Page 31 of Counter Bet

I listen to his steady heartbeat beneath my ear.

“You’re beautiful when you smile.”

I can’t stop thinking about her. Every time my phone pings, my heart does a somersault.

I lift my head off Rick’s chest, reach for my phone on the nightstand, and take a selfie of us. I upload it to Instagram. When I check my notifications, I notice Dallas has started following me.

The annoying butterflies return.

My hands tremble slightly as I follow her back. I go to Ben’s page and follow him too. It’s probably not the smartest move I’ve made, but curiosity killed the cat, as they say.

I check to make sure Rick is engrossed in the movie, then scoot up in bed and reach for a pillow to use behind my back.

Ben’s page is filled with photographs of him and his friends. I scroll through and spot several of Dallas too. In one, she sits on Ben’s broad shoulders with her tongue out. I also find one of her asleep on Ben’s lap.

I stop scrolling.

Ben is looking down on her sleeping form with a soft smile.

It’s said a picture speaks more than a thousand words. In this case, it’s true. Ben cares about Dallas. I can see it in his smile.

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise when I read the caption.

“Though she be but little she is fierce.”

Shakespeare. Ben pays attention in class, after all.

I glance at Rick. He’s scratching his jaw and chuckling at a funny part in the movie. His dark hair is still damp from showering after football practice.

Does he look at me like that?

I turn my attention back to the phone in my hand.

I’ve gone to the same school as Ben my whole life, but I never paid much attention to him until now. He was never on my radar before, but there’s something about him that I can’t unsee. My body lights up like a fucking firecracker whenever he enters the room.

“Are you okay?” Rick asks, shifting on the bed.

My heart jolts.

I angle my phone away. “I’m fine.” I may look calm on the outside but on the inside…

Satisfied with my reply, Rick turns his attention back to the movie.

I slump in relief. I haven’t technically done anything wrong. I’m just looking at photographs, right? Never mind that this particular person happens to make my clit throb with its own heartbeat.

My fingers tremble as I browse through Ben’s page and pause to look at a photo dump of him and his friend Josh. They’re sitting shirtless at the edge of a jetty with their feet in the water, looking over their shoulder at the camera.

I suck my bottom lip between my teeth and trail my eyes over Ben’s broad back, lost in the intricate details of his tattoos. There’s a skull with a tilted crown on its head, a script tattoo on his left rib, and a steampunk clockwork tattoo. On his left wrist, a set of leather wristbands bring attention to his sexy forearms.

I swipe to the next photograph and get rewarded with a frontal shot of his bare chest. He’s got a nice six-pack and a smatter of dark hairs that lead down to a mouthwatering ‘V’.

He’s standing next to Matt with a fishing rod in his hand, his head thrown back mid-laugh.

Rick shifts on the bed as the credits start rolling, so I hurry to lock the screen, placing the phone on the nightstand before straddling his lap.

My clit throbs.

I trap my lip between my teeth and roll my hips, whimpering with need. “I missed you, baby.”

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