Page 44 of Scrimmage

“I’m capable of having friends who are girls." He yawns. “And they aren’t into football.” I raise my eyebrow at him. “I just mean that I know they’re not trying to be friends with me because I’m Alexi Daemon or because you’re my brother. In fact, Ashland might hate you more than she hates me.”

“Yeah, well, she’s a slut. I think her capacity for friendship is pretty limited.”

“Whatever. You’re just mad I’ll have friends that aren’t you.”

“Hardly,” I snort, grabbing my bag and heading for my room. It feels like it weighs a thousand pounds.

I want Alexi to leave so I can look at Ashland’s sketches. I mean she was so engrossed in them that one day on the quad that she fell off of her board. I find it odd that she hides them. The right thing to have done would've been to give it to Penny immediately. The next thing to do would be to give it to Alexi. I could have handed it over when she asked about it, too, but I didn’t. Now, I’m just being a weirdo holding onto it like a stalker. Still, I can’t help myself.

“So who have you started dating?” he asks, not looking up from his phone.

I pause in my doorway. “What are you talking about?” It's too defensive.

“Dude, I’m not stupid. You haven’t had any of the groupies over, and you’ve been brooding more than you usually do.”

“I’m not dating anyone. I’m just focused on this season.”

“I forgot you only date football,” he sighs.

“Whatever,” I roll my eyes. “I’m going to bed. If you ever leave, lock the door.”

I sit on the edge of my bed, pulling the sketchbook out of my bag. With a deep breath I flip to the first page. It’s sketched in pencil, but I’ve always seen her with charcoal. I can immediately tell it’s Penny sitting on a couch with a pizza. It’s strikingly accurate. This is wrong. This is so wrong. I slam it shut, but instead of putting it back in my bag I put it in the side table drawer next to my bed. I take a shower and throw on some sweats before climbing into bed and staring at the ceiling.

I can’t stop thinking about Ashland. She smelled like blackberries and honey. That was the sweet scent that I caught that day she ran out of Sig Ep. My mouth waters. When I kissed her at the party she tasted like red wine and nectar. Like sin. That’s exactly what she embodies to me. I always knew there was a reason so many songs talk about women making you sin. I just had never experienced it. But goddamn did it feel good.

Chapter Seven

Ashland

I head straight toward the tattoo shop off campus after the stupid fucking conversation with Koda. He thinks I’ll come when he calls like a dog, and he’d be wrong. The sex was great, but that doesn’t mean anything. Guys like him get everything they want, and I’m not going to be one of those things. I’m not anyone’s property; I’m a person. I will, however, be Alexi’s best friend even if it’s just to piss him the hell off. Fuck, I’ll marry Alexi if it makes Koda implode. Then he can see how much I don’t give a fuck about his demands.

The navy blue painted brick comes into view with a sign hanging out front. Tattoos and piercings. I’ve come here so much over the last few years that I’ve gotten relatively close with the owner and some of the artists. When they finally asked who did my other tattoos and Penny told them it was me, they asked me to apprentice until a chair opened up. The owner, Prince, is moving to Texas, and he wants me to take his place. I took the apprenticeship at Penny’s insistence. It’s mostly cleaning, grabbing coffee, and hanging out, but I’m glad she pushed me to do it. I’ve gotten to do a little bit of tattooing. I hate to admit it, but I’ve missed it.

The theme inside is gothic chic. A black chandelier hangs from the ceiling surrounded by walls of patterned paper with gold accents. A burgundy velvet couch is positioned over a black patterned rug, and there’s a burgundy armchair to match. All of the trim has been painted black. I love this place. It’s older. Most of the buildings are, and I love that the floor creaks when someone walks by.

“You’re early,” Angel, the shop manager, smirks from behind the jewelry counter. Her pointed vampire fangs peek out over her bottom lip.

“It's been a day.”

She leans her elbows on the counter focusing on me with purple contact eyes. “Is it a boy?” She wiggles her arched eyebrows.

I laugh. “No, boys are a waste of time unless they’re using their dick.”

“You’re a menace to society. I wish I could be that way,” she sighs wistfully.

“Gavin still being a dick?”

“Always.”

I lay out on the couch. “Next time he comes in, I’ll offer him a free back tat. I’ll let a few things slip until it looks like a dangling pair of hairy balls.”

“If I didn’t know you any better I would say you were kidding. I learned my lesson last time.”

“Hey! That guy deserved it, alright? It’s not like he even realized that it was phallic.” I give her a sly smile. “Anyways, who is out today?”

“Prince is in Texas scouting out an apartment.”

“Perfect. I’m gonna reorganize his ink.”

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