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I sighed, tired of having to explain myself again. “She was still asleep upstairs.” I knew my mistake immediately.
Reece’s grin sharpened, and he tapped his chin with his finger. “Wait, you offered her your bed last night, but you never came back down. After your little speech warning us about getting involved with Eva, I’d have expected you to last more than an hour.”
I glared at him, hoping my horrible mood would be enough to convince him I wasn’t involved with Eva. Anything I said would probably be a lie, and I tried not to lie to my friends. Unfortunately, Sellers had heard Reece too.
Sellers snickered. “Have you seen Eva? He’s lucky he didn’t come in his pants on the way up the stairs.”
I threw his glove back at him. His reflexes weren’t as fast as mine—something we’d have to work on—and it smacked him in the nose with a satisfying thud. “Shut it.”
He spread his hands, backing out of projectile range. “I’m just saying. Let me know when you’re done with her.”
His attitude, one probably shared by most of my team, pushed me out of my head. I stood and whistled to get everyone’s attention.
“Since Reece apparently can’t keep his mouth shut for five minutes,” I paused to scowl at him, but he inclined his head like I’d just complimented him. “Eva Adams moved into our extra room. I don’t need any of you fucking with my roommate. Got it?”
Several heads nodded, but then Killsy raised his hand. “Can I still fuck with Cole, or is that a new house rule?”
The room exploded in laughter as Cole flipped him off. Mase made his way through the hyenas and shook his head. “You should have known better.”
“I had to try to warn them off at least.”
He sent me a disgusted look. “Not them. Moving her into the house. She’s going to cause problems.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Not now, Mase. I need to shower so I can get to my class. You can tell me all about how much trouble Eva’s going to be over dinner.”
He shrugged and shouldered his bag, already dressed in ripped jeans and a black shirt so faded I couldn’t tell what the design was supposed to be. Mase didn’t shower at school. Half the time he went home before his classes started, but he’d been known to throw on some deodorant and call it good. The man did not give a single fuck.
Cole bumped my shoulder. “Are you going to invite her for the exhibition game?”
My brows drew together. “Eva?”
“Yeah. Our new roommate? It’s the Friends and Family thing. I’ve never been able to get her to come before, but maybe she’d be willing now that she’s basically family.”
“She’s not family.” The headache that had started with Danny blossomed into a full-blown pounding at my temples. I rubbed my neck, trying to relieve the pressure.
He tilted his head at me. “Then why warn everyone off?”
“I don’t want her messing with our season. We’re finally playing at a top-tier level, and I want to win a championship before I leave. Eva might as well have ‘drama’ tattooed on her ass.”
Cole raised a brow. “And it has nothing to do with the fact youdidn’tcome back down last night? You know you could have crashed in one of our rooms if you needed to.”
He was savvy enough to realize Eva sleeping in one of their rooms was a horrible idea, but I didn’t have a good reason to give him for my choice. I’d been planning to torture her a little before grabbing the floor anywhere else. Then she’d had to open her mouth.
I didn’t know why I let her get under my skin. Eva was a problem, and avoiding her was the only viable solution at this point. Something I needed to remember if I didn’t want to fuck everything up.
Instead of answering Cole, I gave him a tight smile and headed for the showers.
I madeit to my class on time. Barely. Too bad I couldn’t pay attention for shit. I was going the easy route and getting a degree in general studies. Yes, I knew it was a bullshit major, but it gave me the flexibility I needed to dedicate my time to cleaning up after Danny in addition to playing hockey.
To be honest, I hadn’t planned to graduate. I’d intended to play a couple of years then get called up to Dallas. That was before everything went to hell my senior year of high school. I wasn’t even supposed to be at TU. I’d gotten into the University of Ohio, where I’d been living while playing Juniors hockey, but when they revoked my scholarship, I didn’t have a lot of options.
Luckily, TU was looking to build a winning team by recruiting the fuckups and the rebels. Coach jokingly called us the bad boys of hockey. I just wanted to forget the mess and play. The exhibition game was in two weeks, and our first real game was only a few weeks after that. We had a lot of work to do before then.
Morning practice meant my afternoon was mostly free. I needed to hit the weight room three times this week, but I wasn’t feeling it. My car was parked by the rink, meaning I needed to walk across campus. I’d count the hike as my bonus cardio for the day.
September in Texas was hot as balls, so by the time I got to my car, I felt like I needed a third shower. The fantasy from this morning of Eva spread on the bathroom counter flitted into my mind like it belonged there, and I swore. No more showers today.
Hot air billowed past me when I opened the door. I shook my head and reached inside to crank the AC. My car was a sauna, Danny was skipping classes again, and I wanted to fuck my newest roommate. Not a phrase I ever thought I’d utter, even in my mind. I’d been one hundred percent serious when I told her my dick wasn’t part of the deal, despite all the back and forth.
