Page 24 of Draft Pick

"I mean, Kappa girls are kinda wild," I said, hating that I cared. "But…when you say…run through them…what do you mean? Like he dated a lot of them?"

Sloane fixed me with a look that made me feel like an innocent child lost in the city. "Babe, he's a totalwhore. I'm not talking about dating… I'm talking orgies, threesomes, and some freaky shit that even Darby might find questionable. There's a rumor that he and his buddy Zayden tag-teamed this one girl — with her consent, so at least there's that — but it was some freaky shit.”

I had no right to feel territorial about Cason but suddenly, the coconut shrimp didn’t sit so well in my stomach. “Wouldn't something like that mess with his pro-athlete chances?” I asked, grasping at anything that might help make the rumor seem less credible.

"I doubt the NFL has a morality clause when they're scouting for the next big dick to swing around on the field."

Maybe so, but I didn't see Cason agreeing to something so crude. He was far more sensitive than that. Or maybe I just wanted him to be that I couldn't accept that he had played me.

Sloane softened, reaching for the last coconut shrimp. “Look, I say chalk up the experience to a fun adventure and then move on. He's not a forever kind of guy anyway and you had to know that going into this, right?"

I forced an airy laugh as if I wasn’t bothered at all. “Oh yeah, of course," I readily agreed, though it pinched. We'd gelled so well together. Usually, things were awkward with new people, but Cason and I had complimented each other so well that we skipped right past all that awkward stuff. We even enjoyed a similar taste in music, so there'd been no suffering through the other's musical choices as we drove to the beach. I tacked on, more for my benefit, “Just seems weird that we got along so well, only to have him bounce so soon.”

"Yeah, I get it, but you know, narcissists are really good at manipulating people into thinking that they're being genuine. It's their superpower."

I didn't like to think of Cason as a narcissist. Seemed mean, but maybe I was unwilling to admit the simple truth — he'd used me for sex, and then when he'd gotten his fill, he bounced.

I drew a deep breath, determined to smother the ache in my chest. "Well, his loss," I decided more confidently than I felt.

"Damn straight." Sloane heartily agreed, relieved to see me moving on. "Okay, so now that we have that out of the way, are you ready for school to start next month?"

"God no, but I'm ready to graduate and get an actual job so I can quit this place," I said.

Not that Funky Fusion wasn't a cool place to work — because it was —but I was ready to start adulting. Funky Fusion hired me during my freshman year. Even though I wasn't old enough to serve drinks, the owner put me in the kitchen washing dishes until I learned the ropes and became a server. I was the one who recommended Sloane for the hostess position last year. She nailed the interview; the next thing we knew, we were work buddies.

Although I'm not sure why Sloane insisted on a job when her boyfriend Bob was loaded, and he gave her anything she wanted.

I respected her work ethic, though.

Speaking of Bob… "When's the wedding?" I teased.

Sloane looked up, dropping a bomb. "Oh, we broke up. Last night actually."

My jaw unhinged. "Excuse me? What happened?"

"It was time to pull the plug. We just want different things. It's a blessing."

I didn't hide my suspicion. Sloane tended to get distracted by whatever walked her way, and sometimes that included a new guy, but Bob always seemed to be waiting to pick up the pieces. Honestly, it was fucked up for Bob. Sometimes I wanted to shake some sense into his head and tell him, “You deserve better, Bob,” but I tried to stay out of other people’s relationships for the same reason I didn’t read other people’s text messages — it was none of my business.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? Bob is so good to you."

"Yeah, he's a good guy," Sloane agreed, but she seemed bored with the topic of Bob. "But you know, sometimes streams have to go their separate way to find their way to the ocean."

Huh? That was a weird attempt at being philosophical. I narrowed my gaze. "Sloane…have you met someone new?"

Sloane brightened. "Actually, now that you mention it, I am talking to this amazing guy from my morning yoga class. He's so zen. I mean, he totally gets how life is completely random and the only thing we can control is ourselves. When I'm around him, I'm so filled with peace and my soul is quiet. I never realized how loud it was inside my head until I met Verve."

"Excuse me, his name is Verve?" I couldn't hide my expression or my curled lip. "Did his parents hate him or something?"

Sloane rolled her eyes. "That's not hisgivenname — his name is Tom or something — but the name he christened himself with when he found his purpose in life. Or something like that. Honestly, I kinda zoned out when he was going on about his journey because his eyes are this brilliant blue — almost alien-like — and yeah, so his name is Verve now. Quite the journey, though. Impressive."

"He sounds drunk on his own brand of bullshit," I returned dryly. Sloane was so predictable. I felt terrible for Bob but Sloane was my friend, and according to the girl code, I had to be on her side. However, there was nothing that said I couldn’t try to inject a tiny bit of reason into my friend’s head.

"Sloane…I don't want to overstep but can I offer an observation?" I ventured, treading cautiously.

"Sure," Sloane chirped, not the least bit offended. "Shoot."

"Okay, is it possible that your relationship with your dad might be causing you to run away from commitment? I mean, Bob is really good to you and you keep dumping him whenever the wind blows someone new and different your way. Until you tire of that guy — because frankly, they always seem to be on the weird side, no offense — and then you run back to Bob, swearing thatthistime you're never going to do that again…only you do. The roller coaster has to be exhausting."

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