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Sometimes I make dumb decisions. Like the time I texted my ex on his birthday. Happy Birthday! <insert smiley face emoji> You just cringed, didn’t you? Don’t worry. I’ll feel that shame for the rest of my entire existence.
No one cared there was no privacy. Hell, we all walked around in tiny Speedos anyway, and it wasn’t like we all lingered in here. It was get in, get out, and move on. Besides, why did I need to scope out another dude’s junk? Mine was far superior.
I gazed up at the taut material stretched over our heads. Inches. We had mere inches of air keeping us from drowning. We were trapped.
In case you’ve wondered, the male anatomy floats.
“Why did the lights go out?” “They’re on a timer.” “Is the pool cover on a timer too?” “No.” He paused. “Did you hit that button?” “I can’t swim, but you think I would know enough about pools to close the cover before hurling myself into the water to drown?”
“Hold on to the rope, Carrot.” That snapped me out of whatever weird spell he’d put me under. “Carrot!” “Your hair is orange.” Was that laughter in his voice? I gasped. “It is not! It’s auburn!” “You sure about that?” He needled. “When I dove into the pool, I thought you were being attacked by an orange octopus.” My chest puffed up. The freaking nerve of this guy! “If I didn’t need you to get me out of here, I’d clobber you!” He leaned forward, and I could almost taste the grin I knew stretched over his face. “Lucky for me, you need me.”
“The plot thickens,” Jamie quipped from behind. I had a feeling this guy had a one-liner for everything.
No wonder I feel safe with him.
She was small. Borderline tiny. I mean, I wouldn’t say it out loud, but she looked kinda like a drowned chihuahua standing there drying off the ends of her orange hair. Excuse me. Her auburn hair. She was loud and vicious like a chihuahua, too, and lacked the size to back up her bark. I mean, it would be cute… if someone hadn’t just tried to drown her.
The withering look on her face was impressive. For a shrimp.
Striding forward, I grabbed her by the waist, carrying her toward the bleachers like a ball tucked under my arm. “Ryan!” she bellowed, smacking my forearm. “Put me down!” I did. I planted her feisty ass right on the first row of bleachers.
Her eyes were gray, something I hadn’t noticed until now. I liked them. They spoke of her tumultuous personality. A gray sky could go one of two ways: 1. Give way to an epic storm or 2. Clear to make room for the sun
She nodded, subconsciously tugging the hoodie closer around her. She looked swallowed up in that thing. Swallowed up by me. I liked it.
“Come on. We’ll walk you to your dorm.” “Oh, you don’t need—” “You must really like the sound of your own voice,” Jamie said, falling into step on her other side. “Excuse me?” “‘Cause you sure do say a lot of unnecessary shit.” She gasped.
“Which dorm?” I asked, trying not to think how light she was even for my exhausted upper body. “Spade Hall.” “I’m in Peregrine.” “We are,” Jamie corrected. “You two are roommates?” “Who else is gonna put up with him?” Jamie cracked. “Says the man who is the worst morning person in the history of morning people ever,” I retorted. “Ugh, mornings suck,” she said, her words tickling the back of my ear. “My people,” Jamie declared, holding his fist out.
Dim light filtered in from the window, and I realized it wasn’t pitch black out, but it wasn’t quite day yet either. Craning around, I glanced at the clock near the bed. 4:55 a.m. I gasped. What an ungodly hour! The least that murdering perv could do is wait to kill me at a decent time!
I was scared, but now I was also pissed off. Pissed and scared was not a good combo. Pissed off, scared, and forced awake at this unholy hour? The only person getting murdered right now was whoever the hell was out there.
“He’s the one that helped me at the pool.” Kimberly gasped. “Him! Rory, you told me it was just some random guy.” “Save a girl from drowning, and she calls you random,” he muttered, clearly listening to our entire conversation.
“Your head is so big you’re going to topple out the window,” I muttered as I typed in my number.
First, she refused to give me a name. Now she’s not answering my calls. If she hadn’t let me kiss her the other morning, I might really think I was being blown off. I had no experience with this, with a girl not wanting my attention. I didn’t like it. It was putting me in a foul mood.
Yet here I was, making another decision I would likely regret. It was becoming a horrible pattern. Maybe this school should offer a class on decision-making. I’d probably fail.
Jamie leaped on him for a hug, and the two screamed in each other’s faces like they were five. It was kinda charming.
Yeah, my girl. She can avoid it all she wants, but she’s mine.
“I think that dragon lady you have guarding the door down there might be soulless. She is impervious to charm.”
“I believe you.”
“Oh yes, sweetheart. I believe you. You can tell me anything at all, and I will never doubt a word.” “But…” I paused to search his eyes. I found nothing but the truth. “Why?” “Because you’re mine.” I started to shake my head, but his grip on my face tightened. I was indeed at his mercy because the second the weight of his stare locked on mine, I was shackled in place. “Yes. You are. You were mine from the minute my naked ass dove into that pool to save you. Mine the second I gave you the breath right out of my lungs. I didn’t just forget to take my hoodie that night. I left it here so I would
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“Fuck loyalty among bros. Loyalty to my girl rules all.”
“Say it, Carrot,” he demanded. “Tell me who you belong to.” “Yours,” I whispered, palming the sides of his waist.
“Good girl,” he whispered, brushing his lips against my forehead. If anyone else had said that, I would have clobbered them then and there. But this wasn’t anyone. This was Ry. And it seemed I rather liked being his good girl.
Who’s the man? It’s me. I’m the man.
“Rory.” She sniffed. “The only time you call me that is when I’m in trouble.” “Then stop being so much trouble, and I won’t have to call you that,” I deadpanned. “I am not trouble!” Seriously? This woman was more trouble than all of the ones I’d dated combined. I had a running list of all the ways she’d already put me half in my grave. I didn’t say that out loud. That would only get more things added to the list. I wasn’t a stupid guy. “Now, baby,” I cajoled. “I like trouble.”
“Here.” I handed her the windbreaker. She glanced between me and the jacket. I shook it at her. “You want me to wear that?” Her voice was dubious. “Uh, yeah.” Wasn’t it obvious? Her nose wrinkled. “What’s wrong with my jacket?” “It’s loud.” I blinked. Blinked again. “What?” She made a noise. “It makes that stupid swishing sound.” I gasped, pulling it into my chest, offended. “A stupid swishing sound?” Swinging her arms, the little shrimp proceeded to mimic the sound my jacket supposedly made. It was a horrible impression. It made me want to kiss her.
“You just gonna announce it like that all the time?” she asked. I held out my hand between us, wiggling my fingers. “If you hold my hand, I won’t have to. Everyone will know.” “I’m already wearing your hoodie.” “Hold my hand, Carrot.” Her slim fingers slid into mine, and I tugged her right into my side. I’d never thought about being a one-woman man. But now I couldn’t imagine being any other way.
The butterflies in my belly were drunk. Flopping and fluttering everywhere, crashing into each other and the lining of my stomach. I wasn’t sure if I should eat with the party already going on in there.
“Bring it in, bro.” I didn’t realize he was talking to me until I was snatched off my feet and crushed against him, his very wide shoulders swallowing me whole. “Jamie!” I hollered, but the yell got lost in his muscles. Instead of putting me down on my own two feet, he handed me off to Ryan like they thought I couldn’t walk. Idiots.
The guys dug in as if they had been stranded on a desert island for two weeks with no food at all. It was lowkey savage and borderline impressive.
Jamie’s face transformed into something much more serious and sincere, his posture straightening. “Look, we might not know each other one hundred yet, but I was there that night. Not for all of it but enough. You were scared and upset. You would have died if Ryan hadn’t been there. You weren’t lying. It was clear. And if you say it was Hughes, then it was Hughes.”
“Rory,” I said, using that tone. “I didn’t do anything,” she whined. “Why are you mad at me?” Jamie snickered, and I smiled over her head. “Come out of there. Let me look at you.” “No.” She refused. Her bratty attitude was a good sign she wasn’t seriously hurt. “High-maintenance,” Jamie sang. She gasped. The force of it brought her out of my neck.
Perhaps we bonded in trauma. Perhaps I had some weird hero worship for him because the first time we met, he saved me. And he did it naked. I giggled. Ryan turned his head, warily glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. “Whatcha doing over there, Carrot?” “Thinking about you naked.” The rude sound he came out with made me smile. “Then why the hell are you laughing?” Really, he was so sensitive. First his jacket, his Jeep, and now his wiener. And Jamie called me high-maintenance. Please.
“Rory.” I made a face. I’d never met anyone ever who could make my own name sound like some kind of horrible punishment. Not even my parents managed to do it when they said all of my names at once.
“I’m glad practice doesn’t start till seven tomorrow.” “Seven in the morning,” I mourned. “On a Saturday? I’d quit.” He chuckled. “It’s normally five thirty, remember? But tomorrow is a light day, so we get to sleep in.” “Seven a.m. does not constitute sleeping in.”
The only light in the room was from a small nightlight plugged into the outlet. Yeah, yeah, a nightlight. I’d busted my shin on the cabinet one too many times in the middle of the night.
“How do you feel about hickeys?” I murmured, barely lifting my head. “Depends on who’s giving them.” I growled against her flesh. “Woman, the only person giving you hickeys better be me.”
“I thought you weren’t a morning person,” I mused. “You twitch in your sleep.” I paused. “Did I wake you?” She kissed my pec. “I’ll get used to it.”
“Is your shampoo smelly?” I blinked at the change in conversation. “What?” “Well, I might as well wash my hair since I’m in here. But not if your shampoo is smelly.”
The strong scent of rich coffee permeated the room, and Jamie groaned. Rory laughed, slapping a hand over her mouth as I snickered. One of Jamie’s arms flung out, hand flopping over the side of the bed. He groaned again. “Fuuuck.” The coffee finished brewing, and the machine hissed. Not even a second ticked by. “Fuck this morning shit. Where the hell is my coffee?”
I shouldn’t have to choose. Rory didn’t ask me to. Not even once. In fact, I got the distinct impression she would rather walk than put me in the middle.
Coach was dramatic. He had two tones: yelling and sarcastic.
Jesus, now I know what it’s like for her. Now I know why she didn’t want to tell me his name.
He spun me in his hold, grasping my waist and holding me out in front of him. Frankly, it was quite annoying that I was so much smaller he could just manhandle me this way.
