Page 70 of For Crosby

A cold fear spread over me. Why was he asking? How did he know? Knowing better than to let him see he got to me, I played it off as if it didn’t bother me. “You jealous, Potter?”

“Of the whore?”

“Fuck you,” I spat.

He laughed, glancing around at his friends before looking back to me. “Careful,” he warned. “Wouldn’t want the scout catching wind of your poor attitude.”

I glared at him, wanting to level him right there and then. But I knew everything out of his mouth was a calculated effort to get to me. I wouldn’t make it easy for him.

I grabbed my things and dressed alone in the restroom, wanting to avoid another run-in with Jeremy. But as we drove through the night back to Alabama, Jeremy’s words haunted me. The fact that he brought up Sabrina sent up warning signs. He’d already asked her out to get to me; what was his point in bringing her up now? Why make it clear he knew we were alone together on campus? Was he jealous I was with her now? Or was there an underlying threat to his comments?

I tried Sabrina’s cell throughout the bus ride home. But she never answered or responded, and for some reason that scared the hell out of me.

* * *

It wasn’t quite dawn as I pounded on Sabrina’s door. Her dorm had reopened, and I’d likely woken whoever was back on her floor in the process. But I needed to see her. I’d sprinted across campus as soon as I stepped off the team bus, needing to know she was okay.

I heard the click of the door unlocking. My heart squeezed in my chest. Sabrina opened the door, her eyes sleepy and her hair a tangled mess.

I lunged forward, grasping her cheeks in my hand and kissing her hard.

She pulled back with a confused look. “Miss me?”

“God, yeah.” My eyes jumped around her room. Finlay’s bed was made and empty. I kicked the door shut behind me and walked Sabrina backward until I lowered her onto her bed and covered her with my body. “Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

“It died and I couldn’t find my charger. I think I left it at your place.”

I closed my eyes and buried my nose in her hair, breathing her in. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Jeremy said something about us being on campus alone, and I didn’t know what he was getting at,” I said. “I just needed to be sure you were okay.”

I felt her body tense beneath me.

I pulled back enough to see her tired eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“I need to tell you something,” she said hesitantly.

“Okay.”

“I kind of threatened Jeremy before break.”

My eyes narrowed. “What do you mean you kind of threatened him?”

“At the bar. Before you and I danced. I told him I’d go to the dean about what he did to you. He got all scary-looking and said I wouldn’t want to start something I couldn’t stop.”

“Sabrina,” I sighed, unable to believe she’d stood up to him for me—especially since she’d pretty much hated me before break. “I don’t need you fighting my battles.”

“It wasn’t about you. I provoked him,” she said.

Had she? Because at this point, I had no idea what he was capable of. All I knew was he hated me and he seemed like he’d do anything to get me to quit the team. “You can’t blame yourself for anything he does. You hear me?”

She nodded.

“Thanks for trying to stand up to him for me, though.”

She smiled and that smile made anything Jeremy said seem unimportant now.

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