Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 103721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Dawson mirrors his dad’s tomato-colored face, and I take great pride in the fact that I can piss them both off so greatly. Especially when I know Coach isn’t his dad on the ice; he’s his coach. He’s told Dawson over and over again, if he wants to play, he has to work for it. Problem is, the kid doesn’t know if he wants to play football or hockey. For some of us, there aren’t two options. But if it were me, I’d choose hockey.
Hockey is life.
“Don’t poke the bull if you aren’t ready for the horns,” I tease as I pull off my jersey and then my girdle. “Let me know when you’re ready to start working for it, eh?”
That shuts Dawson right up as I finish taking everything off. As I head into the shower with a towel around my waist, I find Penny is leaning against the locker room door. She’s pulling her long strawberry-blond hair up into a high ponytail as her crystal-blue eyes meet mine. “You don’t have to be so hard on him.”
I flash her a wide grin. Penny is a gorgeous girl, tall like her Swedish daddy but curvy like her mom. I know she has a thing for me, but she wants a relationship. I’m not doing relationships. I might hook up here and there, but I can’t bring myself to take the leap with her—or, really, anyone. I want to say I don’t know why, but I do know why. I just don’t like admitting it. “Kid gets on my nerves.”
She laughs. “If I remember correctly, you were an annoying kid at one point.”
“I still am,” I say with a wink as I head into the showers, and I’m followed by her laughter. It’s nice laughter. Carefree, fun. A laughter I could enjoy.
If I didn’t want to hear someone else’s laugh instead.
Chapter Two
Cameron
My leg bounces as I check the insights of my latest post on TikTok. The video is of me getting ready for my morning practice, and I made sure to mention and tag the products I used during the day. Thankfully, it already has over sixty thousand likes and thousands of comments. I make a mental note to do another practice video at the end of the week, and then I check my insights for my commissions on the products I mentioned in last week’s outfit haul. Everything is going great; I’m making money, and my final gymnastics season is upon me.
Some would say I’m living the life.
I’m not some.
I am stressed beyond the max by this upcoming media push for our gymnastics team. Since I am a senior, the captain of the team, and it’s my last year, I want to go out with a bang. Not only that, but also my grade in my last marketing class depends on it. It’s a yearlong class, so it’s vital for my graduation.
I have been running the social media accounts for the Bullies gymnastics team since my freshman year, once I realized being a dentist was not my passion. Being an influencer is great; I make good money and don’t have to depend on my mom and dad. Plus, since I’m not sure if I want to travel before I get a job, I can support myself fully wherever I go. The only downside to the influencer life is the creeps and haters, who come out all the time, and that is exhausting in itself.
I could go for a week in bed, watching trash TV and eating snacks.
When I hear the dressing room door shut, I turn off my phone and tuck it between my thighs as my best friend, Callie, comes out. The beauty of her in her wedding dress is so overwhelming that I forget every ounce of the stress that is weighing me down. The bodice of the dress is made of lace with butterflies embroidered throughout it. The bodies of the butterflies are made of crystals. The neckline is a halter since Callie has been a bit self-conscious about her breasts since she had to get a replacement set put in after she fell into the bars last year and popped her left implant. Her sister and I tried to talk her into waiting until after the season for her replacement set, but she said she didn’t feel like a woman without them and she didn’t want to push Evan’s and her wedding back.
Since she’s my best friend, I support whatever she wants. I could never fathom the emotional toll of having your breasts removed as a teenager as a preventive measure, and in my eyes, Callie is a fucking queen. But I get it. She’s also waited years to marry Evan, so I understand.
The neckline of the bodice is studded with billions of crystals, and the back of her dress is open, showing off her totally ripped and toned back. The skirt is an off-white silk fabric that clings to the curves of her hips and then flows out, with a slit up to the top of her thigh. Stunning. Callie is just perfectly stunning.