Page 18 of Released from the Sin Bin

“No one.” I shrug, watching him loosen his tie and roll his shirtsleeves up to his elbows.

Mayor Pierce threatens to close down any place that sells liquor to minors, but he knows every store and bar that does, and does nothing about it.

He looks over his shoulder at his open office door. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice tonight? Are you really that dumb?”

I hoped he’d notice. My plan to rile him up is working.

He stands toe to toe with me, only a couple of inches taller. If I tried, I might be able to take him, but it isn’t worth it. The minute I fight back, he’ll move on to weaker things.

He clutches a handful of my T-shirt, twisting it into his fist. This is exactly what I wanted.

Toughen up.

I won’t fight back, but I’ll never back down.

“You may be as big as me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t still whip your sorry excuse for a son’s ass.”

Chapter 5

Willa

I pull up to my house at the same time Luca runs out of the Delta Nu house next door.

He waves with a grin, lighting up his face, but keeps running down the street, away from our houses to round the corner back to his.

After losing his brother to cancer last semester, he was in a depressive slump. He and Kandi have been “casually” hooking up for a few weeks, and he looks happy. He says it’s casual, but my best friend is in love.

Luca is completely obsessed with Kandi. Besides telling me she hates him several times, Kandi hasn’t talked about him at all since they started their friendly hookup.

Knowing she’s home, I make my way into her house and up to her room.

“Hey.” She turns in her desk chair to face me after I knock on the open door. “What’s up?”

I enter and close the door behind me. “What’s going on between you and Luca?”

“I’m not sure that’s any of your business.” She looks away with a soft laugh, and plays with her bright red hair that is brushed over her shoulder.

“Luca is like a brother to me.” I plead with her to understand. “He’s had a rough year, and if you plan on hurting him, that makes it my business.”

“Willa,” she scoffs and rolls her eyes. “We’re just having fun. We’re both adults–”

“Kandi,” I cut her off, “you know it’s more than that for him.”

“I haven’t made any promises.” She gets up and nervously rearranges some makeup products on her dresser. “We have a clear end date that he agreed to.” She turns the bottles around for the labels to face outward. “Friends can hook-up with no strings attached and be totally fine.”

Kandi is in denial. Luca is going to get hurt by this deal he made, and she knows it.

“He loves you, Kandi. You know this,” I say to wake her up from the lie she’s trying to convince herself to be true. “You’re breaking his heart, and he’s already dealt with enough. If you cared at all, you’d stop playing with him.”

She slams one of the bottles down on her dresser and whips around to face me. “I think you’re talking to the wrong person.” She glares at me with her hands firmly set on her curves.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I match her defensive tone and place my hands on my flat, square hips.

If she wants a fight, I’d do it for Luca. It’d be an unfair fight that Kandi wouldn’t win, and that’s the only thing holding me back.

“You know as well as I do, Vic is the one you should be talking to.” She steps closer and points to her window as if she’s pointing right at my boyfriend. “He’s the one cheating, using, and playing with your heart. Don’t project that on me. You can’t judge me or anyone, when you’re the one holding on to a man that will never respect you.”

My chest aches as I inhale a sharp, icy breath and my hands roll into tight fists. I want to hurt her. Or someone. I’ve never been in a fight outside the ice and I can’t start with Kandi. I’m not a fighter. Not like this.

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