I cross my legs in the passenger seat, trying to ignore the way my body eagerly responds to her suggestion. “That would be a terrible idea.”
“Please. You told me all about what happened in that bathroom. With chemistry like that, you two are totally going to fuck again.” She throws the SUV into reverse, and the rear tires fishtail as she pulls onto the street.
“Doubtful. The only thing Tyler seemed to care about was making sure we don’t tell Chase.” I was in full agreement because I have no interest in him becoming even more overprotective than he already is. I’m not even sure what he’d do if he found out. Send me to a hotel? Stand guard outside my bedroom? String a little bell along the top of my door?
Other than the brother issue, Tyler seemed completely unfazed when he learned my identity. Like our bathroom hookup wasn’t memorable or noteworthy at all. While that bruises my ego a little, maybe it’s ultimately a good thing. It means it’ll be easier to move on without any awkwardness.
Though if I keep drooling over him in the kitchen, it might remain awkward no matter what.
“If anything,” I add, “I should find someone else to distract me from him.” Entertainment in the form of another warm, willing male would get me out of the house, keep me occupied, and most importantly, take my mind off Tyler. It’s a solid enough plan. Unfortunately, I have zero desire to follow through with it—especially after seeing him shirtless in the kitchen.
Abby laughs. “Come to our next mixer and we can make that happen.”
For some reason, the offer doesn’t sound as appealing as it usually would.
She tugs off her knit purple beanie, freeing her unruly copper curls, and launches into an update on her love life. She’s caught in the middle of the most complicated love triangle I’ve ever heard. Or maybe it’s a love quadrangle? Love square? There’s a hefty amount of history between all of the parties involved, and I could use a flow chart to help keep it straight.
When she wraps up her story, she remarks, “You seem off today.”
I feel her gaze on me as I look out the window, watching the snow-covered trees fly by in a blur. “I’m okay.”
In truth, I’m thinking about my mom. They caught her cancer early and she’s expected to make a full recovery, but it’s hard not to worry. Since they live over an hour away, my stepfather Rick has been taking her to chemotherapy and I’ve been receiving regular updates. I’ll be coming to her next follow-up appointment later this month and attending as many as I can after that. Maybe that way, I’ll at least feel like I’m doing something to help.
Abby barrels toward a red light and I claw at the seat nervously, my gel nails digging into luxury leather. Her SUV skids for a few feet before coming to a stop halfway into the crosswalk. It snowed again last night, and the plows haven’t come by yet. Given that she drives like a speed demon even in the poorest of conditions, I’m rethinking my decision to carpool to the gym.
The rest of our drive goes much the same. I exhale a sigh of relief as she veers into a parking stall, marking an end to our frightening journey.
She kills the ignition, shifting to look at me. “You’re going to reaffiliate with Kappa, right?”
“Soon.” As a transfer student, I’ve been given the choice between switching to early alumni status with my sorority or joining the Boyd University chapter. Reaffiliating seems like the obvious choice, but there’s something holding me back from fully committing.
“I can get them to rush the application,” she sings.
“It’s on my to-do list.”
What I don’t tell her is that every time I go to draft the request email, I freeze. Maybe it’s too much change all at once.
CHAPTER 6
99 PROBLEMS
TYLER
This is the longest round of Screw Your Neighbor I’ve ever played. Or maybe it just feels that way because I’m trying to stay on my best behavior and I’m not doing a great job of it. It’s taking all of my effort to keep my attention focused on the game.
Laughter erupts from the adjacent living room where Seraphina is standing with Bailey and Siobhan. Something inside me stirs, and I grip my beer tighter, channeling every shred of restraint I have to keep myself from looking at her again.
Proof the universe likes to fuck with me? She’s wearing one of the tiniest dresses I’ve ever seen. It’s purple, and it looks like it’s been painted on. I’d like nothing more than to be the one to peel it off at the end of the night. Since I value having my limbs in working order, that obviously isn’t an option. But you can bet your ass I’ll be thinking about it later when I’m alone.
My strategy of pretending we never fucked is failing miserably.
“How are you liking Boyd so far, Reid?” Siobhan drapes an arm around Dallas’s neck, lowering to sit on his lap. We have more than enough chairs for everyone; they’re just attached at the hip. Her plane landed while we were at practice this afternoon, and she was at our place by the time we got home. I’m just glad my room is in the basement, so I’ll be spared hearing them “catch up.”
Reid snatches his beer off the table like the very question makes him want to drink. “Been a big change, but the team seems solid so far.”
That’s a rehearsed answer if I’ve ever heard one. He sounds like he’s being interviewed by a reporter on TV. There’s definitely a story behind why he transferred. I’ve heard rumors ranging from “family reasons” to a disagreement with team management to my personal favorite: having allegedly beaten the shit out of one of his teammates.
“It sure is,” Dallas says cheerfully. If he picks up on the evasiveness in Reid’s response, he doesn’t let on. He retrieves the pile of haphazard cards and shuffles them for his turn as dealer. “We’re going to crush Maine this weekend.”
Unsurprisingly, Dallas is the one who talked us into inviting Reid tonight. He coined it “Operation Bury the Hatchet” and rightfully pointed out it would be a dick move not to include him when the rest of the team was already coming. Hard to argue with that, so Chase and I relented. I sort of figured Reid wouldn’t come anyway, but to my surprise, he did. At least he came bearing a case of top shelf beer, so points for that.
Ever since Reid showed up at the door, Dallas has been running interference like a man on a mission, hell-bent on smoothing over any past grudges for the sake of team harmony. It’s been fine, I guess. At least his presence has taken some of the heat off of me, so no one’s noticed how tense I am. Tonight is the only night this month I’ve scheduled to let myself cut loose and I’m more on edge than ever.
Dallas leans forward, distributing cards around the table. My willpower glitches, and I steal another glance at Seraphina. She takes a sip of her White Claw, bringing my focus to her perfect, full lips. I shift my weight in my seat, mesmerized. It’s impossible not to think of all the other ways I’d like to put her mouth to use.
Almost like she can sense me looking at her, she glances over and our eyes lock from across the room. She flashes me a flirty, knowing grin that I feel myself instinctively return.
Fuck. Way to be obvious, man.
Taking a deep breath, I force myself to look away and refocus on the conversation at the table. Sort of. Everyone is talking about some new movie, but I’m not following along enough to say which.