Page 23 of Necessary Roughness
I shared a look with Knox, then the two of us started chuckling.
Roman flipped us off from the kitchen without looking back. “Not interested.”
“You don’t even know what we’re discussing!” I said.
“If it involves you two,” he growled, “then I know enough. Pass.”
He took a protein shake out of the fridge, then trudged back into his room without another word.
“Roman is a linebacker,” I explained. “Which means he’s a massive buzzkill, both onandoff the field.”
“Clearly,” she muttered.
“My five minutes are up.” Knox glanced at his watch. “Thanks for hearing me out. You don’t have to decide right now. Take some time to think it over, if you want. And no matter what happens, I’ll pretend you don’t exist in class so you can focus on Art History.”
It didn’t matter. Sloane was going to say no, because Knox’s suggestion was totally fucking crazy. Most girls would have been offended by the offer.
But as I already knew, and would come to learn even more, Sloane wasn’t most girls.
“I think… I think I’m interested,” she said.
9
Sloane
I was interested!
Wait a minute. I was interested?
As he explained everything, my first instinct was to say no. It was all crazy. The kind of thing that only happened in a bad movie. Women didn’t just agree to be sex objects unless they had, like, zero self-esteem. I could never agree to this.
But that’s not what came out when I opened my mouth.
Both Knox and Logan seemed just as surprised as I was. They stared at me as if they were waiting for the punchline to a very corny joke.
I had a chance to change my mind. To tell them I wasn’t serious, that this was a bad idea, that I was flattered but didn’t want to see them again. But none of that was true. As soon as I said I was interested, I felt a rush of excitement.
After all, this was what I wanted. The thing I had subconsciously been hoping for since Troy broke up with me. Sex without any strings attached. A simple physical relationship to blow off steam, allowing me to focus on my ever-growing amount of schoolwork. It was the perfect arrangement.
Beyond that, the thing that made this offer intriguing rather than insulting, was the fact that I felt like I could trust these two guys. That night at the party was fuzzy, but I distinctly remember them trying to slow me down. Halting our make-out session because I was drunk, and then making sure I got home safe.
That kind of thing was rare. Especially at college.
“Are you sure?” Knox said, like he didn’t believe I was agreeing to it. “You’re interested?”
“Honestly? I’m not a hundred percent sure. I’m at seventy-five percent,maybe.”
“Same,” Logan said with a laugh.
“But I’m intrigued,” I added. “How did you phrase it? Our priorities align.”
“All right,” Knox said, relaxing back into the couch. “Let’s discuss logistics, then.”
“Well,” I said without missing a beat, “in my experience, a penis usually goes into a vagina. Logistically speaking.”
Logan barked a laugh, but Knox only smiled.
“I meant schedules. What’s yours look like?”
