Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 133655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
I weave through the crowd of rowdy partygoers, reaching up to hold my ear as we pass one of the giant speakers they have set up in the back sun-room area of the dining room and looking back over my shoulder to make sure Ace is with me. He puts his hand to my back in reassurance, and I smile as I force my way through the last little clump of people to get to Lexi, Scottie, and Finn.
Today was Lexi’s official graduation from grad school. She’s now the proud owner of two PhDs and will most likely be winning Nobel Prizes, curing cancer, and creating the world’s most valuable AI technology in the next year or two.
There’s smart, and then there’s Lexi smart. Trust me, they’re different.
I’ve known Lexi Winslow my whole life, and right now, she looks a little like a fish out of water. That shouldn’t be a surprise, given Ace practically forced her here on the excuse that this will be the last college party she’ll ever attend, but for as rowdy as these Tau guys get and as dirty as this place is, she’s hanging in pretty well.
“Holy shit!” Ace exclaims from behind me, barreling forward to wrap an enthusiastic arm around Finn’s shoulders and rock him back and forth. “Is Finnley Hayes enjoying an alcoholic beverage tonight?” Finn is holding a red Solo cup, which is out of character for him, given his family’s abusive history with alcohol. I’d never judge him for drinking or choosing not to—and Ace wouldn’t either. He just sometimes forgets his damn manners.
Finn rolls his eyes. “It’s Mountain Dew.”
“Fuck me.” Ace groans. “And I thought you weren’t going to be lame for once.”
“Stop being a dick, Acer,” I chastise, shoving Ace in the chest. He’s extra hyper tonight, and while I know good and well he’s not an asshole, he has a tendency to get overly excited and sound like one. “You’re like one of those bullies on an after-school special, trying to get everyone to drink his parents’ booze.”
Ace cracks up. “Damn, Jules. Don’t hold back.”
I smile, saccharine and sugar all at once, and he moves to me, wrapping me under his arm tightly and tucking me into his armpit. I roll my eyes but melt into him, looking up at the jubilation shining from his handsome brown eyes.
He only moved out of my apartment yesterday afternoon after the extermination fogging took two days longer than expected, and as much as it pains me to admit, I miss having him in my space and bed all the time. He looks down at me like he might feel the same, and an unexpected flock of butterflies skims the inside of my stomach with frantic wings. Kayla sidles up to the group and says her hellos, and Ace seizes my teasing as an opportunity to take a trip down memory lane.
“Remember when we got drunk on your dad’s scotch our sophomore year of high school?”
I laugh. “Remember? I still hear about it to this day! We filled his Oban single malt with water, for Pete’s sake. We didn’t even put food coloring or anything. A couple of idiots. He found it, like, the next night and reamed us into next week.”
“Is your dad scary?” Kayla asks, and I shake my head.
“No. My dad is like the nicest guy on the planet. But we both felt bad about making him feel bad, and ultimately Ace’s dad ended up punishing us for making his best friend weepy.”
“Weepy?” Kayla cracks up.
“Yeah, that’s all my dad,” Ace interjects. “Leave it to him to call a man like Kline Brooks weepy. He wasn’t, by the way. He was the scariest I’d ever seen him when he talked about me needing to do a better job of protecting Julia and that I should have taken the fall completely. He’s a real man of respect, you know? Car doors, sidewalks, trouble—he thinks the guy should always take the fall. And truthfully, I agree with him. I can’t believe I didn’t then, but I was a dumbass high schooler. It was a good, very important lesson to learn.”
“What, now you’d take the fall for me any day?” I ask, my voice undeniably cocky.
“In a fucking heartbeat,” Ace responds without hesitation. “Yes, Officer, I am the murderer, and yes, I do wear red lipstick.”
I laugh, smiling up at him, and take my purse off my shoulder to slide it on his. “Cute purse, sir.”
He poses boisterously. “Thanks. I have impeccable style.”
Finn rolls his eyes when Scottie looks up at him to smile, but when I glance over at Lexi to make sure she’s doing okay, I find her staring across the room, her expression mildly horrified.
I follow her line of sight and find Blake dancing with some sorority girl, and just behind him, a group of frat brothers pull their pants down to do questionable things in the open bowl of punch.