Page 10 of Cheap Shot

She cocked her head, mouth agape, as she lowered her eyes to my bare chest.

“Haley?” Ethan’s voice was groggy. “Sorry, I fell back asleep.” He stumbled into the wall next to me and grinned at her.

Haley? As in his sister?

Oh no.

“Reid, you remember my sister, right?” He pulled her in for a hug, and her wide, brown eyes stayed on me the whole time.

I had a split second to decide how to handle this. Tell him I’d kissed her and beg for forgiveness or pretend like nothing had happened.

“Yeah, freshman year.” Pretend. That was the only option that guaranteed I’d live another day.

“Right.” Her eyes narrowed just barely. “Hi.” She glanced between the two of us before her gaze dropped to my bare chest. The primal side of me wanted to flex, but Ethan smacked me on the back a bit more forcefully than the situation called for. He should have gotten up and been ready to answer the door himself if he didn’t want his sister seeing me like this.

I stepped back, grabbed the closest shirt in my closet, and pulled it on before stepping into my shoes, all while stealing as many glances at her as I could.

Why did the woman of my dreams have to be Ethan’s sister?

Because that was my luck. Of course, things would be complicated.

“Come in, I’ll change real quick.” He pulled her into our room before closing the door and picked out clothes from the pile near the foot of his bed.

“Are those clean?” she asked.

He sniffed them, then shrugged. “Think so.”

Her nose crinkled, and I let out a laugh, bringing her attention back to me. She opened her mouth as if to speak, then just stared at me.

Ethan walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

“You’re his sister?” I knew that, but I felt like I had to say it aloud for my brain to accept it.

“And you’re Reid.” She licked her lips, pulling my attention to the mouth I’d craved in my dreams all night and reminding me of the moment before we kissed. “His roommate and best friend.”

I nodded dumbly.

“But someone called you Red last night.” She narrowed her eyes.

“Benjamin calls me Read, like the past tense of r-e-a-d,” I explained. “He thinks he’s clever.”

She breathed out a laugh. “That actually is kind of funny.”

I couldn’t stop studying her. How was this the same girl I’d met three years ago? She didn’t resemble that awkward teen at all. “I didn’t recognize you.”

Her cheeks flushed red. “I was really hoping you didn’t remember that.” She ducked her head. “Thirteen to seventeen was a really rough time for me.”

“Well, you look beautiful now.” I snapped my mouth closed, immediately regretting my words. It wasn’t that they weren’t true, but she was Ethan’s sister!

“Thanks.” She smiled. “You look different too. I didn’t even recognize you from the team headshots.”

I cringed. “I don’t think I’ve had a good one the entire time I’ve been here.”

Plus, I’d put on at least twenty pounds of muscle and grew facial hair since the time we’d met. At least we could both say the kiss had been an accident. A coincidence fueled by mutual attraction and not intentional. If I’d known who she was, there was no chance things would have gone the same way. I would have introduced her to the guys and made sure they also knew who she was. I would have treated her like family.

Family didn’t kiss like we did.

Family also didn’t dream about each other.