Spin the Bottle (Campus Games, #2)

by Stephanie Alves

The craziest thing happens. She laughs. Like an actual laugh. Sure, she’s laughing at the idea of working with me, but fuck, it’s a pretty sight. Might be the only time I get her to laugh around me, so I eat it up, watching how the corner of her eyes wrinkle, and her pink lips tip up in a cute smile. She’s pretty, that’s for damn sure.

“I’ve got to say, even though you seem to despise me for some reason,” he glances up at me, “I always seem to have a good time whenever you’re near.” A full glass of beer gets placed in front of me. “You’re a masochist, huh?” I ask, taking a sip. “You like when people torture you?” He laughs. “If torture is anything like you, then hell yes.”

“I swear to god, Leila. If you’ve been malnourishing your body because you want to lose weight, I’m going to fucking lose it.”

I must be fucking dreaming because I hear the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. My eyes widen when I look back at her and she’s laughing. She’s laughing. With me. Holy shit. My heart is about to leave my chest. This beautiful woman is laughing, and she scrunches her nose when she does. God, she’s adorable. I’d never tell her that because she’d probably cut my balls off, but she’s so fucking adorable I want to kiss her. So. Fucking. Bad.

I lift off the couch, crouching down to where she’s sat and grasp her face in my hands, wiping away the tears with my thumb. “I don’t want you to hide yourself from me,” I tell her, my heart bursting at the seams when she smiles at me. It’s my favorite sight in the world. “You are the most beautiful girl I have ever had the privilege of being with, Leila. There is nothing about you that I don’t like.” She drops her head, but I lift her chin, wanting those green eyes on me. “You hear me? Nothing.” She nods and I lean in, pressing my lips to hers for a quick kiss. “I wish you could see yourself how I see you,” I tell her, staring into her eyes. “You’re so beautiful, sexy as hell,” I punctuate my sentence with a kiss. “And you’ve quickly become my favorite person to be around.”

But the proof is right there, inside apartment 305 that holds a million and one plants all over the place, that holds the woman I love. Just my luck I fall for someone who doesn’t want a relationship.

“You deserve so much more than just fine, Leila.” Those intoxicating blue eyes bring me a kind of peace whenever he looks at me. “You deserve everything.”

“I would give it all up if it meant I could have you.” My god, this man is breaking my heart. “You could never be a mistake.”

“You deserve that great, huge, earth-shattering love, Leila,” I say. “And I’m willing—dying—to give that to you. If you let me.” My heart beats so fast for this woman. “I love you, Leila.”