Page 3 of Afterglow
Austin smirks as he takes in one of the three girls. I hit him on the shoulder lightly. “Don’t worry, I’ll put in a good word with her friends.”
Nothing is stopping me talking to the mysterious girl, it’s as if a string is tugging me towards her. I stride over the group, confidence written across my body.
I pause in front of them before interrupting.
“Hey pretty ladies, mind if I steal your friend for a while?”
One of the girls blushes and remains silent, turning her head away slightly. The other beams at me with a devious smile.
“Of course,” the black-haired girl says, before checking over my shoulder. “One condition though,”
I raise my eyebrows, silently asking for her rule. She could ask me to do anything, illegal or not and I’d do it no questions asked, if the blonde would be mine for the night. “Name it,”
“Sofia,” the blonde hisses, as if she doesn’t want to be near me.
I won’t take it to heart, Princess.
Princess.
The nickname appears in the forefront of my mind. My first interaction with girls begins with lust. But, something else about this particular blonde is drawing my attention. I don’t like it. One-night stands are the best way to keep me protected from heartbreak.
I shake these thoughts away bringing my attention back to one of the other girls in the group—Sofia, if I heard correctly,
“We get to steal your friends. I saw you come in with them,” Sofia points to Colt and Austin.
My hand shot up from beside my body for her to shake. “You have yourself a deal, Sofia.”
Sofia’s hand clamped mine, squeezing the life out of it. Jesus. If this is my warning not to hurt her friend, consider me warned. Sofia releases my hand and wriggles her eyebrows at the blonde. She is baring her teeth, addin an intense gaze and you’ve got a girl who wants nothing to do with me.
She ticks every box.
The other two girls leave us alone, a charismatic smile pulls at my lips. But she rolls her eyes.Again.
“If you think your charming smile is going to work on me, you’ve picked the wrong girl.”
Ouch, Princess.
“I stopped listening when you said I was charming. I’m Theodore Knight,”
She is hard to read, but that makes her even more alluring. And not falling for my charms, well that makes her an anomaly.
The brief silence between us isn’t awkward as her eyebrows pull toward each other. Every second that passes between us makes me want to do something to stop her brain from overthinking. It’s as if she can’t turn it off.
Finally, she sighs.
“Jazmine Allen,”
I cough up my drink, patting my chest to clear my throat. What are the fucking chances? Memories of my mum and I flash across my mind in small bursts.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I finish my drink and focus on the girl in front of me. “How about a bet?”
A grin tugs on her mouth, replacing her previously forced smile. I don’t know what’s more attractive, that or her competitive spirit.
“What do you have in mind?” she asks, emptying her cup down her throat.
Fucking hell. This girl will be the death of me. “A game of pool. If I win, you have to give me your number,”
