Page 114 of Against the Clock

CHAPTER 43

KELSEY

Cameron won’t tell me what happened between her and Jacob.

She doesn’t seem thrilled by it, but she’s not crying or ranting, so I’m going to count it as a win. We sit at one of the tables in the back, separated from the actual donors who purchased tables at the benefit and the football players… most of them, at least.

Rhett’s at our table, and from the sloppy way he’s eating, and chugging a beer, he’s drunk.

And he’s not any more pleasant for it, either.

The music and conversation slowly dies off, and Daniel walks onto the dais at the front of the room.

“He’s your boyfriend?” Rhett asks, a disgusted look on his face. Or maybe that’s just his normal expression.

“You’re unpleasant,” Cameron tells him.

Rhett grunts unpleasantly.

I sigh. It’s just the three of us at this table. Whoever else was supposed to sit here didn’t show up. I don’t blame them. I feel gorgeous, and Cameron is usually great company, but overall?

This is not exactly my scene.

Rhett puts a fist over his mouth and Cameron grimaces, skewering him with a look.

“You have the table manners of a rabid dog,” she tells him.

He glares at her. “Your friend is mean,” he tells me.

“Shush,” I say. “Daniel’s going to give a speech.”

“No one gives a fuck,” Rhett says, taking a long draw from his bottle of beer.

“I give a fuck.”

“That’s because you’re fucking him.” Rhett gives me a meaningful look, and a smile breaks across his face.

I blink. It’s the first time I’ve seen him smile. Ever. Not even during the poker night did he grin. There were a few times I thought he might, but nope.

It would transform his face from brutal into handsome, were it not for the glimmer of cruelty in his dark eyes.

“You know, princess, if you wanted to take a real footballer for a ride, I wouldn’t mind helping you out.”

“The fuck?” Cameron scoots further away from him. “Shut up.”

My jaw flexes as I pointedly ignore him, trying to listen to Daniel. The stage is too far away, though, and I all manage to catch are snatches of words. Based on the reaction of the audience, though, he’s killing it. They laugh, make murmurs of approval or sympathy.

“I mean it, Kelsey Cole,” Rhett says, leaning over the table. “I may not be the pretty quarterback, but I could show you a good time.”

“Not interested.” I stand up, annoyed that I can’t hear my boyfriend and grossed out by Rhett’s drunken perving. “Cameron, come on, let’s go to the bathroom.”

Applause breaks out, and I make a beeline for the ballroom door, which, thankfully, isn’t far away. Cameron’s on my heels, or at least I think it’s Cameron.

Until Rhett’s hand grips my shoulder, spinning me around.

“What is it, Kelsey? Am I not good enough for you?”

I stare at him, caught between real fear of him and disbelief that he won’t leave me alone. “It has nothing to do with you, Rhett. I love Daniel.”

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