More Than A Game (The Kings of Kroydon Hills Book 2) by Bella Matthews (the best electronic book reader .TXT) 📗

“Why the hell were you running alone at night? Seriously? You’ve got to know better than that. It’s not safe.” The glint in his eye has gone from sad to pissed-off.

What the hell?

“You’re kidding, right? It’s a half mile from my dorm to this field. The field is lit until . . . well, late, I guess, because it’s still lit now. I only run at night once or twice a week. Most of the time, I try to get it done in the morning. It isn’t too bad, I swear.”

Standing up, he extends his hand toward me. “Come on, Princess. I’ll walk you back to your dorm.”

I eye his hand. “The last time you offered me your hand, I ended up in the pool, Aiden. I really don’t feel like being pushed down the steps this time.” I stand up, untie my hoodie from my waist, slip it over my head, and then walk down the bleachers ahead of him.

He stands there for a minute before following me down. “I wouldn’t have pushed you down the stairs, smart ass. I’m still walking you home though. My momma taught me better than to let a pretty girl walk home alone.”

I shake my head but smile, seeing the Murphy I’m used to making an appearance.

“Sure. Why not.”

What could go wrong?

8

Murphy

This girl is infuriating. I’ve already spent my entire day being worried.

Worrying for myself. Worrying for a woman I barely know.

Worrying that I hurt her and that her pain was my fault.

Worrying about the possibility of an unborn baby.

There’s no fucking way I’ll spend the rest of my night worrying about whether Sabrina got home safely. Not at this time of night and especially not looking the way she does right now. I mean, Damn. When she’s prickly and uptight, it’s easy to overlook the fact that she’s smokin’ hot.

Sabrina Cabot is the total package, and it’s on display tonight. Skintight, light grey running shorts stop at the top of a killer set of legs. Her purple hoodie is doing nothing to hide her tiny little waist and what is arguably the best ass at Kroydon U. Brina’s chocolate-brown hair is tied up in a ponytail, bouncing as she skips down the bleachers in front of me.

I resist the urge I have to pull her back by the damn thing. I’ve been thinking about swearing off girls for a while so there are no more repeats of today, but this girl makes me question that thought.

Sabrina and me . . . Like that would fucking work.

“Sabrina, hold up.” To my surprise, she stops at the bottom of the bleachers and waits for me to get to her side. It’s hard to imagine this girl likes to be told what to do.

“Awful bossy tonight, Murphy. How about you move faster? If you insist on walking me back to my dorm, we need to get moving. I still have studying to do and don’t feel like staying up all night to get it done.”

“Jesus. You’re always so fucking serious. Do you ever slow down?”

“Nope.” She pops the “p” at the end of the word and starts walking. “I’ll slow down when I’m dead. And I’m not always serious, but I do take my life seriously.”

She shoves her hands in the front of her hoodie then looks up at me through her lashes. With anyone else, the move would look practiced. But with Sabrina Cabot, it looks innocent and sexy wrapped in one. “You always make it look so easy, like it’s all a game to you. You like to be the life of the party. You’re the funniest guy in the room, and you have no problem letting people think they’re smarter than you. Don’t act like you’re less than you are. You wouldn’t have gotten into this school if you were a moron. At some point, life has to be more than a game.”

“I do okay. We have team study sessions we’re required to attend, and they help. I might not be as smart as Sebastian, but I’m not just a pretty face, either, Princess. School has always come kinda easy for me. My mom used to tell me if I would just apply myself, I could be in all honors classes, but who the hell wants that?” I raise an eyebrow and smile.

Sabrina whips her head around, glaring at me. Guess she was in all honors classes.

I put my hands up in a gesture of surrender as we continue our trek back to her dorm. “That sounds like way too much work. I like a good balance of work and fun. It’s good for the soul. Give it a try. Fun, I mean.”

“Shut up, Murphy.” Sabrina bumps my shoulder with hers and looks annoyed when I don’t budge. “I have fun.”

“Oh, yeah. What does Sabrina Cabot do for fun?” It might actually be killing me not to pull on her ponytail like a ten-year old kid.

“Well, I certainly don’t talk about myself in the third person, for starters.” She picks up the pace and lets out an annoyed squeak. “I was just at two parties with you this past weekend.”

I stop walking. “Sabrina, look at me.”

She stops walking and turns, lifting those doe eyes to catch mine.

Huh, interesting. I never pictured her as someone so willing to do what they’re told. “You were at the house party for like, what, ten minutes? Where were you before that? Studying?”

Her cheeks get red, and those eyes are throwing daggers my way. “I was at an event for the senator’s reelection campaign.” Turning her head away, she starts to walk ahead.

Does she think she can get away from me? As if my legs can’t catch up? They’re twice as long as hers.

“Okay, so Friday night, you were working for your daddy and came late to get in a few minutes with friends.” I give in to the temptation and pull on the curl of her ponytail so her slender neck has to bend back to