Fair Game (The Rules #1)(79)

Besides, I don’t want to share any dirty details with my friend. I have before. Not gonna lie. Hell, we’ve compared notes, given each other high fives, toasted our good fortune and discovery of good *.

But I can’t say anything like that about Jade. She…means something to me. What, I’m not quite sure yet. No way can I tell Gabe how much I love the way she smells. How the sound of her moans makes my body quake. The way her * clasps around my dick and squeezes so tight I swear I’m gonna blow like an inexperienced kid…

I have a boner just thinking about her. Jesus.

“You really like her.” When I offer a jerky nod, Gabe continues. “That’s good, man. I’m glad.”

Okay, I didn’t expect that response. “You’re glad?”

“Sure.” Gabe shrugs. “If she makes you happy, I’m happy. I’ve never seen you pursue a girl so aggressively like this one. I figure she must be something special.”

My heart squeezes. Look what she’s done to me. I’m such a f*cking sap. “She is,” I agree quietly. “I can’t even put my finger on why.”

I’m a liar. I like how she looks at me. The things she says to me. She’s feisty one minute and sweet and sexy the next. I like pushing her beyond her boundaries. I f*cking love the way she tastes. She makes me smile. She makes me laugh. Yes, she’s a challenge and I like that too. She doesn’t care who I am or what I have. She’s never once asked me about my family or how much money we have. Nothing like that. Sometimes it’s like she can barely tolerate me and I sort of like that too. It’s weird.

But it works. I don’t want to mess it up. We’re still too tentative, our relationship is still too new. One wrong move, one wrong thing said, and I could seriously screw this up. I can’t afford to do that.

“I’m happy for you man. This is f*cking tremendous.” I wonder if he’s been drinking. Tremendous is not a normal part of Gabe’s vocabulary. “Me? I’d rather bang a bunch of chicks through college and then deal with real life when I’ve graduated. A relationship can wait. I never thought I’d say this but with the way you’re acting about this girl, I’m thinking you might be ready. Which is f*cking unbelievable but whatevs dude. What the f*ck ever,” Gabe explains, a crooked smile on his face.

Yeah. I think he’s been drinking. We have our own self-imposed rules. We don’t get trashed while on duty during gambling nights. But a few beers are usually harmless.

“You really think you’re happy banging a bunch of chicks through college?” I ask incredulously. I’d pin him as lonely but maybe I’m wrong. Maybe he’s not. Perhaps he likes the man-whore rep he has going on, the one I’m now dying to shed.

“Real life is barreling down on me. I have one more year of college and then it’s responsibility time.” Gabe’s voice and expression are grim. “I need to have as much fun as possible my senior year. This one is pretty much a bust. It’s been good, don’t get me wrong, but it’s over and done with. This summer I’m stuck with the fam, hanging out with them.” He snorts. “And that’s gonna suck.”

“Where you going anyway?” His family started in oil, though they’ve moved on to a variety of investments that has yielded them extremely high returns. He’s originally from Texas, though I don’t know when Gabe last spent any specific amount of time in Texas. He hates it there. He much prefers the climate of the central California coast, not that I can blame him. I like it too.

He rolls his eyes. “Practically down the damn road. We’ll be staying in Santa Barbara for the summer. My parents rented a house there.”

“Nice.” The Walkers never do anything half assed. If they’re going to summer in Santa Barbara, they’ll do it in style. “Big mansion right on the beach?”

“Probably. I don’t know. I assume it’ll be some obnoxious house with fifty rooms and twice as many servants.” He hangs his head, talking down to his shoes. “I’m sure I’ll find some rich bitch to f*ck for the summer. What else is new, right?”

Damn, he’s sort of bringing me down. I remember last summer when he spent it with his family in the Hamptons. That’s exactly what he did—found some lonely housewife whose husband only came to visit for the weekends. Gabe regaled us with stories about f*cking the chick every which way he could get her throughout the summer. Blonde and stacked, in her thirties and lonely as hell, he claimed he’d had a great time.

I don’t know though. It sounded sort of…sad. Not that I ever said that to him.

“Why do you go?”

Gabe lifts his head. “I don’t have much choice. They force me. Claim that we’re one big happy family and we need to spend as much time together as possible before I go off and get married.” He makes a face. “My mother already has a few girls lined up that she thinks are perfect candidates. Like they’re running for political office or something.”

They are. Anyone who marries Gabe will need to have the most pristine reputation ever. He’ll probably need to find a virgin to meet his parents’ approval, like that’ll be easy.

“That’s why you’re lucky,” Gabe continues, his tone wistful. “You like a girl, you go after her until she’s yours. Now you’re going out with Jade and you don’t have your family breathing down your neck, asking what her bloodline is, who she’s related to, if she’s up to their standards. This is why I f*ck around, dude. I will never measure up. The girl I might fall in love with someday? Swear to God, I’ll pick out a chick I know they’ll hate just to piss them off.”