Page 48 of What About Us

“I don’t give a rat’s ass if it’s gold plated, I don’t want you wearing another man’s name on your back.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Do I look like I’m kidding, Ivy?”

I look around the room, at our friends. Britney’s hiding a smile behind Cally. Cooper isn’t hiding his smile at all.

“Um, Xander, this is just a T-shirt.”

To my utter shock, the man before me whips his own shirt over his head and holds it out to me, and I take a step back.

“What are you doing?”

“Wear mine.”

“N-no.” I laugh because this is ridiculous. “If you have a personal issue with Mullins, I’ll change my shirt⁠—”

“I fucking hate his guts now that I know you have his shirt in your possession.”

I lift an eyebrow. “I need you to take a deep breath.”

Unable to stay away, I step closer to him and slide my hand in his, and holy goose bumps. This is the first time I’ve ever held Xander’s hand, and it feels damn good. His fingers dwarf mine, and his thumb instinctively starts to rub circles over my knuckles.

I crook my finger so he’ll dip his head down, and then I whisper-shout, “It’s just a T-shirt, you blockhead.”

Britney and Cooper both snort, and Xander’s eyes narrow. I can’t look away from those green orbs because if I do, I’ll drop my gaze to his bare torso, and then I’ll make an absolute fool of myself.

And lick him.

Or worse.

“Excuse us,” Xander says, and with my hand still firmly held in his, he leads me from the living room to my bedroom and shuts the door.

“You do know that you sound certifiable, right?”

“I don’t know why I’m being a complete idiot, I just am. I don’t want to see anyone else’s name on you. Please change.”

“You’re serious.”

His jaw firms and a muscle tics, and with a shrug, I walk over to my drawer and pull out a Hendrix T-shirt, then cross to the bathroom so I can change.

When I walk back out, he’s wearing his own shirt once again, and his whole body relaxes.

I turn around so he can see the back. “Does this work for you?”

“So, I am your favorite player.”

I bark out a laugh and reach out to take his hand again. “We need to talk about your psychotic tendencies.”

“Never had them before you started coming to my house every day, Red. Come on, let’s go eat some pizza.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

IVY

The past few days have been so freaking fun. I didn’t realize how badly I was missing fun in my life until I started spending time with Xander, and then Cooper and Britney. The couple left the day after we had the surprise pizza party at my place, which was full of laughter. I’ve never felt that comfortable with people. Since then, Xander and I have continued to work together during the day, but we haven’t spent time together outside that.

And it’s okay. He’s still flirty and funny, and I’ve started to relax in his company. I don’t even blush as often when he flirts or touches me.