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

something that we want to do?”

“Sounds good,” I say, reaching down and taking her hand in mine.

I see Cassi duck her head as we walk, but not before I caught the hint of a smile.

Walking around, none of the rides or games catch our attention.

“What do you think about finding a dark spot and making out for a little while?” Cassi asks, brows raised.

I pull her into me, kissing her neck. “I think that’s the best idea you’ve had all night,” I rasp into her ear, making her giggle.

With her hand in mine, I lead her over to a spot between two booths and push her up against the railing. I weave my hands into her hair and kiss her. Cassi moans into my mouth, letting me deepen the kiss. Her hands trail up my back, to my neck and into my hair as she rubs her body against mine.

I could take her right here and no one would never know.

“Xavier,” she murmurs after who knows how long.

“What do you need?” I ask, kissing her neck, kneading her ass.

“You. I need you.” She sighs, arching her back.

“We both know we can’t do anything here. Too many eyes.”

“No one can see us,” she growls, nipping my chin.

As I open my mouth to respond, her watch vibrates with a text.

“Fucking cock blockers,” she mumbles, resting her head on my chest in defeat.

“Come on, you don’t mean that,” I tease as I pull away. “Let’s head that way.”

“Fine, lead the way,” she huffs, acting put out.

I look down at her red swollen lips and mused hair.

I did that. I did that to her.

Clearing my throat. “Should we grab some food to take in?” I ask, pointing to a fried food booth that advertises fried ice cream.

“Oh, let’s get some fried ice cream and fried Oreos to eat together,” Cassi says breathlessly.

We move, getting into line. Once to the front, we place our order for more food than we will probably eat.

Fried ice cream. Fried Oreos. Fried pickles. Fried chicken.

“Pretty sure I’m going to be working this off for days,” I mumble as we walk toward the rodeo doors.

“Pretty sure your abs will live to see another day, Avi,” she jokes, making me laugh.

“You guys get enough food?” Rebecca laughs as we approach.

“Pretty sure the guy we bought the drinks from thought the same thing,” Jack quips beside her.

“Come on, let’s get in there and eat before all this goes cold,” Rebecca says, blushing.

Cassi and I follow them into the arena and make our way into the grandstands and find a seat. We sit, separating all the food and eat what we want.

“This is so good,” Cassi moans as she dips an Oreo into the ice cream.

“I don’t think those sounds are suitable for public,” I joke under my breath, making her blush.

“Shut up,” she whispers, ducking her head.

“He giving you a hard time, Ace? You’re looking a little red,” Jack jests, making all of us but Cassi laugh.

“Laugh it up, Jack, just remember payback is a bitch,” she jokes.

Once we finish eating, I run the remnants of our meal to the trash can at the bottom of the steps.

“You won’t keep her,” a guy leaning against the railing says as I approach.

“Excuse me? Are you talking to me?” I ask as I dispose of our trash.

The guy turns and looks me up and down before facing forward again.

Jared.

“She will come back to me. She always does.”

“Are you sure about that?” I ask, crossing my arms.

“We have history. Can’t beat history.” He shrugs.

“You can if you know the history was bad for you,” I say, walking away. Not wanting to listen to any of the other bullshit he wanted to spew.

I look up to see if Cassi has noticed that he’s here or not, only to meet Jack’s stare. He nods, letting me know we’re good and that the night isn’t ruined.

“Hey, took you long enough,” Cassi teases as I approach.

“Sorry.” I smirk, sitting down next to her.

She bumps her shoulder into my side. “You’re forgiven just this once.”

I wrap my arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry, I won’t make that mistake again.” I smirk.

The announcer comes over, telling us all to stand for the national anthem, and before I know it, the rodeo is off.

“Hey guys, lean in close. I want to take a picture for social media,” Rebecca yells over the crowd.

The four of us lean into the frame and she snaps a few different photos and posts them all.

Guys are thrown, bones are broken, the crowd boos and cheers, and it’s like a sensory overload unlike anything I have ever experienced. And the way Cassi gets into it, I can’t help but hope this is the first of many rodeos we go to.

9

Cassi

Rushing into my dorm, I replay this morning’s conversation with Xavier.

“Hey, how about just you and I go do something tonight?”

“Like a date?” I tease, leaning into his side in a booth out of sight.

“Yeah, like a date. That okay with you?” He raises a brow, smirking as he pulls on a strand of hair.

“You won’t hear me complain.”

“All right. Let me find something for us to do.”

“Sounds good.” My watch vibrates, reminding me it’s time to head to class. “I have to go.” I sigh before leaning in and stealing a kiss.

“Take good notes,” he says before kissing me once more.

“I’ll try,” I say as I slide out of the booth. “Later.”

“Later.”

I toss my bag on the floor and start ripping through my closet.

Wear something old.

That was the text I got an hour ago.

“Hey, what’s got you moving so fast?” Rebecca asks as she kicks my bag out of the way.

“Sorry about that.” I nod toward my bag. “I’m going out with Xavier.”

“Like a date?” she asks, clearly surprised.

“That’s what he said,” I say over my shoulder as I slip on a pair of jeans.

“You’re going on a date with Xavier Walsh and you’re wearing jeans?” she says skeptically.

“He said to dress casually. Well, his exact words