Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 125845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 419(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 419(@300wpm)
I resist the urge to bury my face in my hands and moan in despair. I am so out of my element here. I’ve only slept with one person. I lost my virginity to him, and we were in a long-term relationship for years. There was never any need to have “the conversation.”
And I never, ever had to wonder if he wanted me to pee on him.
I never thought of myself as naïve or inexperienced. I thought I was a ballsy, smart-talking chick from Miami who owned her body and her sexuality. But maybe it’s time to grow up a little. I do need to think about things like STIs and new partners.
And if everything goes my way tonight, that new partner is going to be Hunter Davenport.
26
Demi
The after party is held at Conor’s house. I know from my last visit that he’s got four roommates and they’re all hockey players. In fact, most of the male bodies in the townhouse tonight belong to hockey players, which means there isn’t much space to maneuver. I’m talking muscles galore.
A crappy EDM song blasts in the air, making my temples throb. Never been a fan of electronic dance music. Nico and I attended a couple of raves in Miami, but it wasn’t my thing. When we were there, he tried to convince me to do MDMA, and I said hell no, which surprised most of his friends.
It’s funny, but people expect me to be more reckless than I actually am. I mean, I’ll dance at the drop of a hat, no matter where I am. I’ll talk to strangers in the CVS checkout line. And sure, if someone asked me to go skydiving or bungee jumping I’d consider it. But I’ve never cared for the drug scene or the kind of dangerous activities our Miami friends were into. Whenever I visited, Nico spent a lot of time racing cars. Illegally, of course, which meant I was looking over my shoulder the entire time waiting for the cops to show up.
So no, recklessness isn’t a trait I usually possess. But I’m going to be reckless tonight. I’m going to tease my friend and hopefully convince him to break his vow. I guess that probably makes me a jerk, but a part of me wonders if Hunter is overcompensating for something. Last year he acted in a self-destructive manner, hooking up with random girls, drinking too much. But I don’t believe that’s inherently his nature. I think he was simply reeling from Summer’s rejection and the perceived betrayal from his friend.
If you ask me, sex isn’t the reason his hockey season imploded last year, nor do I think the lack of it is responsible for the team’s success this year.
I’m starting to believe it’s a matter of trust. As in, he doesn’t trust himself to make good decisions in the moment. But I don’t think avoiding any situations that require difficult decision-making is the solution.
My gaze drifts in Hunter’s direction. He’s across the living room, deep in conversation with Matt Anderson. Meanwhile, I’m in the corner like a loser, sucking on one of the many lollipops stashed at all times in my purse. Hunter left me to my own devices once we got here, but this isn’t my crowd and I don’t miss all the dirty looks I’m receiving from the hockey groupies, as if I’m trespassing on their property.
I don’t particularly understand the sports groupie mentality. The fact that they make it seem like I’m trying to steal something from them tells me that they don’t care about the men they’re coveting, only the status those men bring to the table. I look at Hunter and see Hunter. They look at him and see HOCKEY PLAYER.
“What’s the matter? Not having fun?” Conor wanders over and joins me in the doorway.
It’s impossible to look at Conor without noticing how incredibly attractive he is. He sort of resembles Hunter’s friend Dean, except in a surfer-dude way whereas Dean should be posing in cologne ads or underwear spreads.
“Eh, I just don’t know anyone.” I shrug, absently twirling the stick of my lollipop between my thumb and index finger.
“You know me.” He flashes a crooked grin.
“True.”
He nods toward Hunter. “And Davenport.”
“Also true. But he’s busy at the moment.”
“Well, I’m not.” Conor slants his head. “Come dance with me. We can entertain each other.”
Normally I wouldn’t turn down a dance offer, but my bladder is full from the two sodas I drank at the game and the vodka cranberry one of Conor’s roommates made for me.
“I would, but I have to pee so bad,” I admit. “If we dance I’d probably pee all over you.” Then again, maybe that’s his kink. As I learned tonight, that’s actually a thing people do.
He laughs. “All right, how ’bout you take care of that little problem first, and then we’ll reevaluate.”