Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 81248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Seems the rumors are true and half that goddamn hockey team is gay. Well, queer. I have no idea how those two identify. West is the only one I care about anyway.
And with that thought, I look toward him again, and again he catches me staring.
The ten-year age gap between us has never felt more obvious than it did while I watched them do shots.
“Well, I’m done.” I go to stand, and Dave jumps from his side of the booth to push me back down again.
“Where are you going?” Dave slides in next to me, boxing me in between him and the wall. “Tell Greg all about the reunion.”
“Like you haven’t already told him?” I smirk. “Look, the students are already starting to show up. Time for us oldies to run home.”
“Oldies? I resent that. For your grievous insult, I demand you stay for another drink.”
“It’s late.” I nudge him.
“It’s barely seven o’clock!”
“Dave …”
“Jasper … Daddy’s orders.”
I narrow my eyes. “What’s going on?” I’ll admit Dave is weird sometimes, but this is odd even for him.
“Greg came all the way down here—”
“It was a ten-minute drive—”
“And now you’re going to ditch him? Poor form.”
I’m getting a bad feeling.
All it takes is one look from Greg, and Dave hangs his head back.
“You’re both impossible,” he whines.
“David,” Greg says.
“Fine. West is ditching the rug rats and coming over.”
“You didn’t,” I beg.
“Of course I did. It’s me.”
“Move.” I shove him gently. “I’m definitely leaving now.”
Dave stays where he is, looking around like he can’t feel me jabbing his side. If he wasn’t so large, I’d climb over him.
“Greg, help?” I whine.
He chuckles, sharing a look with Dave. “Sorry, Jasper. Like he said, Daddy’s orders.” Unlike Dave, Greg can pull off the daddy thing. He’s only fifty-two, but his hair and beard are dark silver, and he looks like he could break you with one hand.
“You both suck.”
“You both suck,” Dave repeats in as close to a high-pitched voice as he can manage.
“If you’re going to keep me here, the least you can do is get me drunk.”
“Ohh, yes. Then West can take advantage of you. Greg?”
“On it.” He heaves out of the booth, looking way too excited.
“What have you done?” I ask Dave, feigning exasperation. Truthfully, I like his antics, but I can only see this ending badly.
“Hopefully I’m assisting in getting you laid.”
“Who says I want that?”
“Your face every time I catch you eye fucking the shit out of a certain man with a sexy ass.”
“I’ve told you, West—”
“Who said anything about West?” he asks innocently.
I’m not playing his game. “You. Like five seconds ago. Why are you so invested in this?”
“Because if I help hook you guys up, maybe then I’ll get some goddamn details.”
Greg clips him on the back of the head as he gets back with drinks. “Stop being a pest.”
“Yeah, Dave,” West says as he reaches our table, looking relaxed and sexy and … sexy. So sexy. “Stop being a pest, and get out of my seat.”
Dave, being a traitorous traitor, jumps up like his ass is on fire, which leaves West free to slide in next to me. Greg places a beer in front of him and leaves to get another one.
“The preschool kids go home?” I ask.
West shifts so our legs are almost touching. “To a club, actually.”
“And a young whippersnapper like you didn’t go with them?”
“I saw a table of old people and thought I should make sure they didn’t hurt themselves.”
“How charitable of you.”
“That’s me. A total giver.”
“A giver and a manwhore? What an anomaly.”
“Okay, you caught me.” His green eyes are fire as his smile takes over. “I just really have a thing for old dudes.”
“I’m only like, ten years older than you,” I grumble. Though wasn’t I feeling every single day of those ten years.
“You? I was talking about Dave.”
Dave starts to laugh and gestures to himself. “You’re only human.”
Greg gets back with his drink and nudges Dave over, which is the only thing that will stop his showboating, I swear.
“You must be the husband,” West says.
“Husband … parole officer …”
“He’s crazy in love, and don’t let him tell you otherwise.” Dave sniffs.
Greg eyes West for a moment. “And you must be the hockey player.”
“Coach,” West corrects before turning to me. “You could at least get the facts straight when you gush about me.”
“Why does that sound dirty?” I muse, then glance at Dave. “You hear that? Get the facts straight when you’re gossiping about him.”
“What? You’re saying you don’t talk about me?” West pretends to pout. “I’m hurt now.”
“I didn’t realize your ego was that fragile.”
“It’s the only fragile thing about me. As you’d know.”
Before I can respond, Greg cuts in. “So how did you two meet?”
“Jasper was being a dick to my poor, orphan brother, so I stopped by for a friendly conversation. Faculty to faculty.”