Page 31 of Catching Feels

Does that mean he thinks I’m hot, or does it mean he’s a word-class asshole and decided it would be fun to bone his teammate’s sister and then act like he doesn’t know, when he actually knows. He freaking knows. Of course he does!

What a dick!

As Roman’s sister, and not the girl who got fucked by his teammate, I should march over there and bitch-slap him for doing that to Rome. Fuck bitch slap. I wanna nut-chop him. Clearly, he’s psychotic. And he lives with them … sort of. But yeah, he does.

Oh my God, poor Ellie. Was he trying to use her to fuck with my head?

I grab some shorts and a hoodie, because, bitch please, I’m not a girl you can fuck with, and neither is Ellie. I have to get her to make sure he doesn’t pull some more crazy shit and she ends up getting hurt.

I know CeCe’s not here, but I give zero fucks as I throw open the door and march my ass inside. “Come on, Elle; you and I are going for a walk.”

“Hey, Nour made breakfast,” AJ calls to me as I grab her leash. “Want something to eat?”

Grrr, I think as I hook her up. “No, we girls have shit to do.”

Before any of them can say anything else, we’re out the door.

Once down the driveway, I glance down at her. “I know you may think I’m nuts. A little on edge, yes. Nuts no. Don’t let that freak you out, though. Me and you, we’re good. Your mom and dad will be home soon, and I’ll come up with a plan to make sure we don’t have another bat-shit crazy man to deal with.”

Okay, maybe I’m losing it, but I think she just arched a brow at me.

“Look, I’m no Gwen York, but I was raised with two brothers, which means I’m a badass in my own right.”

Still, she doesn’t look convinced.

“Trust me; I’ve seen some shit.”

We stop and make sure no cars are coming before crossing the road. “We have to act cool, and in order to act cool, we need to be cool. Are you cool? Of course you are. Ellie’s a good girl.”

Her tail wags.

“You like that, huh? Good girl? You can trust it coming from my lips, but a man says that to you, it’s best to be on high alert.”

We walk for a few blocks, just looking around, and I give her some ear rubs. “I know this is crazy, but I have to tell someone, and since you don’t talk, I’m pretty sure my secret’s safe with you.” I lean down. “I’m not a virgin anymore.” I stand back upright, and we continue on our way. “For obvious reasons, I can’t tell anyone else, so thank you in advance for being a captive audience.” We stop and wait for the light to turn. “I wish I could say it wasn’t all they say it is, and maybe more, but that only lasts for a few minutes, and then you’re faced with the question: was it really worth it?”

She sits down and looks up at me, and I shrug.

“In any other situation, it would be. Yeah, sure, two thumbs-up. All I have to say is you should follow your gut—if you think you should back out, then do it right then and there.”

She lifts her nose in the air and sniffs, so I do the same.

“Smell that? I think it’s lavender. Maybe there’s a park around here.”

She pulls to the right.

“Fine, I’ll follow you.”

I immediately realize where we are—just a couple blocks from Wags vet clinic and O’Donnell’s Pub.

“Damn, girl, you have great instincts. Follow them, Ellie Hart, and you’ll be just fine.”

As we pass O’Donnell’s, I see CeCe’s friend, Fawna, and wave as we walk by. I don’t hang out and see if she waves back, because Ellie and I are on a mission to find where the smell of lavender is coming from.

“Hey, Jillian, wait up,” I hear from behind and turn to see Fawna coming toward us.

“Good morning.” I smile.

“This is going to sound insane, but I got a text from CeCe last night that she’d miss coffee with us this morning, and somehow, it came up that you used to bartend?”

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