Page 19 of Beneath the Surface

“Enough,” I yelled, pushing away from Micah and Grayson. “Stop comparing dick sizes!”

“No need. Mine’s bigger,” Grayson added, smirking at me.

Augh, boys.

Micah and I refrained from commenting.

Cruz, however, had to have the last word.

“You haven’t seen mine.” He winked, but not at me. When I glanced at Micah, his face was all kinds of red.

“I’m not gay,” Micah spat at him.

Cruz shrugged with a gloating smile.

“Cruz, your phone,” I bit out as I stretched my hand, expecting him to bring it to us.

Although he walked with an easy swagger, I could see his jaw was clenching. He handed me his phone, and I showed it to the guys.

“We are all in this together,” I said.

Grayson looked at Cruz, then back at me, and his eyes turned icy.

“I don’t trust him.”

We were back to square one.

12

GRAYSON

Fucking Cruz Martinez again. Winking at Micah, fucking flirting with Ava and letting her use his phone…was this his game plan? To make them drop their guards so he could strike? I studied him as I would do with one of my opponents on the rink. Cataloged all the little details, the tells that could give me an advantage.

My head spun when the realization hit me right in the chest. He was just as confused by this whole situation as we were. How was that even possible?

I acted on instinct, stepping forward and gripping his wrist without any thought. I heard Ava’s and Micah’s sharp intakes of breath, but I ignored them for now, using my strength and the advantage of surprise to shove Cruz up against the wall of the hockey house.

“Tell me you’re not fucking with us. I don’t give a shit what your connections are, if you’re sucking Big Dog’s dick for protection or whatever—none of that is gonna help you if it turns out you’re behind those texts,” I bit out through gritted teeth.

Cruz’s eyes widened for a second, and then his lip curled into a sneer. “I don’t know what you’ve been smoking, Cross, but youshould talk to your supplier about your delusions. Why the fuck would I make this kind of shit up?” He yanked his wrist out of my grip and shoved at me, sending me staggering backward. Pain radiated through my ribs, a visceral reminder of his earlier attack. “Just because you’re on your knees for your teammates doesn’t mean I’m sucking off Big Dog.”

“What the fuck!” I shoved him back. I’d already gone up against him once tonight, but I was fully prepared to do it again if I needed to. This asshole needed to stop running his mouth before he said something I’d make him regret.

“Gray!” The shout from my right had my head whipping around, seeing light spilling from the now open door of the house. Smith’s hulking figure filled the space, his arms outstretched in what I hoped was a welcome and not a “why the fuck are you starting trouble with Blackwell Lake U’s bad boy right outside our house?”

“Smith.” I raised my hand in greeting before turning to give Cruz a savage warning look. He rolled his eyes, mimed zipping his lips shut, and then pushed off the side of the house, sauntering over to Ava and Micah, who were in a huddle next to his car.

I couldn’t let them leave. Not now. We’d all received those texts, and it would take all four of us to get to the bottom of this situation.

“Hey, Smith.” My voice rose so everyone could hear my words. “Micah, Ava, and Cruz thought they’d check out the hockey house. See how the other half live.” I plastered on a smug grin that I hoped to fuck he’d buy.

“Micah.” Smith nodded at him before giving Ava an appreciative, borderline leering glance and Cruz a disdainful one that made me bristle. Okay, Cruz was an asshole, and I’d love nothing more than for him to disappear, but as far as Smith knew, he was my guest and therefore he should at least attemptto be polite. Also, fuck him for checking out Ava like she was one of the girls that threw themselves at the hockey team. My fists clenched at my sides, and I breathed in and out through my nose, reminding myself that those weren’t good enough reasons to punch a teammate and friend.

“Hi, Smith.” Micah greeted him politely, stepping up next to me. Of course, he’d been to the hockey house a number of times, what with his dad being our coach and him being the de facto college photographer. If I thought about it, I could even recall a time when he’d come over to take “candid” photos of the hockey team eating breakfast together. We’d been there for hours, and I was fucking sick of the sight of omelets after that torturous event.

“Can’t wait to get the grand tour of the famous home of the Barracudas.” Cruz shoved past me, stepping through the front door as Smith moved backward, the sarcasm in his voice dialed up to the max.

“You’re not getting a tour,” I hissed, hurrying after him, beckoning Ava and Micah urgently with my hand. I heard the door close behind them, and I breathed out, glad that they were here with me.

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