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I snorted and shivered, tugging my towel up higher. “Well, you don’t know my dad if you think that, but I have plans that he would say are worth the trouble.” I shrugged a shoulder.
He frowned and stepped closer to me. “Oh, what?”
Boss wandered past and snorted. I jumped when he slapped my ass, and I swatted at him, but he laughed and danced out of reach. “Hoffman is taking him out,” he said with a wink directed at Wy—not me. What was that all about?
Wy blinked. He growled and focused on me again. “Last year’s captain?” His eyebrows dove.
Thane stopped near us, and I felt gratified that Wy’s gaze didn’t drift to his muscles. “Yeah, Hoffman stopped here to pick up his old records from the trainer. I just got back from working with him and saw Hoffman there. Apparently his new one wants to know about any past injuries.”
Wy kicked my toe with the tip of his. “And you’re going with him? Why? To catch up?” He pursed his lips.
“Yeah.”
“Okay,” he snapped, then stormed past me into the showers.
Confused, I stared after him. Shrugging, I went to get dressed. I was just finishing up tying my shoes when Wy came back out, dripping water. He must’ve taken the world’s fastest shower because I’d barely had time to get my clothes on. He shot me a shitty look I hadn’t seen all day.
“What’s your problem?” Unlike most of the time when I asked that question, I was honestly confused.
He shrugged and opened his locker. “Don’t have one.”
What the fuck?I stared at him a while longer, then grabbed my bag and walked outside into the sunshine. The first thing that hit me was the overwhelming heat, topped with a horrible heap of humidity. We were having one of those last, awful hot days where summer dragged over into fall. Nearby a man on a riding lawn mower was cutting the grass, the buzz loud and annoying and making me squint along with the sunshine.
I spotted Hoffman leaning against a slate blue Audi that did look like it only had two seats after all. I’d thought he was fucking with Boss earlier. I hummed at the flawless paint job and amused myself by trying to guess how much the vehicle had cost. I knew his dad had probably paid for it.
“Hey,” I called.
Hoffman grunted and popped the trunk as I got closer, and I slung my stuff into the back. As I laid my hand on the trunk and pushed down to close it, pain shocked me. I snatched my hand back, staring at the center of my palm while a yellow jacket flew away. The little bastard had just injected me with its venom, so it could’ve at least had the decency to fucking die. The trunk snapped shut. A raised, furious looking, white welt quickly began to turn red, and even as I stared the swelling that went along with being stung when you were highly fucking allergic began. The red stain spread across my hand.
“Shit,” I said, still stunned. The pain that didn’t fade was familiar and yet not. “Fuck me.”
“Hm?” Hoffman glanced up with a smile. “What’s wrong?” he asked, scrolling through his phone screen. The sun glinted off his styled hair and his teeth and for some reason all I could do was focus on how strangely white they were.
“Yellow jacket fucking stung me.” My breath caught.
“That sucks,” he said with a grin. “You need me to get your mommy for you?”
Shaking my head, I stood there stunned even as my heart began to race. “You don’t understand. Open the trunk.”
“Why?” His brow furrowed. “I want to go.”
“I’m allergic and my EpiPens are in my bag.” It didn’t take long for my head to start feeling light, and I wasn’t sure if that was because I was beginning to panic or if my allergy was already starting to fuck with me. My head pounded.Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Uh, okay,” he said with a snort. He raised his eyebrows at me. “Are we talking like, Brian Weltzer’s peanut allergy, or like, the thing I have with cats where it’s just annoying?”
He popped the trunk, and I reached in to grab the handles on my bag, then fumbled it to the ground at my feet. Hoffman sighed and stared at me, not offering to help. There was laughter from the direction of the building, and I figured the guys were on their way to their cars to escape for the day. I went to a knee and cursed as I tugged on the zipper for the pocket on the end of my bag. My hand hurt, but I used it to try to hold my bag steady.
“Atlas?” Wy called from somewhere nearby. I didn’t bother looking up, too intent on what I was doing. “Hey, are you okay?” he asked.
When I glanced up, he was standing there, face pink as he shot glances between me and Hoffman.
For a second, I was confused and couldn’t remember what I’d been doing, but then a sharp stabbing pain in my hand reminded me, and I held up the already swelling mess toward Wy.
“Fuck! Is that—”
“Yellow jacket,” I said.
He growled and went to his knees beside me. “Are you looking for your EpiPens? You better have them. Mom forgets hers at home all the time, and I always—”
