Page 84 of Matched By My Rival
Then again, if the house burned, my family wouldn’t see anything too embarrassing.
“Awesome!” Linc was all smiles. “People will listen to you better anyway. You just glare, and they do what you want.”
Cooper snorted a laugh. “Kind of true.”
I shrugged. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d been told I was intimidating.
And now that glare was in full effect as I watched a guy tip his cup and pour beer in a stream onto the floor.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I snarled as I grabbed the cup, tilting it upright.
“Oops!” He laughed. “Sorry, man.”
I rolled my eyes and turned on my heel, taking the cup with me. I’d grab a towel and save myself a sticky mess tomorrow.
“Hey, what about my beer?” he called out.
The cup was still a third full. Fuck that. I called back over my shoulder. “You’ve had enough for the night!”
I heard him protesting, but I ignored it and went to the kitchen sink to pour out the rest. Then, grabbing the roll of paper towels, I returned to the scene—where, of course, people were already walking through the beer.
Jesus Christ. I suddenly felt like my mother when she’d yell at us for tracking mud through the house.
I crouched down, pushing at legs, to get people to clear out and mopped up the spill. “Fucking slobs,” I muttered to myself. “No respect.”
“Simon?”
I glanced up, startled to hear Parker’s voice.
“What are you doing?” he asked, sounding amused.
“What’s it look like?”
“It looks like you’re trying to clean in the middle of a frat party.” His lips twitched. “I admire the sudden dedication to cleanliness, but I’m pretty sure you’ll be on your knees all night.”
I felt heat rush to my cheeks at the sexual tone to his voice. No doubt he was picturing me on my knees in a very different context.
“What’s going on?” Darnell, Johnston, and Cruz all crowded in. “You two aren’t fighting again?”
I surged to my feet, suddenly needing to be at eye level. “Hell no.”
Johnston chuckled. “Parker would probably be the one on the floor if they were.”
“Hey!” Parker tried to shove Johnston, but he barely swayed from the effort. “Fuck you. I could sucker punch Simon.”
Cruz snorted. “You’re too nice.”
I winced. The guys were right. Parkerwasfar nicer than me. I didn’t deserve such a great guy. Especially after I’d sucker punched him. I’d apologized to Parker, of course, but I felt the need to make amends again.
“I was an asshole to Reed,” I said. “I never should have hit him.”
“We know,” D said.
There was an awkward lull. Then Parker, ever the peacemaker, said, “Ancient history.”
“Right,” Johnston agreed, head bobbing. Cruz nodded along because those two were always in sync.
“So, what’s going on with the cleaning during a party?” Parker asked.
