Page 14 of Time to Bounce

Way younger than me.

Thirteen years, to be exact.

Way too young for me.

Way too… wild.

I was ready to settle down.

After years of undercover work, I just wanted to find someone who could be calm with me.

Athena was anything but calm.

And why would I go down that particular path unless I was sure I was going to stay on it?

“There’s no way she’ll want anything to do with me,” I muttered.

The woman hadn’t given me a single inkling that she was interested.

Every time we’d conversed in last year, she’d been a giant pain in the ass, and I’d given as good as I’d gotten.

Even worse, she was smarter than me.

Maven had said she was smart.

But from what I’d learned, I knew that she was more than just smart.

She was a fuckin’ genius.

She used that genius for evil.

“It’s her,” Wizard said. “Or you’re out.”

I gritted my teeth.

I knew this was something that they did, too.

They chose someone.

Sometimes they were ugly as fuck. Sometimes they were disgusting. Sometimes they were the exact opposite of anything you ever wanted.

But once the president and VP gave you a woman, you had to either take it, or leave.

And I couldn’t fucking leave.

God. Dammit.

I stood up and headed toward Athena, mad as fuck that she was here.

This night had completely gone to shit.

I passed by Merchant, who gave me a wary look.

He knew.

He’d had to do much the same as me, but his girl had been a hot tits who was a grade ten clinger.

He still couldn’t shake her off, and it’d been eighteen months.

---