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KNOX: Where’s she gonna sleep?
Why’d he have to ask that? Doesn’t he know it’s a fucking sore spot?
ME: I gave her my bed.
GRAHAM: I’m sure you did.
ME: Don’t be a dick. I slept on the couch. She’d probably castrate me in my sleep.
And based on the way she stormed off last night and slammed my bedroom door, she still might.
TEAGAN: True story. She’d Lorena Bobbitt your ass so fast.
TEAGAN: I’m just glad I don’t have to worry about any funny business since she literally hates your guts.
I swallow, staring at his text before I run a hand over my face. Guilt unspools in my gut like a ball of twine before I cut it off.
Last night was nothing.Nothing. I was trying to prove a point and had a lapse in judgment, that’s all. If anything, all I did was solidify Brynn’s loathing of me.
ATLAS: Oof. You’re a better man than me, Taggart. I can’t imagine sleeping on the couch then train the next day.
I grimace as my back throbs in agreement.
TEAGAN: The first and last girl Jace will probably ever live with.
GRAHAM: Grab the popcorn, gents. This should be fun watching him fuck this all up.
ATLAS: Remember. Sleep with one eye open.
I shoot them a text with the middle finger emoji and click my phone off. If I want to make it to practice on time, I’d better getmy ass in gear. That, and call me a coward, but I’d prefer not to be here when Brynn wakes and risk the wrath of her this early in the morning.
Rising to my feet, I head for the shower and groan as my back protests with the movement. This is going to be a long day.
Hell, this is going to be a long summer.
BRYNN
I lie in bed as I listen to the clanging of someone in the kitchen, followed by the whine of the shower, audible through the bedroom walls. I already heard someone leave and when I risked a peek through the crack of the bedroom door, I confirmed it was Chris. So, I know it’s Jace in the shower now, and I firmly intend to stay right where I am until he exits the building.
What feels like an eternity later, I hear footsteps by the bedroom door, so I yank the blankets over my head, afraid he might try and come in here.
I’m not sure what gives me more anxiety: the idea of him saying goodbye like nothing happened last night, apologizing for it, or gloating. Any one of those is a possibility, so I pull the cotton tighter like a shield. I’ve been reduced to toddler behavior, intent on pretending to be asleep if he tries to speak to me before leaving.
I inhale, breathing through the heavy fabric only to realize it smells like him—all musky and rugged. It’s enough to make my head spin and my heart race as I relive those moments last night when his hands and mouth scorched my skin.
I hold my breath, unwilling to allow my thoughts to go there or even ponder for another second how amazing his blankets smell—how amazinghesmells—when I hear the footsteps retreat and the front door close, a key clicking in the lock.
I lie here a minute longer, just to be sure he’s gone, before I tear the cloth prison from my face and gasp like a newborn baby, greedily sucking in air for the first time.
My lungs fill with fresh, Jace-less oxygen, burning from the exertion of holding my breath. I fling the blankets to the floor entirely, needing to get up and out of this bed. It’s playing with my head; hijacking my thoughts and making them wander to places they shouldn’t.
Opening his bedroom door, I peek my head out of the room first, half expecting him to jump out of the kitchen, smirk firmly in place as he teases me about my reaction to his kiss last night. But the place is empty, miraculously so, allowing me to make my way into the kitchen where I find several cups worth of coffee still hot in the pot.
I open several cupboards, most of which are empty, to find a coffee mug and fill it, then begin to sip as I nose around the rest of the space. It’s not hard to deduce it belongs to two college boys based on the lack of small appliances, cookware, or really anything domestic. Inside the small pantry cupboard, I find huge tubs of protein powder, both pre-workout and electrolytes. However, when I open the fridge, I’m both surprised and pleased to see actual food. My choices are simple: eggs, yogurt, deli meat, cheese, and fruit, but as I wasted too much time hiding in bed, and because the dining hall is on the other side of campus, I grab an apple and start to eat it in between sips of coffee; it’s a weird but surprisingly tasty combination.
My eyes drift to the couch and my stomach clenches.
To say I’m pissed Jace kissed me is an understatement. He played dirty and won. But it’s not the kiss, or even the way hishand slipped under my shirt or to the waistband of my shorts that has me angry. It’s the fact that I didn’t hate it. In fact, some might say I even enjoyed it. Not only did I lose myself to his mouth, but for a moment, I forgot who I was with. His taste was intoxicating, and his reaction to me even more so. There’s no denying he was every bit as turned on as I was. So much so, what started as a game quickly morphed into something much more. At least for me.
