Page 36 of Home Coming

“Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon.”

“All right. Tell Bailey to text me the second she wakes up.”

“Yup,” he said, not intending to do anything of the sort.

“So, you’re sleeping there in the apartment with her tonight?” Josie asked, her voice heavy with insinuation.

“Yes, why?”

“No reason. It’s just that I’ve watched her videos. That apartment is pretty small.”

“Yeah. So?”

“There’s only one bedroom…”

“Jeezus.” He realized what she was hinting at. “I’m sleeping on the couch. Don’t tell me you bought into that BaileyQuinn crap on the internet.”

“Bailquinn. And maybe. Why not? I see how you look at her.”

Shit.

“I don’t look at her any way,” he denied.

“Mmm-hmm.” As she said that, he could envision his sister’s smug face in his mind. It had his hand itching to hit theEnd Callbutton as she continued, “It wouldn’t be a problem if you liked her, you know. She’s been in love with you forever.”

“No, she hasn’t.” He scowled even as his pulse inexplicably kicked up.

“Uh, yes she has. You were just too self centered in high school to see it.”

“If that’s all true, that was in high school. We’ve both grown up.”

“No. She’s still as into you now as she was then.”

“Please don’t say that.” He squeezed his eyes closed and drew in a breath, remembering the near kiss, his reaction to it,herreaction to his rejection…

“Why not?” Josie asked.

Because he was into her too. Because it was too tempting to think about being with her. Because being together was impossible. Because he’d hurt her tonight without meaning to by just pulling away from a kiss. What would she do if anything happened between them then he left.

Being serious long distance didn’t work. And he wasn’t going to make his little sister’s best friend, the girl who’d been in love with him since ninth grade, a vacation fling. Bailey wasn’t a girl he could do casual with.

“I’ll text tomorrow to let you know what time to expect us back.” With that, he hit to end the call before she could piss him off any further.

If only he could disconnect his brain as easily as he had the call.

His mind kept going back to that moment. She’d almost kissed him and damned if he hadn’t wanted to kiss her back. To tumble her onto that bed and show her that his pulling away had nothing to do with her and everything to do with him. His own conflicted feelings about his attraction to her. His desperation to keep his love life on the back burner while he was still active in the teams.

He couldn’t turn off his brain, but he could redirect its focus. He opened the cell’s browser and began searching the name his sister had mentioned on his phone. Olivia Rodrigo—whoever she was.

He was shocked when the name not only came up but in connection with Bailey’s in an article by an actual news entity.

Reading past the headline, he had to think that maybe this was a big deal and not his sister’s usual over the top enthusiasm.

With the new heartbreak ballad “Your Lies”, Bailey Knowles joins Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey in a growing list of female musicians enacting revenge on former flames with break-up anthems.

Most of the article was behind a paywall but what he could read mentioned Bailey’s ex-boyfriend by name.

Down the rabbit hole now, Quinn typed inAxel Blackand the screen filled with results.

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