Misadventures of a Rookie (Misadventures #11)(6)

I beamed over at her. “Just a full year.”

“Oh, I can tell. You have a slight wiggle to you now.”

I laughed. “I just hate how cocky and entitled he is.” I rolled my eyes, reaching for my Jack and Coke. “Like I’m supposed to give him my name, or stroke his ego, or let him shove his cock up my ass. Please. I have better things to do, like clean my bathroom.”

That had all the girls laughing as we gathered around the table. There were six ice girls, and while I normally didn’t do well in big girl-group settings, I did fine with these girls. Probably because, for the most part, we all had the same goals. Their only drama usually had to deal with the shitty guys they dated. Of course, I didn’t date. We all wanted to get through school and make something of ourselves. They tended to sleep with players on the team, but I had bigger plans, and getting distracted by a big doofus of a rookie was not in the cards.

Hell, I didn’t have time for anyone, to be honest.

Not even myself.

Which was one of the main points that Lizzy had thrown in my face when she encouraged me to come out.

“Well, Bo, if you were looking for a good time, Persson was your best bet. He’s great in bed,” Shania informed me. She had slept with him and was begging for another shot.

“He is,” Natalie agreed. “So damn good.”

“And he’s so damn dreamy,” Melanie said with a wide grin. “Like so hot. Gah, how do you say no?”

“Easy. No,” I said, and she laughed while everyone shook their heads in disbelief.

“He’s a one-and-done kind of guy. Great for someone who doesn’t want a relationship,” Maci said with a saucy grin. “Like you.”

I let out a laugh. “I don’t care what he does or who he does it with. He is not the guy for me, one time or not. I have more self-respect than to get with a guy who just wants me for sex.”

Lizzy shook her head. “You’re insane. I’d let him put it in every hole I have.”

Everyone sputtered with laughter.

“Even your ear?” Natalie asked.

She nodded, dead serious. “Even my nose.”

I gawked at her. “Could you imagine how awful that would be? And then come in your nose?”

That had everyone basically falling over themselves laughing, the whole room filling with our hilarity. Damn, it felt good. So damn good. I just wished it wasn’t about Gus Fucking Persson. I rolled my eyes as I leaned back on the bar stool, glancing around the room, but that didn’t last before my gaze was trapped by his.

Gus’s.

Damn it.

He was staring at me, his eyes so dark, no longer the beautiful green moss that I liked—well, admired. I didn’t like anything about the guy. His shoulders were back as he leaned into the pool stick he was holding, and his gaze was downright corrupt. It was almost like he was undressing me. Like he didn’t care that I’d just told him off. He still wanted to pounce on me, and I didn’t understand how that made me feel.

Or better yet, I didn’t like how it made me feel.

When his buddy smacked his chest, taking his attention away from me, I thanked the gods above and went back to gossiping with my friends. I couldn’t handle his gaze. The more our eyes stayed locked, the more I had to fight the pull that was between us. That was the reason I’d told him off, because I refused to be the girl I was—the one I used to be. I refused to go back to the position I came from.

Nope, that wasn’t going to happen.

As the night went on, the drinks started flowing, and I was really glad I’d come out. I already liked the girls, but getting to know them outside of school and work was awesome. We were all cut from the same cloth, and I liked that.

“I lived in a trailer,” Lizzy said with a laugh. “I was straight trailer trash, but then my mom married this movie producer, and all of a sudden, we were rich. It was insane.”

“No way!” Maci yelled. “You’re rich?”

She scoffed. “My stepdad is. I mean, he spoils me and pays for my apartment, but I’m not rich.”

I reached over and grabbed her shoulder with my hand. “Your dad pays for the apartment?”

She grinned. “He pays my half.”

“And you couldn’t get him to pay mine?”

“He does.”

I glared at her.

“Sometimes,” she admitted, “I revert back to my trailer park ways and pocket the money.”

We all laughed, and I glared again. “That is rude.”

“I know. I’m sorry. You understand, right? You’re a fellow trailer parker.”

I laughed as I shook my head. “Actually, I grew up blue collar. I had to work for everything I wanted, and because of it, I wanted big things.”

“I can tell,” she said with a grim smile. “You aren’t mad, are you?”

“Nah, I pay my way, and if that helps you out, that’s awesome.”

She let out a breath. “You’re the best. And to think, guys, we could have lost her to Stanford.”

Everyone gasped and looked at me.

“Huh? Really? You chose MPT over Stanford?” Shania asked, her brows pulled together. “Are you crazy?”

I waved her off. “I had plans to go to Stanford to be a doctor, but—” I stopped short, blinking a few times. Man, I was a tad drunk. How had I almost said that? Shit. “I didn’t get in, and boom, I’m going to school for PT.” I waved my hands in the air for emphasis, and thankfully everyone laughed at me.