Page 97 of A Little Tempting

“It’s not really any of your business, but I decided to retire before Homecoming. I have one more job to clean up, then I’m done.”

“Good.”

“Yeah. You still owe me, though,” I add.

“Oh, I do?”

“Yeah, man. You do,” I tell him.

Setting the coffee between his feet, he rests back on his hands and turns to me. “What do you want, Reeves?”

Since last night, I considered this question long and hard. The possibilities. The options. The ways I can have my cake and eat it, too. The ways I can keep my superhero cape or, at the very least, pass it on to someone else. Someone capable. Someone with a hero complex and a guilt complex, no matter how much it fucks with our heads.

“I want you to take over helping the girls on campus,” I announce.

Groaning, Ev rubs his hand from forehead to chin. “Tell me you’re joking.”

“I’m not,” I say with a laugh. “You’ll be surprised how many girls find themselves in shitty relationships and have no clue how to escape them unscathed. You’ll also be surprised by how many are able to stand up to the assholes if they feel like they have someone in their corner. Someone who builds them up. Someone who has their back in case things go south.” I sit next to him on the stairs and pat his shoulder. “And that guy is now you. Congratulations.”

He snorts but stays quiet.

“Six months,” I push. “Do it for six months, and we’re even.”

Giving me the side-eye, he asks, “You’re serious?”

“Yeah, man. And since I’m not gonna do it anymore, not gonna do that to Dylan, I need you to take over.”

“For Dylan,” he repeats.

“Yeah, for Dylan.”

The bastard glances at me one more time, then sighs. “Fine.”

“Thanks.” I slap my hand against his shoulder again and push to my feet. “And for what it’s worth, I won't hurt her. You have my word.”

“Yeah, I know.”

26

DYLAN

The scent of coffee wafts through the air as I walk down the stairs, finding Finley in the kitchen with a cute little strawberry apron wrapped around her.

Covering my yawn with my hand, I croak, “What time is it?”

“It’s seven-thirty,” she answers, handing me a cup of coffee. “Here. Reeves said you like peanut butter in it lately? That’s new.”

My brows bunch. “You already spoke with Reeves?”

“Yup. He’s at the gym with the guys. Glad to see your parents’ lawyer had him home quickly.”

“Well, aren’t you a plethora of knowledge this morning,” I reply. She was MIA when everything went down at the dance, so I assumed she was blissfully unaware of the fight, arrest, and…everything else.

A gleam hits her gray eyes. “Griffin filled me in on the rest on the way home last night,” she explains.

“Got it.” I look around the empty kitchen. “Did Drew go, too?”

“To the gym?” She snorts. “Yeah, no. He works out, but he doesn’t exactly feel close to the guys in general. Take away his awesome girlfriend as a buffer, and the guy would have a meltdown.”

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