One of Them Girls by Cala Riley (the gingerbread man read aloud txt) 📕

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?”

“Jack,” I warn.

Cassi laughs. “I thought you would never shut up. Let’s get back to me whooping your ass.”

As we continue to play, I glance over at Cassi more and more. She’s beautiful, sure, but I’ve never met anyone like her. She has this feisty personality that makes her shine that much brighter. Add in the mouth like a sailor, and she’s a catch.

I find myself comparing her to Tinsley. Tinsley’s beautiful, with a soul made for a saint. She’s always so sweet and forgiving.

I can’t imagine her ever wanting to play a video game, let alone owning us guys as she does it.

Tinsley’s an angel, but Cassi? She’s a firecracker.

“Stop staring at my tits and play the game, Avi,” Cassi bumps into me, gaining my attention again.

“Can’t help it. Listening to some of those words fly out of your mouth, I had to look to make sure you were real.”

“Never heard a woman curse before? Buckle up, buddy. This is going to be a long night.”

A long night it is, but I wouldn’t trade a minute of it.

Cassi

“Come on, lazybones. Up in the bed you go.”

I smile and crack my eyes open. “What are you doing?”

Xavier lifts me easily into his arms, standing. He places me on his bed, pulling the blanket over me.

“You fell asleep on the floor. It looked uncomfortable.” He brushes a piece of hair away from my face.

I scoot over and pat the spot beside me. It’s a twin-size bed, so it will be a squeeze, but fuck if I don’t want to get up and go home right now.

“You can take the bed. Don’t worry about it. I’ll take the floor,” Xavier leans down to grab a pillow, but I grab his arm instead, pulling him down next to me.

“We are two adults who are old enough to share a bed. This way, we both get to be comfortable,” I reason with him.

“Are you sure? I really can sleep on the floor.”

“Stop arguing with me and get in here.”

He finally slides under the blanket next to me, but tries to give me space. I squash that real quick, cuddling into his chest. He stiffens.

“You can touch me, you know. I’m not going to melt,” I tease.

His hand reluctantly comes to rest on my side.

“There you go,” I quip.

He chuckles. “You don’t give anyone a break, do you?”

I smile against his chest. “Nope. When you grow up with a brother and his best friend who’s there just as much as he is, you learn to get some thick skin. I don’t know how to act any other way.”

“So you can hang out like just one of the boys?” he asks.

I purse my lips before speaking. “I suppose you could look at it that way. In high school, guys seemed reluctant to date me. Sometimes it was because of my brother, but others I don’t think they could handle that I could give as good as I could take.”

“It can be intimidating to some guys. Having a woman who can do the things they can do. Let me guess, you can change the oil in your car yourself.”

“My car, my parents, the tractor. You name it and I can probably change the oil. Hell, most parts honestly. That’s not from being raised with boys, though. That’s all my dad. He wanted me to know how to take care of myself. Besides, living on a ranch meant taking care of things yourself. Daddy never hired anyone to come tend to his machinery.”

“Fuck, I shouldn’t say this while you’re in my arms, but you keep getting hotter and hotter.”

“Oh, so I don’t intimidate you?” I quip.

“You do. For all I know, you’re about to chop my dick off or you’re about to kiss me, but fuck, that just makes you sexier.”

“You say that now, but if you dated me, my mouth would get old real quick.”

He pulls back so I tilt my face up to look at him.

“I don’t know who you dated in the past, but there’s nothing wrong with your mouth. Hell, if I was in a better place mentally, I would do many things with that mouth.”

His eyes glance to my lips. My tongue sneaks out, wetting it. I think I hear him mutter something like “fuck it,” but I can’t be sure because the beating of my heart drowns it out.

Just when our lips are about to meet, a sudden, loud noise in the room startles us a part.

“Fucking gross ass roommate of mine,” Xavier mutters.

My hand flies over my mouth as I try to withhold the laughter. “Did he just fart?”

“Yes, that fucking cockblock.”

I press my face into his chest as I let the laughter flow. A few seconds later, I feel Xavier’s chest shake with his own amusement.

“I think that was a sign we should go to sleep. We have class tomorrow,” he says.

“We do,” I agree.

He pulls me in closer before whispering in my ear. “‘Night, Adra.”

“‘Night, Avi.”

In the warmth of his arms, I allow myself to drift into a peaceful sleep.

I startle awake at the slamming door.

“Fuck, why are you always so goddamn loud, Jack?” Xavier murmurs into my hair.

I breathe in his scent as I cuddle closer to his chest. I feel completely content as I hear the beating of his heart beneath my ear.

His hand reaches