Page 27 of Striking Range

“Hey there,” I greet. “I’m Everett.”

“I know.” She smirks as she shakes my hand, her eyes sizing me up. “You with someone tonight?”

“I’m not.”

She places herself right next to me, a hand wrapping around my bicep and squeezing softly. “Good. Now you are.”

She’s beautiful—exactly what I would normally go for. Ashley looks like a girl who knows what she wants; like she’d want me to lay her down and tell her how perfect she is, how great she feels. Like she’d make me worship her.

Only, as she squeezes my bicep like this, I can’t help thinking of the bathroom last night; of Skylar stopping me from leaving before opening his mouth to give me a taste.

Almost instinctively, I search for him. He’s behind the bar where I left him, emptying cups into a built-in, stainless-steel sink. But Skylar is already watching me, his eyes flickering between Ashley and where her hand is grasping me. As he catches my stare, he turns away, ever so calm and collected as if he’s barely noticed me anyway.

I just can’t fucking read him sometimes.

“You’re a business major, right?” Ashley asks me, pulling my attention back to her.

“Yeah, what about you?”

She nods. “Me too. We’ve had a few courses together the past couple of years.”

How I haven’t noticed her until now, I’m unsure. She is fucking beautiful.

“Huh. And we’re just now meeting?”

Ashley grins even harder, angling her body further into mine. “A damn shame, huh? I was in a long-term relationship until this past summer, so I didn’t really hang around a lot of guys.”

“That makes sense. And very good of you, as a girlfriend, I mean,” I compliment.

She blushes as she peers up at me. “Thanks. I thought so too.”

We stare at each other for a long moment, all smiles and warm eyes, and I try to imagine a future where it’s me on the other end of her kindness. Where I’m the boyfriend she respects boundaries for, and we go on cringey dates.

“So, what are you going to do with your degree?” I ask, mostly to keep the conversation flowing rather than out of actual interest.

I fucking hate business.

She considers the question for a moment before replying, “I’m considering opening my own bookstore. I love reading, and I want to be in that environment.”

“Oh, wow, that’s cool as shit.”

And a bit surprising. She doesn’t look like a book nerd; I’d steer more toward the sorority girl type, if anything.

“I’m hoping to get out of Sinclair before I pick a location, though. I’m thinking…” Her voice fades away as my eyes trail back to the bar, spotting Kelly talking to a girl I’m not familiar with.

But more importantly than that, I notice a guy I don’t recognize, leaning over the bar top on his forearms—all bulging muscles and lazy smiles. He’s definitely bigger than me, maybe even bigger than Dante, and his black hair is neatly styled.

I can only make out the side of his face, his full lips, so I can’t see much more than his profile. But I can see the way he’s devouring Skylar with his stare as they converse.

Skylar is pouring him a handful of shots—what appears to be Crown—and they’re laughing, Skylar grinning widely. The guy looks like he’s winning some kind of game, like his night is improving by the second.

And I bet it fucking is.

Kelly approaches the two of them, shaking hands with the giant before saying something to Skylar, the three of them laughing again.

As she disappears, the guy extends a hand, and I watch Skylar’s eyes widen before he hands over a pen from behind the bar. He scribbles something onto a napkin as Skylar’s smooth cheeks blush fully.

But his gaze—that is the biggest problem. Those big blue eyes are no longer cold and vicious, but so innocently shy and just begging, begging for someone to show him what being touched will feel like. To teach him.