shook his head. “Running can only replace sex for so long, dude. You’re gonna end up sleeping with some skank.”
I let out a laugh. “Like the girls you bring back here aren’t whores. I’ve seen them all hooking up with other football players.”
With a wink, Chuck let out a roar of laughter. “College is fucking amazing, isn’t it?”
That was my cue to leave.
Exiting the building, I started to put my earbuds in when I heard my name.
“Mitch? Is that you?”
Glancing over my shoulder, I smiled when I saw Beth Wrangler. She was an old friend of Michelle’s and Skylar’s.
“Beth?”
With a slight jog, she ran and threw her arms around me. “Oh my gosh! It’s nice to see someone I know!”
Laughing, I hugged her back and then let her go. “I didn’t know you were here at UT. I thought you went to Texas Tech.”
She rolled her eyes. “That was the plan at first. Well, that was my plan anyway. My parents graduated from here, so it was pretty much a given at birth that I would be a Longhorn. They let me have one semester at Texas Tech to get it out of my system before forcing me to come here.”
I let out another chuckle. “I’m glad to see a friendly face.”
Her eyes searched my face, and her smile slowly faded. “Hey, are you okay? You look…well, to be honest, you look like shit.”
Wow. Brutally honest.
She held up her hands. “Wait, that’s not what I meant.”
With a wink, I nodded. “I feel like shit, so I’m not surprised I look like it.”
Beth tilted her head and wore a concerned look. “Is it school? Football?”
Shaking my head, I replied, “Michelle. We broke up last semester. I thought you knew.”
Her eyes widened in shock. “No! I mean, I knew something was wrong at Christmas, but I thought y’all were fighting maybe. I never really had a chance to talk to Michelle or catch up. She didn’t say a word. What happened? I always loved you two together. You were the perfect couple.”
There went the ache in my chest and the twist in my stomach. “I was an asshole. Cheated on her.”
This time, Beth gasped. Then, she slapped the shit out of me.
“What the hell?” I cried out as I covered my stinging cheek with my hand.
“That was for cheating. I hate cheaters.”
Rubbing out the sting, I replied, “I’d say so. Shit, that hurt.”
She smiled. “Good.” Taking a quick glance over my body, she asked, “Were you going for a run, or do you have time to grab lunch with me? We can catch up.”
My head pulled back in surprise. “I thought you said you hated cheaters?”
Her hands went to her hips. “I can clearly see you’ve been putting yourself through hell over this. I’m going to guess Michelle hasn’t forgiven you?”
“She transferred to Baylor.”
Snarling her lip, Beth said, “Ouch.”
My hand pushed through my hair as I sighed. “Yeah, ouch is right.”
Pursing her lips, she slowly shook her head. I could practically feel her mind racing with something.
“So, what about lunch?”
I really wanted to get in a run. Get some of this built-up energy out of me. But, all of a sudden, lunch with Beth had me both curious and hungry as hell for the first time in months.
With a smile, I replied, “Lunch sounds great.”
***
I hadn’t laughed so much in a long time. It felt good. Cleansing almost. Beth was spit and fire. She was alone here at UT. She missed her boyfriend, Craig, who went to Texas A&M.
“So, how did you and Craig meet?” I asked before taking a bite of my hamburger.
Beth’s eyes lit up. “At a party in College Station. Another friend, who was in a sorority, was hosting a fundraiser. I drove down, and Craig was there. We got to talking and really hit it off. We take turns visiting each other.”
“Wow. So, the distance hasn’t put a damper on things?”
She shook her head. “No. At least, not yet. The sex, I think, is actually hotter because we are apart.”
I about choked on my hamburger. Girl certainly spoke her mind.
“I’d really like to transfer, but I’m not sure my folks would be too happy if I said I wanted to go to A and M.”
Laughing, I agreed, “No. Especially if you told them it was for a guy.”
With a chuckle of her own, she replied, “They’d each have a heart attack.”
A silence grew between us as we each took another bite of our burgers.
Beth set her burger down, wiped the corners of her mouth, and got a drink of her soda. Then, she looked me directly in the eyes. “So, let’s start forging a plan.”
Pinching my brows together in confusion, I asked, “A plan for what?”