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I know Teagan is concerned mostly because he’s not here to suss the situation out for himself, but he has no reason to be.
My intuition tells me Stanley is the real deal. I’d be a fool to let the chance of something between us slip through my fingers simply because Jace wants to flex his muscles and play big brother in Teagan’s absence.
Screw waiting until class on Monday.
I stand, my mind made up as I cut through the courtyard and back toward my dorm.
I’m going to change into something pretty, do my hair and makeup, then I’ll find Stanley’s fraternity house. I’ll apologizeon Jace’s behalf and convince Stan to give me another chance. Preferably without my arch nemesis breathing down my neck.
JACE
My phone vibrates on the nightstand where I left it last night after I flopped into bed.
I groan and roll onto my side. Every muscle in my body screams in protest at the movement, a result of the self-imposed lashing I took in the gym this morning.
I only have myself to blame. Coach gave us the weekend off, but I’d needed something to take my mind off of Brynn, and I foolishly thought killing myself in the weightroom would help. I’m already sore, which means tomorrow will be hell. The only consolation is I have another day until training resumes on Monday.
Maybe this morning wouldn’t have been so bad had I gotten any sleep last night. But after dropping Brynn off and returning to my apartment, I had a couple beers in an effort to unwind while I tried to watch a movie, but I couldn’t focus. My mind kept churning, thinking back to the violent rage I felt seeing Brynn’s lips fused to Stanley’s. I can tell myself it’s because she’s my friend, but that’s not exactly true. I can argue it’s a byproduct of my allegiance to Teagan, but that doesn’t sit right with me either.
I overreacted, I know it, but I can’t seem to care. Not as the memory of Brynn, looking like a fucking goddess and draped allover that asshole, slammed into me again and again like rain slashing against a window pane.
After I got tired of my wheels spinning, I called it a night, preferring sleep to my own thoughts, but I found little relief, tossing and turning for hours. Instead of finding the solace I craved, images of Brynn in her low-cut top and tight jeans danced in my head. The memory of her hips swaying to the music and the swollen curve of her lips after kissing him taunted me.
I knead the telltale pounding of a headache as my phone continues to ring. Eventually, when it won’t stop, I snatch it up, glancing at the time to see it’s nearly three p.m. I napped for more than two hours. I look down at the name on the screen.
Teagan.
Answering, I press the phone to my ear as I rub the sleep from my eyes with my free hand. “What’s up, bro?”
“Dude, I’ve been trying to call you for the last hour, and I know you had today off.”
“Sorry.” I sit up, my voice gravelly with fatigue. “I didn’t get much sleep last night, and then I hit the weightroom.”
“You’re a glutton for punishment, aren’t you? Who gets the day off and hits the gym? At least you’re dedicated, I’ll give you that.”
I grunt in response.
“And could the reason you didn’t get much sleep be because you had a certain blonde in your bed?”
My thoughts immediately flash to Brynn and ice fills my veins. “What?No.”
Laughter rumbles over the line. “It’s okay, Brynn told me you were all over some chick at the club.”
Heather.
Relief swallows me whole. Why the hell had my thoughts immediately gone to Brynn?
I’m losing my fucking mind, that’s why.
“Brynn said she wouldn’t be surprised if you went back to the club and brought that girl back to your place after giving her a ride home.”
I frown. She thinks I went back for her?I’ll have to set her straight.
Wait . . . why the fuck does it matter what she thinks? I bagged plenty of chicks in high school. It’s not like her opinion ever bothered me before.
I clear my throat and let out a half laugh, trying to rein in my wildly vacillating thoughts. “Uh, yeah. She was pretty into me, but I wasn’t feeling it.”
“Jace Taggart passing up an opportunity?” Teagan whistles, and I grit my teeth.
