Page 33 of Her Crew

“Why?”

I gesture toward the bathroom. “Now.” I turn back to look at Tye. “Pour me a beer. We’ll be right back.”

I bring Tegan into the bathroom and close the door behind us.

“Why are we here?” she asks without looking at me.

“Because I need to make sure you’re okay. Did anyone hurt you?”

She shakes her head, her dark hair grazing her shoulders. “There was a guy, but Tye came around the corner.”

“Wait, did he⁠—?”

“No, nothing like that. He just kept staring, and then he came up beside me like he was going to get a drink from the machine. It was just weird. But Tye scared him away.”

“You ran off to get food again. I told you that you don’t need to binge when you’re anxious. I can take care of you.”

She just stares at me.

“What upset you?”

“I don’t know,” she whispers.

“Yes you do. Talk to me.”

She blinks. “You fell asleep, and I couldn’t stop thinking about what happened. You couldn’t get hard around me. It made me feel . . . bad.”

This is exactly what I worried about. That my erection issues would make her feel less than what she is. Especially when she’s already so insecure.

“Oh, pup,” I whisper, and put my hands on both sides of her head. I pull her face to mine and kiss her. “My . . . problem has nothing to do with you. Absolutely nothing.”

“Am I too fat for you?” she asks, and my heart sinks into my fucking stomach.

I kiss her. “I’m very attracted to you and your body, exactly as you are.”

Her cheeks flush, and a knock on the door draws our eyes away from each other.

“Hey, everything okay in there?” Tye asks.

“We’re fine!” I call out. I turn back to Tegan and lower my voice. “We’ll talk more about this later.”

We go back into the bedroom, and Tye looks more concerned than he probably should.

“She’s okay,” I say.

After a few tense moments, he finally turns to the dresser and pours cold liquor into two smudged glasses. He offers one to me, and judging by the curiosity in Tegan’s eyes, I imagine this is something she hasn’t tried before.

“Can she have one?” Tye asks, as if I’m her fucking dad.

“If she wants one.”

She definitely wants one. She’s underaged, sure, but she’s safe in this room with us. If she wants to explore with a bit of alcohol, who am I to stop her?

She nods and steps forward to take the glass I was offered, and Tye pours a new one for me. I smirk as Tegan takes a sip of the golden liquid. Her face contorts the moment she swallows. I reach out to take the drink away from her, and she shakes her head while chugging the remainder before handing the empty glass to me.

“Slow down.” I hand the empty glass to Tye and let him fill her glass again.

Before long, Tegan is very loose. Her glazed eyes accompany a full smile. She’s giggling and happy. I don’t hate it. I’m even a little buzzed myself, and Tye is nearly as drunk as she is. They both lie back on the bed, talking in low voices. About what? I don’t know. I fold my leg beneath me and sit at the foot of the bed.