Page 20 of Rise Above

“Mine’s been a breeze.” Aife stuck her tongue out

at him. “Just learn to write better.” Her tone was joking.

He nudged her shoulder. “We can’t all be amazing

at writing. You do it more than I do anyway.”

“What papers?” My curiosity about this woman was

getting the better of me again.

“Our dissertations. Aife is getting her PhD in social

work.”

Fuck, she was smart too. I licked my suddenly dry

lips. Why was this woman getting to me? I’d been successfully ignoring women for nearly two years. Yet somehow, this one was getting under my skin with every new piece of information I learned about her.

“That’s impressive,” I said voice low. It was quiet,

even for me.

A blush lit up her cheeks. Was she affected by me

too? “Thanks. It’s really not that impressive though. Plenty of people go on and get their doctorates.”

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Before I could respond further, someone’s phone

went off. Aife jumped and pulled her cell out, frowning at the name on the screen. “Excuse me for a moment.”

I watched her get up and head outside to take the

call. My eyes roamed her retreating form. She had a perky, muscular ass, toned legs, and strong shoulders. I found myself wondering how soft her skin was. Fuck, I mentally slapped myself. Women were a distraction I didn’t need. Her especially. Clearly, I wanted her, and not just sexually.

“Stop eye fucking her, TJ.” Davis’s stern voice

finally brought my eyes back to the table. “She doesn’t need a relationship, and you aren’t willing to be in one.”

Ducking my head, I just offered a nod. We both

knew he was right. Relationships were not my speed anymore. The last one I was in nearly broke me as a person and player. Zeke and Davis had seen that and pulled me out of the depths of my despair. None of us wanted that again; it had nearly destroyed me.

We waved goodbye to the women and decided to

head to my condo. It had been a hot minute since the three of us had hung out, just us. Jefferson decided to head back to his own dorm and finish some homework, and I was

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excited to spend time with my two best friends. Despite seeing Zeke nearly every day, we didn’t get to just hang out and be stupid anymore. I missed it.

The three of us sat down on my couch, beers in