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“What’s the matter with you?” Emerson stepped around me. “Why do you care if I’m here or not?”
On any other day, I wouldn’t. But Aurora was naked in the bathroom, so he had to go. “I’m worried about you.”
He tipped his head to the side, making his wavy hair flop over his forehead. “Me?” He pointed to his chest. “I’m fine. I’m just gonna take a shower and go to bed.”
“No,” I blurted out, my heart lurching. “You can’t take a shower.”
“What?” He peered around me and narrowed his eyes at the closed bathroom door.
“It’s just …” I opened my arms wide. “I need a hug.”
Emerson was the hugger of the group. There was no way he’d turn me down. But it would only buy me a minute. I had to figure out how to get rid of him.
“You want a hug?” His expression morphed from slightly annoyed to relaxed. “Aw, bring it in.”
I awkwardly patted his back as I went through my options. And when he pulled back, I did the only thing that made sense. I rubbed my shoulder.
“You’re hurting?” His eyes went wide. Bingo. Of course he’d be worried. The whole team had been stressing about it all freaking week.
“Yeah, it’s just sore.” I hunched over and stretched my good arm back farther, exaggerating the struggle of finding the right spot and rubbing at it. “I just don’t want them to pull me.”
“Dude, none of us wants that. Potter can’t hit for shit. Want me to go get Rory?”
“Yeah,” I said, keeping my tone even. “Could you find her for me?”
With a nod, he spun, tripping over his own feet, then headed out the door.
The second the door was shut behind him, Aurora stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in a white towel. “How is he going to find me?”
“Since you’re here, searching for you will keep him busy for a while. And it was the only way I could get him out of the room.” Heart still beating a bit too hard in my chest, I wrapped my arms around her.
She sighed against my chest, and just like I knew she would, she tried to throw up walls.
“We’re not doing this again. I almost had a heart attack.” Her voice cracked on the last word.
Fuck. I felt like an ass.
“I know, babe. We can just hang out at home.”
With another defeated sigh, she nodded and stepped out of my hold. “Where are my clothes? Apparently, I need to head out so Emerson can find me.”
I pulled the pillow back to reveal them, and she dressed quickly. After she’d finger combed her hair and I’d stolen another kiss, I cracked the door and peeked out into the hallway. When the coast was clear, I ushered her out. As the door to the stairwell slammed behind her, I slumped, rubbing at the ache in my chest. Damn. This whole situation stunk. With a defeated sigh, I flopped onto the bed and threw my good arm over my eyes.
Two minutes later, the door opened again. “Sorry, man, I went by her room.” Emerson shrugged. “She must be out with someone.”
I held back a smirk. She’d definitely been with someone. But I couldn’t tell him that I was that someone. And damn, I hated that.
“I mean, objectively, she’s hot.”
I locked my jaw and tried my best not to glare at him.
“What?” he asked, clearly reading into my silence incorrectly. “You didn’t notice that? You were with her for a whole week.”
“I’d be blind not to notice.” I tried to keep the growl out of my voice. “Did you want a shower?”
He studied me, his brows pulled together, but after a moment, he shook his head. “You sure are acting weird tonight.”
I blew out a breath. “Yeah, man. I just need a good night’s sleep.”
