Page 104 of College-Virgin & Dark Bully Next-Door

Was it because her mom was there? Because I punched her brother when he aimed for me? Or was it the shitty prank that Peter pulled; did the memories of that awful night push her away from me?

Hugging my bag, I press my forehead against it. My breath whooshes out in hard pants that make me too hot against the slippery material.

We’re not compatible. That’s obvious, right?

So I should just move on, like I always have. Go to the bar, pick up a girl, get over Sky by getting under someone else … It would be easy.

I slam my fist into the bag again.

I don’t want another girl. I don’t want sex. I don’t want easy. I want Sky.

I want to beat the fucking stuffing out of this bag until it looks as shitty as I feel right now. My door opens, and Peter walks in.

“I can’t even look at you right now, dude,” I mumble. “Just get the fuck out.”

“Not until you hear me out.” He crosses his arms on his chest, giving me a hard glare that tells me he’s even more stupid than I thought. He’s this close to getting knocked out, and he doesn’t even know it.

When I say nothing, he goes on. “I fucked up, I know that, but it happened two years ago. Sky got over that mess—”

I swing my finger toward my front window. “Did it look like she got over it back there?”

“Okay, fine. Let me rephrase. I thought she got over it. She lost the weight, glowed up a little. I swore she’d moved on. It was a stupid prank that got out of hand. It sucks that she’s still hurt.”

“Tellherthat, not me,” I snap.

“I probably will, when I’m sure she won’t kill me.”

“And while you’re at it, grow the fuck up. You’re not ten anymore. You’re going off to college in a few weeks. There are some real shit out there and you need to be ready for them. Dump those childish ways. Now.”

I expect a snarky response, but he nods somberly. “You’re right.”

“Huh?” I press my hand behind my ear. “I missed that. What did you just say?”

Peter rolls his eyes with an amused scoff. “You’re right. Happy?”

“Not until you actually change, dude,” I reply.

“Oh, I’m going to change.” He jabs his finger at me. “But first, you and me, we have beef, brother. We’re going to hash this out.”

I land another punch on the bag and cock a brow at him. “Sure about that?”

“Positive. In fact, let’s take this to the ring.”

I hesitate, then smirk. “Yeah. The ring sounds good.”

“Good. Because I need to beat the shit out of you.”

“We’ll see about that,” I reply with a chuckle, grabbing some gear.

With that, we go to the gym in the quietest car ride of my life. Peter won’t tolerate the radio, and he’s fuming. I can practically see the smoke pluming from the top of his head. Knowing his crush on Sky, I probably should have told him I was seeing her, but that would have caused two fights instead of one.

We get out, glove up and get in the ring. Peter comes out swinging wildly. “You were dating the girl of my fucking dreams.”

He manages to land one mild punch as I block the one coming for my face. “I couldn’t tell you.”

“Bullshit.” He reels and hits the ropes before regrouping. “You could have. You didn’t even hint at it! You let me think I had a shot!”

“Oh, come on, dude. We both know that’s not true.”

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