Page 67 of Ice Cold Rival

I let out a watery laugh and accepted my fate. “Okay, you guys win. I’ll deal with the hard stuff.”

When I came out, Boo wound between my legs, and all three hockey players sat on the couch staring at me.

Reece jumped up from his spot on the corner to come over and rub my arms. “You’re pale. You should sit down.”

“I’m just a little thirsty.” I hadn’t thought to grab my water bottle before I left, and I wasn’t regular with any kind of exercise.

He shared a look with Cole, who hustled to the kitchen. “What happened?”

“How do you know anything happened?” Guess I was still clinging to denial.

He gave me a knowing look. “You told me you needed a couple of days to finish your project and to—I quote—keep my magic dick to myself. Yet here you are one day before the end of your deadline with all your school stuff in a bag.”

Mase snickered, but Cole shushed him before handing me a very full glass of water.

I hung my head, letting it thunk onto Reece’s chest. “Amanda accused me of stealing her phone, campus security got involved, and the sorority kicked me out of the house.”

“Fuck Amanda. Campus security can’t do shit. And clearly you’re moving in here. Now sit down before you collapse at my feet.”

I straightened to glare at him, and he relented.

“Please.”

Mase laughed again, but I took my water to Reece’s corner spot on the couch. “I have to move out when the semester is over, and it’s not totally horrible, but I still have to finish this stupid project. The presentation is tomorrow. I just needed to get away and I wasn’t thinking so I started walking and now I’m here.”

“What can we do to help?” Cole offered.

“Can I use the dining room table to finish up?”

“Of course,” Reece answered. “If you don’t want to go back, we’re happy to go relieve Amanda of your presence and all of her silverware.”

I snorted out a laugh. “Thanks, but it’s not necessary. Besides, don’t you guys have practice?”

Mase crossed his arms. “I can clear a room in an hour if I need to. Say the word. We have plenty of space here for one room of stuff.”

“I can’t put you guys out like that. I’ll figure something out in the next two weeks.”

“The hell you will,” Reece exclaimed. “You’re not putting us out. Mase is right. We have the space for you to have your own room if you’re not comfortable in mine.”

I took a long drink of the water and forced myself to examine my reasons for saying no. My default setting assumed I was an inconvenience, but Reece had spent the last few months showing me there were people out there whowantedme around. Boo leapt into my lap as if he could sense my thoughts.

Amanda had triggered my deep-seated habit of making myself small, but I didn’t let those patterns control me anymore.

“The truth is I was already considering moving out, but I hate letting Amanda make this decision for me.” I shook my head. “Stealing her phone and stashing it on my dresser? How dumb does she think I am?”

“Look at it this way. She could have planted drugs, and then I’d be bailing you out of jail instead of trying to convince you to move in. She did you a favor with her incompetence.”

“It wasn’t just her. Toby was there, lecturing me about how my parents will be so disappointed.”

His demeanor sharpened. “Kane was there harassing you?”

I eyed him, determining he was only about thirty percent likely to drive over there and beat Toby to death. “Yes. He showed up after campus security were gone, though I suppose he could have been there the whole time. I went for a walk, so I wasn’t even there when the alleged theft happened.”

“Did he bother you?”

“No. I closed my bedroom door in his face, and he left. I ignored them all when I walked out, so I have no idea if he’s still there.”

Cole grinned at me. “I bet that felt good. Kane hates being ignored almost as much as he hates sharing the puck.”

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