Page 41 of Weak Side

Ford stole her attention—along with every other girl in a five-mile radius—with his Southern accent and cocky smirk. “Our ol’ captain here is such a good dude, ya know? He texted Aasher and asked him to drop off some pizza and chocolate for you, along with some booze, in case you wanted to get smashed.”

Taytum moved in front of Ford, and he glanced down at her briefly. “And I added some other necessities in there that I know you shall appreciate.”

I leaned over Claire’s shoulder, unable to stop myself from smelling her shampoo again and instantly pulled back after I saw the bright-pink vibrator. I smothered a laugh while simultaneously throwing hands at the hot, little thoughts coursing through my head.

Claire quickly slammed the bag shut and shot Taytum a glare. “Taytum!” she gritted.

“I picked it out.” Ford wiggled his eyebrows. “Seven speeds, baby. Makes us men pretty fucking redundant, huh?”

“I like the color,” I teased, bumping my shoulder into Claire to lighten the mood and to hopefully get back to normal.

“There’s a voodoo doll, too,” Taytum added, smirking. “I named him Chad. I say we cut his head off.”

Ford looked at her and said, “You’re just as crazy as your brother.”

Taytum pushed past us and pulled Claire by the arm after taking the bag from her hand and placing it on top of the pizza box in my hand. The door shut a moment later, and surprisingly, I wasn’t irritated that I was suddenly locked out of my room.

Ford stole the box of pizza from me and grabbed a slice before handing it back and walking away like nothing had happened. The moment Aasher and I were alone, he dropped his voice and asked, “What the hell was that?”

“What the hell was what?” I asked, wondering if he somehow knew that I’d pushed my roommate onto her bed and kissed her with a passion I’d never felt before.

He proceeded with caution, smoothing out hiswhat-the-fuckexpression. “I can’t remember the last time I saw you punch someone.” Shaking his head, he corrected himself. “Wait, yes, I can. You punched London for fuckin’ around on your sister, even though he was twice your age.”

“Fuck yeah, I did. I don’t like it.” My shoulders started to tense again.

“Don’t like what?”

“Cheating. It pisses me off. Don’t get in a committed relationship if you want to fuck other people. It’s just weak. And then this happens.” I inched my head to my door. “Girls end up with broken hearts and deny it until they are blue in the face.”

“Oh, so that’s why you went all ape shit and punched her boyfriend?”

Better be her ex-boyfriend.

“Yeah.” My answer lingered for a few seconds. “Why else would I do it?”

Aasher shot me a look, but I interrupted him as I caught movement at the end of the hall. I spotted several of my teammates lingering. “What the hell are they doing?”

Aasher turned around and put his hands in his pockets, sighing. “They’re keeping watch.”

“Keeping watch?”

“Yeah, they were at the party. They saw you throw a punch. They’re here to shoo him away if he comes to make amends to your roomie.” He laughed in between his explanation. “Plus, Taytum threatened them all if they didn’t keep guard. She has some pull because almost everyone is afraid of Emory.”

I was in disbelief. “I’m not that unhinged. Icancontrol myself when need be.”

“They know that. I honestly think they are here for her more than you.”

His eyes flicked behind me, and I turned and stilled when Claire appeared in the doorway with her swollen eyes and slightly puffy lips. “For me?”

Aasher smiled at her. “They said you’re their favorite waitress. You always give them extra fries.”

A hint of happiness found itself on her face, and I pulled back in confusion. “You give them extra fries? You’ve never given me extra fries.”

She darted her attention to the pizza in my grasp. Her little hands snatched the box before she shrugged. “They don’t use my scrunchies on the door to indicate that they’re fucking someone in my room, now do they? Or give my favorite pair of underwear to some puck bunny.”Or kiss the fuck out of you to make you feel better.

The guys at the end of the hall whistled, and when I shot them a glare, they all turned around and pretended like they weren’t listening to our conversation. Claire snickered under her breath as she walked backward into the room. The second she was out of sight to everyone but me, I saw the lingering defeat still covering her features.

The door shut in my face, and I was left standing beside Aasher and Taytum. I peered down at the short blonde, and she sighed. “She said she’s fine, but she isn’t.”

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