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“Youget lost!”What is his problem?“You have no right to talk to my friend that way.”
Phoenix advanced, and I stumbled back. Max’s hands were on the backs of my shoulders, holding me steady as Phoenix grabbed my hips then pulled me into his arms.
“I’m not going anywhere unless I hear it from Aspen.” Max’s voice was just as fierce as Phoenix’s.
“I’m good. Promise. I’ll call you later,” I said, craning my neck so he could see my face. “Phoenix and I have a few things to discuss. I’ll talk to you later.”
Phoenix tensed, and I pinched his side when Max touched my back before reluctantly leaving. I waited until the door to the stairwell swung closed before I tried to shove him. “Let me go.”
“I don’t want to let you go.” He swayed slightly, his arms like steel bands around me.
Huh, now he wants to be around me?Only the threat of another guy or alcohol made him want to stick by my side. “You have to back off so I can open my room.”
A second passed when he dropped his gaze to my lips, and heat engulfed me as the memory of our kiss earlier today hit me full force. Physically, I was beyond attracted to Phoenix. He finally relaxed his arms and released me. I pushed him away and whirled so my back was to him, opening my door before the hall flooded with nosey neighbors.
We were lucky. My floormates should have been in the hall, given how he’d shouted at Max. When the door shut behind me, I waved him over to one of the desk chairs and took the bed. There needed to be distance between us. That was the only way we could get through this discussion.
“You told me right after practice.” I was fired up, and he would get a piece of my mind. “Andnowyou show up? No explanation and no text that you’ll be late? I’m not going to wait around for you, Phoenix. I’ve got my own life and obligations that I will not put on hold because of your inconsiderate ass.”
“Something came up after practice.”
I waited for more information, but his features shuttered. I couldn’t tell anything about what or why. “That’s not going to work. Your phone is on you. A text takes a few seconds. And if it was a girl”—I could feel my blood pressure rising—“then our deal is off.”
“It wasn’t a girl. I just had a meeting I had to make.”
I threw my hands up.This guy. “That’s it? You’ve got nothing else to say to me? Fuck it.” I jumped off the bed and headed toward the door, but he stood and blocked me. “Get out and forget you even met me. We’re done.”
Strong hands curled around my waist, and I swayed into him, stopping myself right before impact.No. I crossed my arms over my chest and made sure he saw how furious I was. “I don’t want my kid to go through what I’ve been through. And so far, you’ve shown me nothing but disrespect. Screw this, Phoenix. This reeks of my parents’ relationship, which I do not want. I don’t want to see you anymore.”
“I keep screwing up with you.”
He eased me back until my legs hit the edge of the bed. Then he lifted me like I weighed nothing and carefully deposited me on the mattress.
“You don’t want what your parents had, and I refuse to be my dad. I’ll do better with communicating, but Max needs to go.”
“No.” He didn’t know that Max was gay, and I wasn’t going to tell him. It didn’t matter. He needed to see me as a person and respect my choices. “I’m upholding the no dating or sleeping around part. You have to show me respect. If you can’t do that now, it’s clear what you’ll be like when I have this baby. If there’s anything you need to know, it’s that I will not let you into her or his life if that’s the case.”
He shoved his hands into his wavy blond hair and tugged on the strands.
I narrowed my eyes. He did that a lot when he was frustrated. Maybe he felt backed into a corner. I didn’t know for sure because we weren’t friends. But I would pay attention. “You were late for some reason and drinking. What’s bothering you?”
“Besides the fact that I got you pregnant?”
My stomach clenched. “Yeah, besides that.”
He sat on the bed, so close that the heat from his body warmed mine.
“I’m flunking out of school, and if that happens, I’ll lose my shot at the NFL.”
Oh, wow. From growing up in the same house as my parents, I understood missed opportunities and crushed dreams. They lived and breathed that life, only focusing on what could have been rather than all they had. It made for a depressing and unhappy way of life. No matter how much he aggravated me, I didn’t wish that on Phoenix.
Something in me wanted to help him. And not because of anything more than him needing the support. “I can help. What classes are you taking this semester?”
His head tilted to the side, and his gaze pierced me, almost as if he was trying to see inside me. “That’s more than my brother is willing to do lately.”
Weird comment, but okay… “I’m not Shane.”
He got comfortable on my bed. Hands behind his head, he stretched out, taking up most of my pillow. The bed was too small for him, and seeing him lying there gave me ideas I shouldn’t have had. When that slow, sexy grin pulled at his lips, I knew I was in trouble. I scowled, in no way wanting to encourage him. I couldn’t fall victim to those charms again. Look where it had already gotten me.
