Page 9 of Fair Catch

“Absolutely. And I’m looking forward to hearing about how you made nice with your new roomie when I do.”

A sharp laugh leaves me, and I shake my head.

I have a feeling Hayes Lancaster doesn’t make nice with anybody.

Three

Hayes

The sound of an alarm blaring sends me bolting upright in my bed far sooner than my body expects. Disoriented and slightly panicked, I grab blindly for my phone to silence the damn thing, but no matter how many times I swipe at the screen, it doesn’t stop.

Groaning, I peek my eyes open, only to realize, it’s notmyalarm.

I also realize from looking at the screen that it’s only five in the morning.

Motherfucker.

Aggravated thanks to being woken up only three hours after going to bed, I rip the covers off my body and storm down the hall, the dim glow from the stove light guiding my way. The annoying beeping grows louder as I reach Kason’s door, my assumption of the source correct.

“Kason, wake up,” I yell through the door.

The only sound that comes from the other side is the alarm…and the muffled sound of his deep snoring.

Fucking wonderful.

Irritation at an all-time high, my hand pounds on his door hard enough, I’m surprised it doesn’t splinter. It rattles in the frame, echoing through the apartment when I shout at him again.

“Kason! Turn off your fucking alarm!”

His snoring stops, but I still don’t hear any footsteps or the alarm turn off.

And I’ve completely lost whatever patience I had this early in the morning, slamming my fist into the wood like a deranged lunatic. At this point, I’m ready to go Kool-Aid man on his ass and blast through the wall if I have to.

“Kason!I swear on all things holy, I will break down this door if you don’t—”

A bleary-eyed, mostly naked Kason opens the door while I’m mid-swing, and I have to physically reel myself back so I don’t deck him in the face with my fist.

Inadvertently, of course.

After all, if there’s one thing Oakley Reed and I have in common, it’s being a pacifist.

My eyes rake down his body instinctively, noting he’s only in a pair of tight fitting boxer-briefs that do absolutely nothing to hide the rather impressive morning wood he’s sporting. Which he’s either oblivious to, or doesn’t care about letting me get an eye full of, because he makes no move to make himself more decent.

“Jesus, Hayes,” he mutters while rubbing his fist over his eyes. “Didn’t need to try breaking my door down.”

You’ve got to be kidding me.

“Apparently I did if I wanted you to turn off that goddamn alarm,” I bite out. “Which is still going off, I might add.”

Rather than waiting for him to do it—which could be never at this point—I slip into his bedroom and swipe away the notification on his phone, leaving us in wonderful, blissful silence.

“Sure, come on in,” he says dryly, still standing at the door.

“The real question is why the fuck is it going off at five in the morning when classes don’t start for another two weeks.” And even if they had begun, the earliest classes start at eight. Meaning there’s no reason on God’s green Earth for it to be going off at this hour.

“Morning lifting starts today.” Kason yawns as he walks over to his dresser and starts rummaging through the drawers.

Oh. Right.

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