Adam smacks it out of my hand. “Don’t eat all of Ollie’s cookies. I’m scared.”
“We have regular Oreos and birthday cake Oreos,” Carter calls. “I can make you a sundae with those!”
“It’s not the same,” Olivia cries.
Carter drags two hands down his face. “I don’t know what to do! What do you want me to do?” His arms flail above his head, gesturing up the staircase. “Tell me what you want me to do!”
“Just forget it! I’ll starve!”
Emmett’s face pales. “Oh fuck. If Olivia is this scary, what’s Cara gonna be like when she’s pregnant?” He wipes his damp forehead. “I don’t know if I can handle it if she ups the scare factor.”
Jaxon shakes his head. “Fuck that. I’ll be on a nine-month Cara fast. Nope. That woman terrifies me in a way I never thought possible.”
I laugh as I pull my vibrating phone from my pocket. It’s Jennie, and when I’m with Carter, she only calls if something is wrong. For instance, sometimes she accidentally hits stop signs. So I race to the bathroom and greet her with a breathless noise.
“Can you pick me up early, please?”
“Sure, sunshine. Everything okay?”
There’s the hesitation I was looking for, the one that tells me no, not really, without outwardly admitting it.
“I’m leaving now,” I tell her. “But don’t forget: you kick ass and take names. Don’t let anyone walk all over you.”
I’m out the door two minutes later without a word from Carter. He was too busy ripping apart his pantry and having a breakdown about ice cream sundaes and brownies to care.
When I pull up out front of SFU, Jennie comes flying out, Simon hot on her heels as he yells after her. She whips open the door and slides in, and I really wanna kiss her, but I also want to keep my balls attached to my body.
“Hey.” I tap her thigh, drawing her gaze to mine, then tug her into me, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Hang on a sec, ’kay, sunshine?”
“Where are you going?”
“I’ll be right back,” I promise, shutting the door behind me.
It’s cold as balls and I can’t wait for winter to end. I have this vision of spending my summer by a pool where Jennie is scantily clad the entire time.
“Mmm, mmm,” I hum to myself as I stalk toward Simon, that damn song stuck in my head. “Don’t go bacon my heart.”
His eyes zero in on me, angry, confused, before an infuriating smile spreads across his face.
“She really sent you over here to yell at me? Pathetic. I’m not scared of you. Jennie’s so fucking dramatic. If she wasn’t flirting with me all the time, I wouldn’t have kissed her.”
When I stop in front of him, he flinches back, just an inch, before quickly recovering.
Chuckling lowly, he looks me over. “Fucking her brother’s friend and teammate. Classic. Is Jennie as boring in bed as she is the rest of the time? Vanilla sex to go with her vanilla pers—”
The sound of my fist slamming into the flesh of his cheek ends his words prematurely, and fuck, that felt good.
Simon brings a trembling hand to his shocked face. “You—”
My fist connects with his nose this time, blood spattering my knuckles. I grip the collar of his coat and yank him into me.
“Say her name one more time,” I whisper. “I fucking dare you.”
Blood seeps from his nose, gathering on his top lip. His arms come up in surrender.
“I told you not to touch her again without her consent. What does no mean, Simon?”
His lips part, but all that comes out is a croak.
“What does no mean?” I urge again.
“No,” he sputters. “No means no.”
“That’s fucking right, Simon. No means no.” I release his collar and wipe my knuckles on my hoodie. I liked this one, and I especially liked watching Jennie wander around my apartment wearing nothing but it and her panties. Now I have to replace it. “Speak to her again and I’ll put you through the pavement.”
I’m oddly calm as I head to the car, hands tucked in my pockets. I should probably formulate some sort of apology to Jennie for punching Simon on school property or something.
“Hey, so, about that…” I meet her gaze when I slide into my seat. She’s just staring at me, mouth gaped, hazy blue eyes dazed. I slip my fingers beneath my toque, scratching my head. “Are you mad at me? Because I—”
“I didn’t think I was attracted to caveman,” she murmurs, “but I am. I’m attracted to caveman.”
I note the way she’s inching toward me, bottom lip sliding between her teeth, and Lieutenant Johnson stirs in my pants, letting me know he’s ready for duty.
“You want me to take you home and go caveman on you?”
“Yes, I want you to take me home and exert all force necessary.”
“Mmm…” My hand slides along her jaw, angling her face toward mine. “Show you how much stronger I am than you?”
Her fingers glide up my forearms, gripping my biceps. “So strong.”
My lips skim hers. “You want me to tie you up?”
“I want you to strip me down, render me powerless, and fuck me so hard, until I can’t walk and the shape of your cock is imprinted inside me.”
I stare at her, unblinking, for a solid twenty seconds, before finally muttering, “Jesus fucking Christ.”
She grins, giggles, then pops a kiss on my mouth. “I love you. Oh, one sec.” She hits the power button on the window, letting the cold air in as she leans out. “Fuck you, Steve,” she screams at Simon, flipping him the double bird. She turns back around, sinking into her seat with a happy sigh.
“I am so ready to get fucked straight to heaven. Let’s go home, Garrett.”
CHAPTER 37
LIEUTENANT JOHNSON VS. DISNEYLAND: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
GARRETT
“Jennie—”
“No, I changed my mind.” She tosses her braid over her shoulder—it’s tied off with an emerald velvet ribbon today, cute as fuck—and struts away, leaving me staring after her ass while I follow her into the elevator.
“Like fuck you did.”
“Well, believe it, buddy.” She hammers 21 three times and pins her arms across her chest. “You’re in the penalty box tonight.”
Jennie’s so funny and sassy, I don’t know what to do with her sometimes. She likes to play this game, pretend she’s mad at me, drag it out until one of us is begging. She likes both outcomes, and so the fuck do I.
Why is she pretending to be mad at me right now? We went through the Starbucks drive-thru and they didn’t have any ginger molasses cookies. They offered her an oatmeal raisin quinoa cookie and I was afraid she was going to leap through the window. I think the barista was too.
It’s not my fault, but for the sake of getting us both riled up, she’s pretending it is.
“You’re being a brat.”
“I’m not being one, Garrett. I am one.”
“Yeah, tell me about it.” The doors pop open and I scoop her bag up before stalking ahead of her. “Bigger brat than all three of my sisters combined.”