Page 43 of Tumbling the Cornerback

"But you're here."

I almost asked him to let me in again, but I swallowed that down and asked, "Do you want me to go for a while?"

"Would you hate me if I said yes?"

"Never. I want to give you what you need."

"I need a time machine," he grumbled. Then there was the sound of movement. A second later, the door at my back moved. I shot to my feet before I could fall into the apartment, meeting Lucas' puffy-eyed, tear-streaked face with a concerned gaze. "This isn't an invitation. I just... I wanted a hug," he admitted, breath hitching.

I swooped in, gathering him to my chest as he pressed his face against me. His body trembled in my arms, breath hitching. He let me kiss the top of his head, his cheek, the shell of his ear, before pushing away. "Can I help?" I asked, knowing it was futile. "It hurts to see you like this. I want to do something."

Shaking his head again, he smiled thinly, then paused. "You know what? The fundraiser. Make sure you make a post or something tonight, keep the interest going. But I really just... I need to rot for a bit, okay?"

Reluctantly, I dropped my hands from his hips and nodded. "Promise me you'll call when you're less...rotty?"

He snorted softly. "You'll be the first."

After he closed the door and I heard the music come back on, I stood there for a long minute.

"He in there?"

Three women stood at the end of the hall, just past the elevator lobby. "Marisol, right?" I asked. "Liz and Tori?"

"We figured it was bad when he didn't come back to practice," Liz sighed, striding towards me. "They wouldn't tell us details, but it was all over the place by the time I got my phone out."

Marisol and Tori hurried to join us. "I called my brother—he's a lawyer, and I work at his firm so sometimes I can weasel a favor out of him. He said if Lucas wants, he can get the ball rolling on a defamation suit and a cease and desist. Which means I'll start the paperwork, since I'm his para," she added with a roll of her eyes.

Shrugging one shoulder, Tori sniffed. "He's one of us, you know? We're tight, the four of us. Ride or die for each other."

"He said he needs to rot," I offered. "He wants to be alone for now."

Marisol straightened her shoulders and tightened her ponytail. "We'll see about that. No offense, but sometimes you don't need a boyfriend. You need your besties."

Tori nudged me with her elbow, drawing my attention down to her mischievous expression. "Look, I'm not saying you need to leave, but I am saying if you did leave, you might want to go to the Hotel Lavolin and get a drink at the bar. Because I'm not saying that's where Creel's been hanging out this week, but my sister's a bartender there, and she may have mentioned seeing him."

Marisol and Liz gasped. Marisol gave her a light shove that bounced her off my arm. "That's encouraging violence!" she hissed. "Or whatever the law is!"

"I'm not going to hurt him," I promised, though I wasn't entirely sure if I was lying. "I want to talk to him, though. He hurt Lucas more than once, and now he's cost Lucas something he loves dearly—there's no way in hell I'm letting him smarm his way through life with Lucas as an acceptable casualty."

Liz pushed me towards the elevator. "Go. And swear to god, if you get arrested, Lucas is going to kill you."

I nodded firmly, glancing back at the door. "Don't tell him..."

"We're not stupid. We never saw you," Marisol said shortly. "Get out of here before he hears us. And don't do anything actionable!"

CHAPTER 15

LUCAS

Something was up.

Like... not just the shitshow that was my life. Or maybe I was merely being paranoid. When I cracked the door open to peek out, sure Cooper knocked to beg me to let him in after all, Marisol, Liz, and Tori had shoved their way inside. Overwhelm swamped my disappointment. The three of them a veritable tornado, they pushed me back into the apartment. Tori pulled me into the living room, Liz opened cabinets to make drinks, and Marisol shook the plastic bag she'd brought with them. "I told Mom you were suffering from heartbreak, so she sent some of the tamales she made for Nito's birthday. She always makes too many. Score! I've got mariscos, bean and cheese, that weird fungus you like?—"

"Huitlacoche," Tori called before I could. "Those are the shit. Save me two!"

"Y'all are welcome to 'em. I'm keeping the poblanos," Marisol said decisively.

"Water, tea, or beer?" Liz held up an empty glass and a bottle of beer. "Personally, I'd go with the nonalcoholic options because hon, you look like shit, and booze will only dehydrate you."

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