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“Dude, you know news like that travels fast.” I could feel his gaze on me. “And you guys weren’t dating?”
I shook my head. “Fuck no.”
“Huh. I guess I assumed since you guys were hanging out.”
“Going to parties and getting drunk is not dating.”
“Hopefully at least you fucked her before ditching her.”
“Tristan, dude? What the fuck?” I glanced over and shook my head. “For one thing, no, I didn’t fuck her. And another thing, is that what you think of girls?” Rachel was a bitch, but I didn’t believe in degrading them like that. Trying to get laid then kicking them to the curb wasn’t my style.
“Rachel isn’t a girl, Cannon. Rachel is a breed all on her own, man.”
I sure as hell agreed on that.
We started playing the video game, and I thought about Stella, how she was so different from those girls that Tristan talked about.
“What I need to do is find a girl like Stella. She’s cool as fuck and doesn’t give two shits about all that petty bullshit.”
I felt my body tighten, my hackles rise. But I kept my mouth shut.
“She’s gorgeous too, man. I wonder if she’d be down to hang out.”
Everything in me rose up violently. I shouldn’t take this out on Tristan because he didn’t know how I felt about her, but there was no stopping the words from coming out.
“Stay away from her.” The words spilled from my mouth before I could stop them. The rough gravel of my voice, the way I felt my aggression pour from me … it was all because of Stella.
I knew Tristan was very aware of it all because he paused the game and looked over at me. “What the fuck, man?”
I glanced at him but didn’t say anything.
“Are you and her together?”
I set my controller down and exhaled, resting my head back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. “Nah,” I said and that felt like the worst word I could have said in that moment. It was actually painful. “No, we aren’t together, but she’s fucking off-limits, especially to you and your reputation.” I stared Tristan in the eyes, meaning every damn word I said.
He knitted his brows. “What do you mean ‘my reputation’?”
I shook my head. He knew exactly what I meant. Tristan had the reputation of being a whore—for lack of a better word—at school. But it wasn’t just rumors. It was the truth. And I didn’t want Stella anywhere near that bullshit.
Truth was, I didn’t want her near any fucking guy for that matter. Even if I hadn’t started having these feelings for her, the thought of her being with a guy who wasn’t good enough was not something I would’ve stood for.
“You sure you guys are just friends?” Tristan lifted an eyebrow, a smirk forming on his lips.
“I’ve never wanted any assholes by her, and dude, even though you’re my friend, you’re a big asshole.”
He flashed a grin. “Touché.” He shrugged. “Man, I’ll stay away. But you can’t shelter her forever. When she heads off to college, you don’t think she’s going to get some deep dicking?”
“Tristan.” I said his name on a warning growl.
Tristan resumed the game and faced forward. “No disrespect, but I mean, why is it cool that you hang out with chicks, but any guy who comes sniffing around her gets mean mugged by you?”
I didn’t respond, just thought about what he’d said. He was right, of course, and although I should’ve backed off and let her do what she wanted, be with whoever she wanted to be with, truth was I couldn’t change, especially not now, not with what I was starting to feel for her.
We didn’t talk about that anymore, and instead played the video game for the next twenty minutes. It was only when I beat Tristan’s ass and he cursed me out, did he shift on the couch and look at me.
“Dude, you decide if you’re coming to the party this weekend, or what?” He continued to play the game, his focus on the TV, but I knew, could tell in his voice, that he wanted me to go.
We tended to get rowdy when we’d been drinking, and the parties we went to got out of fucking control.
“Bring Stella. I don’t think she’s ever gone to a party.”
“No, she hasn’t. We should probably keep it that way.” I reached for my bottle of water and downed the rest of it.
“Why? She’s a tough girl and can handle herself. Hell, she might actually enjoy it, too.”
Yeah, the very thought of Stella around all that bullshit, the drunken guys, the sex filling the air … already had me anxious and my anger rising.
“She won’t break, dude.”
I looked over at Tristan but he was still staring at the TV.
Yeah, she wouldn’t break, but if anyone tried to get with her, I was liable to break them.
