Page 24 of Pitcher

His eyes roll, but he doesn’t move from his position. “How many times do I have to tell you, McCallister? A wet hole is a wet hole to these guys. Unless love is a metaphorical term for a condom, it doesn’t come into play during sex.”

His words are biting, and they chip away at the edges of my heart, but I remain unaffected. This is his way of pushing everyone away. Except me. I’m stronger than he thinks. I’m still here, rooted firmly to the ground.

“Are those the sweet words you used to lure Monica into a dark closet?”

I really don’t want to know, but I can’t help myself.

He smirks.

“Mavis required zero effort on my part. I could have just unzipped my pants and she would have face planted into my crotch.”

Vulgar and crass. Another deterrent from the actual truth. But he said, “could have.” Hecould haveunzipped his pants, but he didn’t, and that makes me all kinds of excited.

“Monica sounds like a rare gem,” I muse too happily.

Theo grunts. “Where’s your little lap dog?”

His raspy voice shouldn’t make me want to fuck with him, but that’s exactly what I do.

“He needed to grab something from the bathroom.” I shrug. Let Theo assume Bo went to get a condom.

Theo’s eyes narrow into slits right at the time Bo’s excited voice carries down the hallway. “Found one!”

At the sound of Bo’s footsteps, Theo pushes off the doorframe and stands in the center, causing Bo to run into his hulking body.

“Oomph. Uh…?”

Theo rights poor Bo and pats him on the chest. Bo looks at me over his shoulder, his forehead creased in the middle. “Sorry, I didn’t—”

Theo plucks the bandage from his fingers and examines it without a word.

“What the fuck is this?” he asks Bo with incredulity.

“A bandage?” Bo sounds unsure, and it makes me laugh. Theo has that effect on people.

“Why do you have a bandage?”

Apparently Theo needs it broken down for him.

“Anniston, she uh…” Bo runs his hands through his hair, and Theo decides he’s done trying to pull answers from someone who can’t form complete sentences.

“Why do you need a fucking bandage, Ans?” His stare is fierce as his eyes roam up and down my body, looking for the injury and finally noticing my leg. He rushes in and kneels in front of me, his fingers softly probing the tender skin on my shin.

“It’s just a scratch,” I offer, but Bo decides to be Honest Abe and piss Theo off even more.

“I accidentally swung her into the table.”

Theo’s hand tightens around my leg, and I quickly distract him by lifting his chin so he can look at me, but it doesn’t matter because the asshole has already been unleashed.

“I can take it from here,” he grounds out, surprising me. That wasn’t too asshole.

With one last look at Bo, I offer a smile. “See ya later, Bo. Thanks for the bandage.”

No use in promising to see him again. We both know I won’t.

His smile is weak, but he nods in return. “Maybe we’ll see each other on campus.”

Theo’s hand spasms against my skin, and I know for Bo’s safety he should probably go.

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