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I shrugged, putting on a face. “Fine. My nerves were shot at first, but no one got hurt.”
She didn’t know about my nightmares. No one did besides Lucas, and he hadn’t helped me with them for a while. If it wasn’t for Anon13 messages waking me up, I’d still be lost to them every night. I fought back a blush as the memory of what happened after the text woke me up flooded into my brain. Who baked in the middle of the night? Apparently, Lucas.
“I spoke with Hailey about you staying with us for a bit. Her parents went home over the weekend.” Shana put it out there casually, having no idea the internal crisis it caused.
She was offering me the solution to all of my problems, but it forced me to face the very real reality that I didn’t actually want to move out. I swallowed hard. “I’m good. I want to keep an eye out for Jax for the next bit.”
“That’s the only reason?” Shana sounded disbelieving.
“Of course. What else would it be?”
She sighed dramatically. “I’m going to let this slide. For now. There’s a party tonight at one of the players’ houses. Want to go?”
“You do realize it’s a Thursday?”
“You do realize it’s college, right? What time is your class tomorrow?”
“Not until noon.”
She gave me a mischievous smirk. “Perfect.”
* * *
The Uber dropped Shana, Misty, and me off at the party. It had been a blast getting ready with these two at Shana’s place. Shana was dressed in bootcut jeans and a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up; she pulled off sexy masc like the boss that she was. Misty was in a super-cute black romper that opened up to bare her back, and I’d opted for a basic look of a simple baby blue sundress. Shana gave me shit for dressing like someone out of an antidepressant commercial. Something about how I could be twirling in a field of flowers, but I felt good.
The music from inside was so loud I could make out the words to “Truth Hurts” by Lizzo clearly from the porch, and the second we opened the door, the smell of weed and stale beer made me scrunch up my nose. It had been a while since I’d attended a house party, and the smell was definitely something I didn’t miss. I pushed down the twitch of pain at the memory of what had happened at the last one and entered the room.
The space wasn’t much different than the guys’, but I couldn’t make out many details through the crush of people.
“Let’s get a drink,” Shana yelled, but I could barely hear her.
“What?”
She entwined our fingers, and I grabbed Misty’s hand before weaving through the crowd to get to the kitchen. This place was older and didn’t have an open-concept design, which I was grateful for because it was significantly quieter here.
“What will you have?” a blond I recognized as one of the guys’ teammates asked from behind the counter. “We’ve got Coors Light? Or you can grab a cup from the cupboard, and I can mix you a drink.”
Misty made a choked-off squeak sound from beside me, and I turned to grin at her. She was a brilliant shade of pink, eyes round on the player. “You’re…you’re…Cane.”
He wet his bottom lip and smiled at her. “Well, aren’t you gorgeous?”
I rolled my eyes, but Misty’s excitement was almost palpable. “I’ll grab two.”
He popped the top and handed me the drinks, and I passed one to Shana before turning to my roomie. “You good here?”
Her gaze snapped between mine and the temporary bartender, and she nodded a little too aggressively.
I squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t leave without telling me, okay?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of her.” The guy was leaning over the table, a wide smile taking over his face.
I walked back toward the crowded living room. “Have fun!”
Misty flushed bright red. I stopped at the door, where I spotted River.He bent his head so he could hear me over the music. “Is that guy okay?”
River nodded. “He’s good.”
“Keep an eye out for her, ’kay?” He raised a brow, and I laughed.“What? Do you want me to believe you’re going to be out here mingling? Honestly, I’m surprised you’re here.”
