The Revenge Pact (Kings of Football #1) - Ilsa Madden-Mills Page 0,62

how many words are misspelled, is the punctuation screwy, how wonky is the layout, does any of it make sense?

What’s she thinking?

Why doesn’t she say something?

“I listened to the book,” I say warily. “Twice. Audio is better for me. Otherwise, it’s hard to focus and…” the vocabulary in those books is ridiculous.

Her eyes come up. “This is a start.” She taps her chin. “Let’s talk about the theme and narrow down the points you want to make.”

“Restorative sex. I totally stole that from you.”

“Well, it’s the most common theme, so we’re good. Whitman is a jerk, so ignore him. He knows we’ll all focus on the sex.” She huffs out a laugh. “What did you think about the intercourse in the book, you know, how it develops the characters?”

My chest rises. This I can do. I can talk.

“It was wordy, flowery. Sure, they fuck a lot. Outside, inside, everywhere, but it’s not a happy story. I prefer suspense like American Psycho, but that book spent chapters describing every character’s clothing and accessories. It was insane. Lolita? Creeped me out and was downright bizarre, even though he tried to write it beautifully, I guess? The main character abused a teenage girl and called it love.”

She pales, and I realize what I’ve said and lean forward. “Wait. Don’t let your head go there, please, Anastasia, I’m sorry I even brought that book up to you—”

“No, it’s fine. I want to address it.” She bites her lip. “The connotation of the term Lolita means a sexually precocious young girl who seduces, and I know Donovan said that about me, but I didn’t seduce Bryson.”

Bryson. So that’s his name. I twist my ring.

“Never in a million years would I believe you did.” I’d like to pay a visit to this douchebag. “He was a grown-ass man and shouldn’t have touched you.”

She stares at my comforter. “I was—am—surprisingly naïve even though my parents encouraged me to be a free spirit.” She touches her throat, rubbing it. “I never went to a real school, never got to spend time with people my own age. If my parents got the urge to go anywhere alone, they went and left me with friends, usually artists, writers, scholars. Most of the people I stayed with were wonderful. I learned some cool things, you know? I saw Mount Everest, the Great Wall of China, the pyramids in Egypt, the Colosseum in Rome…” She breathes in deep. “It sounds weird, me and Bryson, but just… I want you to know that I loved him, as much as a seventeen-year-old girl can, and I thought it was normal, because I didn’t know any different.” She lets her breath out slowly.

He hurt you.

“Talk to me, Anastasia.” I prop my elbows on my knees.

She dips her face and stares at my comforter. Her shoulders hunch. “Did he take advantage of me? Yes. He was thirty, and I was inexperienced.” She bites her bottom lip. “I didn’t know he was married. My parents didn’t know. His sister and another girl lived there at the beginning, otherwise my parents wouldn’t have left me. I could have called and told them I was alone with him, but I didn’t. The day I met his wife, my whole world fell apart. We never had any contact after he dropped me off…” She sighs. “Anyway, Donovan’s parents managed to dig all that up. It’s crazy. I didn’t steal his car, either. He let me have the keys. I thought I was his girlfriend.” A rough sound comes from her throat. “I didn’t know he got a divorce.” Her brow furrows. “He had a toddler. Maybe more kids, I don’t know. There’s a family out there that I messed up—”

“He messed up his family,” I say firmly. “And if I ever see him, I’m going to punch him.” My jaw pops.

She inhales a deep breath. “Wow,” she says softly as she stares at the floor. “Underneath your exterior, you aren’t what I thought at all. Just layers and layers.” Her eyes find mine. “You’re making me like you too much, Snake.”

“It’s impossible to resist me.”

“Hmmm, enough of that.” She glances back at the notes in her hands. “Let’s chat about Lady Chatterley’s Lover.”

Do we have to?

“Right. The book.”

That is why she’s here.

“I get that they used sex. Their passion covered up their problems.” I pause. “The issue is…” I can’t read these books fast enough and comprehend them. A long exhalation comes from my chest. “I struggle to put my