Page 21 of One of Them Girls

I want her to like my space.

“That game looks interesting,” Cassi smirks.

“Let me finish this game and X and I will teach you how to play.”

“Avi and I have a bet.” I smile as she uses the nickname she’s given me. “Whoever loses buys pizza. You in?”

Jack laughs. “Totally. Better be ready to pay up, sweet cheeks.”

I smack him across the back of the head. “Watch it.”

He chuckles. “No harm, no foul. Right, Cass?”

“Not at all. Now, what do these buttons do?” She holds up the controller.

She takes a seat on the vacant bean bag chair, leaving me to get on my bed. Not the best vantage point to be playing, but for her, it’s worth it.

After a quick lesson, we jump into a three player game. After the first couple minutes, I can see we’ve been duped.

Cassi’s better than we thought. She’s really fucking good. It’s hot as hell.

“Oh, did I kill you, sugar?” Cassi asks Jack, shooting a wink at me.

“How did you do that?” he grumbles.

“Beginner’s luck, I guess. Oops. I did it again.”

I chuckle, watching her play more than watching my screen. By the time the round is done, Jack tosses his controller down.

“You sandbagging little jerk. You knew how to play.”

She shrugs. “I like ham on my pizza. Ooh, and breadsticks.”

“Watch your girl, X. She’s a hustler,” Jack says as he calls the pizza place to put in our order.

“Where did you learn to play like that?” I turn to face her completely.

“My brother, Ryan. He played a lot when we were growing up. There wasn’t much else to do around the ranch, so we often played together. Sometimes with Jared, too. I guess when you spend hours at a time perfecting your skill so the boys don’t always slaughter you, it kind of sticks with you.”

I laugh. “I would’ve bought you pizza either way. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, but I feel like Jack needed to be reminded women are more than a nice ass and great rack.”

“You’re damn right they are. They’re a good lay too,” he says as he hangs up the phone.

Cassie smacks his arm. “We have brains too you know.”

“Oh, I know. I stay away from the smart ones like you, though. You’re the ones always wanting the big ‘M’ word.” He shivers. “I’m not ready for that yet.”

Cassi laughs. “Big, strong Jack’s scared of a little marriage talk, huh? You realize we’re in college, right? Not all women are looking to settle down and have kids at twenty.”

“What about you?” I ask, not sure why I want to know.

“Hell no. This is my first year in college. I don’t even know what I want right now. Marriage and kids? Sure, someday, but not right now. Are you telling me you want that?” she asks wide-eyed.

I shrug. “One day. If I found the right girl.”

“Well, I know I can’t even think about it without my skin crawling. Hell, I’ll probably never get married. Can we drop all this talking bullshit and get back to the game?”

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