Goddess Rising by Alexi Lawless Page A

bimbos?”
    “Hey, you said it.”
    “No, you implied it,” Wes countered.
    “Look, I saw her first,” Chris pointed out stubbornly. “I told you about her, and I’m the one busting my ass to get a date with her,” he argued, gesturing at all the books spread out across the table. “You think I ever had to work this hard to get a good grade? Or to impress a girl?”
    “Are you calling dibs?” Wes asked, incredulous. “You do realize we’re talking about a human being and not a piece of pizza, right?”
    “What the hell do you know about her, anyway?” Chris retorted. “Besides the fact that she saw you coming a mile away and wasn’t havin’ it? Sam’s worth far more than your typical hit it and quit it.”
    “You think I don’t know that?” Wes replied calmly. “And that’s not what I’m interested in with her. I recognize she’s different. I know she’s not the kind of girl you trifle with.”
    “Well, I care about her,” Chris said, mulish.
    “You barely know her,” Wes pointed out. “Besides, if you want to get technical, I saw her first. I took that photograph in August while you were still wrapping up football training.”
    “So besides the fact that Sam shot you down, what do you actually like about her, Wes?” Chris challenged. “You probably can’t even tell me five things about her besides what she looks like.”
    Wes sat back, turning the beer bottle as he considered the question. Was he just enamored with the idea of her? The story he’d built inside his mind of who she might be, what she might be like from the moment he’d taken the picture of her? Truth was, Wes wasn’t certain why he was so smitten with Samantha. He didn’t know exactly what it was about her that had him so transfixed. But he wanted to know more. A lot more.
    “Well—what do you like about her so much?” Wes countered.
    “Oh, no,” Chris shook his head. “I’m not giving you insider baseball on this girl. You may be one of my closest friends, but you’re the competition now. But I will tell you this, Wes. If you go after Sam and hurt her, I’ll hurt you back,” he promised. “I don’t like the idea of a girl coming between us, but if there ever was one, she’s it .”
    Wes frowned. “What makes you think I’m going to hurt her? Just because I haven’t wanted to have a serious relationship in the past doesn’t mean I’m incapable of one.”
    Chris scoffed. “You may know how to get a girl in the sack—hell, you’re the undisputed king of flings—but you don’t know the first damn thing about anything longer than a quick roll in the hay, Wes. Sam deserves way better than that, so back off.” He glared. “I mean it.”
    He’d never seen Chris, so typically laid-back and easy-going, look so serious off the football field. But Wes also had a healthy aversion to being told what to do. “I don’t see why we’re haggling over Samantha like she’s a bone. Why don’t we both go after her and see what happens?” he suggested with a shrug. “Let the lady decide what she wants to do. Unless you’re scared she’s as interested in me as I am in her.”
    “Oh, please ,” Chris guffawed. “If I heard you rightly, she already turned you down flat.” He picked up one of the psychology books next to him. “And I already have something in the cooker.”
    “You got some good talk, Chris,” Wes retorted. “But not nearly enough game for a girl like Sam.”
    “That’s where you’re wrong, Wes,” Chris replied, shaking his head. “Girls like Sam don’t go for game—they go for good guys with real intentions. And you and I both know you’re the guy who bails before anything gets real.”
    Wes opened his mouth to retort, but Chris was already in the bathroom, slamming the door shut as he turned on the shower.
    He leaned against the wall, feeling irritated and unsure. Because Chris was right. What do I know about real? He’d never stuck around long enough for it to get there, and