Page 22 of Endgame

Lila slid the giant cinnamon roll she’d just bought in front of her friend. Wren took a huge bite, then another, and took her time swallowing. “He promised me he’s clean now. That he needed to get well on his own, and now he’s doing better.” Then she looked at Lila with a pained, guilt-ridden expression. And Lila had a feeling she knew why.

Lila placed her hand on Wren’s. “It’s okay if you want to move home, Wren. It’s okay if you want to be closer to him. I want you to be happy. And we wouldn’t be farther away from each other than we already are. It’s just in the other direction.”

At that, Wren started crying, which was a rare sight. “I’m sorry, Li. I really wanted us to have the whole roommate experience together. But I can’t not do this.”

Lila wrapped her arms around her friend. “I know, and that’s what I want for you, too. Aaron’s been a part of your life for a long time, and you deserve to do what you need to do. I’d be mad at you if you didn’t. Besides, it’s not like we can’t still have sleepovers and stuff. We’ll still see each other all the time. I’ll find somewhere great to live that doesn’t involve sharing a room with someone who thinks that waking up at 3:00 a.m. to run is a good idea. Everything’s going to work out the way it’s supposed to.” Lila gave her friend her best intimidating stare. “But if he hurts you? His ass is grass.”

“I love you to the moon, you know.”

“I know.”

“Thanks for being in my corner, Li.” Wren held up her cinnamon roll, which Lila bumped with hers.

“Forevs and evs.”

Chapter 12

As stoppage time wound down, King dribbled the ball around the defender and shifted the ball from his right foot to his left. He sent a lateral pass to Will, who then quickly tapped it back to King, who kicked the ball hard. It bent perfectly, hitting the top left corner of the goal. The keeper had gone the other direction and hit the goalpost in frustration. They’d finally broken the 0-0 stalemate with their biggest rival, and King’s teammates crowded him excitedly. The ref’s whistle signaling the end of the game came a few seconds later, and the crowd cheered loudly.

“Hell of a game, Spencer.” Coach Klopp nodded sharply as King headed to the locker room. Even though it was still damn cold in February, it was the first game of the second half of the season, and Bradley U was currently at the top of their conference standings with no losses and only one tie.

“And no penalties, praise the Lord,” Jason chimed in, smacking him on the ass.

King grunted. The last few fall games had ended with a couple of yellow cards and some other stupid fouls. All the games after Halloween, his brain mocked him.

He didn’t think about that night if he could help it. And he definitely didn’t fantasize about the way Lila had looked in her costume. Shit, he’d had a more-than-half-naked woman grinding on his leg, and it had done absolutely nothing for him. As soon as he saw Lila, though? He got so hard it made him angry.

The whole month following that stupid night, King had made a point to avoid the Brad at times when he thought he’d run into Lila. He focused on soccer, where he could work out his pent-up aggression on the field, and school, where he studied for his finals with an energy he’d never had before. Though he’d always been a pretty good student, he had the feeling that perfect grades just might be in his grasp this time around.

He’d honestly thought he was doing okay until the day Lila had gone out of her way to sprawl all over Knight’s lap. Despite himself, his stomach had turned to acid and his vision blinked red. So he’d followed her out the door without even thinking about it first, and she’d knocked him on his ass once again. With her proximity, her coldness, her indifference. The weight that was lifted off of his chest when she’d said there was nothing between her and Knight also made him angry. He couldn’t afford to want anyone, to need anyone. He shouldn’t give a shit if Lila and Knight were together. But he did.

Dammit, he did.

After he knew that Lila and Knight weren’t fucking around, he couldn’t help but drive by her place a few times. Or maybe more than just a few. It was like his car just drove there automatically, kind of like the day he’d taken Lila up to the overlook. He chose not to analyze why it happened or why his chest seemed extra tight any time he caught sight of a brunette with long hair who resembled her.

Then he’d had to endure the holiday break with his dysfunctional family. His dad acted like the cheating, entitled asshole that he was, and his mom desperately tried to keep up appearances and pretend that everything was okay as they hosted their annual lavish holiday farce. Being an only child didn’t help things. There were no siblings to commiserate with, nowhere to escape. The fact that his father called him “Junior,” like he hadn’t cut off and ignored his only child, and his mother insisted on referring to him as “Solomon” like it was a designation of distinction, only deepened his sense of entrapment. Solomon Spencer Sr. was a liar, a philanderer, and a shitty parent, and King wanted to excise the burden of carrying around that name every damn day.

And now, even though he hadn’t seen either of his parents for the better part of two months, he still dreaded the text he’d receive from his sperm donor. Either praise for scoring or beratement for assisting. In Solomon Spencer’s world, selfishness reigned supreme. There was nothing else.

King showered and dressed quickly, not in the mood to socialize. Of course, Jason, Will, James, and Nate had other ideas. They intercepted him in the parking lot.

“Get in, loser.” Jason snickered at his own movie quote. “You’re coming with us to The Pub.”

King gritted his teeth. “The fuck I am.”

Nate rolled his eyes and opened the back door. “Seriously, dude, get your ass in the car. My lady’s waiting on us.” Yup, Nate was dating Julia, one of Lila’s former roommates and one of her closest friends. King loved the evil eye she shot him every time she came over. It was a super-fun time for him. But he got into the car, trying to convince himself that he wasn’t secretly hoping that Lila was working.

He’d catch glimpses of her on campus, and he hated the way she still twisted him into knots. Hated how he still pictured the way she looked when she’d been with him. How he knew there was a secret side to her that he knew no one else had seen.

King remembered the night they’d gone the furthest with each other, their clothes discarded on the floor, with just the thin barrier of their underwear between them. That was the night Lila had taken him into her mouth and given him the best blow job of his life. She’d done some research, she’d said. Because of course she had. He could still picture her on her knees, looking up at him with trust and a helluva lot of lust, as he placed his hand on the back of her head. Her attention was powerful and heady and terrifying.

The thought of someone who wasn’t him experiencing her in her most intimate moments made his frozen heart drop to his feet.

Because their group was too big to fit into a single booth, they were seated in the back room of the restaurant. Julia and a couple of friends King hadn’t met were already seated, and her smile lit up her whole face as she got up to jump into her boyfriend’s arms.

“Great saves tonight, babe! You looked so good out there.”

Nate chuckled and leaned in to whisper something in her ear that made her eyes widen before she ducked her head into his neck. Once everyone was seated, Wren approached the table.

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