Page 21 of This Is War: All's Fair Duet
My brows snap together, and I sit back the tiniest fraction. “Out?”
His lips quirk. “Yeah. Like on a date. I want to do this right.” He bites down on his lip, scraping his teeth over it, then tips his head to the side, waiting for my response.
Several seconds go by while I study his face, looking for anything that tells me to say no, that he doesn’t really mean what he’s suggesting. I see nothing. That’s when I notice he’s watching me with amusement, and it dawns on me that my internal struggle must be written all over my face for him to see. “A date,” I breathe out, no question to my tone. It probably sounds more like I’m dumbfounded by the idea because of the complication with Logan, but I can’t worry about that now.
“Don’t overthink it. Could be as simple as going for a walk and grabbing an ice cream cone.” His dark eyes pierce mine. “I want to spend some time with you. And I want you to know… I’m interested.”
My heart flutters. “Um. Okay.”
“Okay?” His lips twitch, delighted surprise moving swiftly over his features.
“Yes,” I let out on a quick exhale, nodding. “I meanyes.”
13
LOGAN
Getting lockedinside the physical therapy suite wasn’t exactly on my spring semester bingo card. My fists ache from pounding on the heavy metal door, but I hammer against it anyway, even though I’m beginning to think it’s futile. Out of sheer frustration, I scrub my hands over my face. Fucking Jaxon. I know he did this.
Rya will think I bailed on her, and that’s the last thing I need right now—especially when it took some cajoling to convince her that Hazel’s life wouldn’t end if we made plans for dinner—just the two of us—tonight. Her roommate is fun and all, but she’s also stuck to Rya like crazy glue—emphasis on the crazy, some days. And the fact is, there are several things I’d like to talk to Rya about… alone.
First and foremost is to make sure she understandshow important she is to me. Because I sense with every fiber of my being that Jaxon is worming his way in, tricking her into thinking he’s there solely for her.
To be clear, I don’t doubt he likes her or that he thinks she’s totally hot. But I’m terrified he also wants to get in her pants. If he finds out how innocent she is, he won’t stop at anything. And, of course, there’s the added bonus that messing with her is a really fucking easy way to get under my skin.
In addition to my worries about Rya and Jaxon, I’m literally fucking freezing my ass off. Azriel, Winston, and Cruz had been quick to eject from the other tubs and get outta here. If only I hadn’t taken longer than usual toweling off, what I can only assume is Jaxon’s deranged plan wouldn’t have succeeded.
When I get my hands on him, he’ll get a rude lesson in payback. I know that asshat had something to do with this. I’m not letting this prank go. There’s no doubt he laughed his despicable ass all the way back to the dorm.Fuck, and if he encountered Rya waiting on me… Well, I don’t want to think about the repercussions.
I let out an aggravated sigh, readjusting my towel around my waist as I stare at the clock on the wall. It’s been close to two hours since practice ended. I close my eyes. I’ve dealt with Jaxon’s bullshit antics before, and this sort of thing has his name written all over it.
Fuck, why did I leave my goddamn phone in the locker room? Frustration mounting by the second, I pound both fists on the door once again. Not that I expect anyone to hear me. In all honesty, it’s entirely possible no one will have a clue I’m locked in until the PT arrives in the morning. My breath heaves from me as I shout, “Let me the fuck outta here!”
My jaw clenches so hard, I can practically feel my molars being pulverized. I won’t let him use her against me. She’s like the other half of me—which is why it hurts like a bitch that she’s so quickly begun to slip away from me. I feel it in my bones and in my blood. It’s been two motherfucking days since he’s begun to interfere, and already I’m fearful he’ll poison her thinking. “Motherfucker!” I bellow, so pissed off I can’t see straight.Goddammit, Ipromisedher I would be there waiting.
Moments later, I jerk, freezing in place when the sound of approaching footsteps reaches me. “Here! I’m in here!” Whoever is in the hallway pauses, then when I slam my fist against the door, there are definite sounds of someone coming toward me. My heart jumps into my throat when it whips open, and I fall forward right into Coach Kimball.
“What in the holy fuck is going on here?” He shoots me a harried look, confusion lancing his brow before his gaze cuts around the room. “What are you doing?” His scowlharsh on me as he takes in my towel-clad body and the goose bumps covering my skin from head to toe.
“Coach, I was—” My eyes slam shut at the look of bewildered aggravation on his face. He has it in his head I’m a fucking troublemaker, and it’s all because of Jaxon. “Someone locked me in here. I was slower to towel off than everyone else. The door clicked shut and that was it.” His brow furrows hard, waiting while I find the rest of my words. “A few of the guys and I”—I gesture to the row of therapy tubs along the back wall of the room—“we were doing an ice plunge, like you recommended.” Working my jaw to the side, I let out a heavy breath. “That’s all I know.”
“You’re lucky I hadn’t left yet. Not another soul on this floor. Be more careful next time. Just what I’d fucking need… for it to get out that one of my players was locked in here overnight.”
I press my lips together, willing myself not to bite out some harsh retort. Not only does he appear to be worried more about himself, but—with the exception of my chattering teeth—he also doesn’t see what’s right in front of him. Jaxon has him fooled, too, and wrapped around his little finger. Eyeing our coach’s surly attitude, I decide it won’t help at all to tell him what I think about his concerns. “Yes sir. Understood. It won’t happen again.”
“You’re damn right it won’t.” He heaves out a punctuatedbreath. “Just follow the rules and keep your nose clean. Is that clear?”
I stare woodenly into his eyes. “It is.” He thinks what happened tonight is somehow my fault and that I’m making excuses. I lower my gaze, my jaw twitching madly at his perception of me as a pain in his ass.
“Go get dressed,” he grunts out, holding the door open for me. “You look like a goddamn human popsicle.”
Shivering in response to his comment, I stoop to pick up my sopping-wet, ice-cold swim trunks from where I’d dropped them once I realized I was locked in. Letting out a hard breath, I ball them in my fist, then slip out past Coach, whose lips are mashed together, his eyes narrowed on me.
Fuck.As if Coach having to physically pull me off Jaxon yesterday hadn’t been enough to cement me in his mind as his least-favorite player. I hurry down the hall to the men’s locker room and duck inside, then make quick work of pulling warm, dry clothes out of my bag and tugging them on. The entire time, I’m half muttering to myself about how shitty my afternoon and evening have been and wondering if there could be anything worse coming my way.
Sitting down on the bench across from my locker, I take a moment to dig out my phone.Fuck.I close my eyes, hoping what I just saw on the screen isn’t real. Biting offan oath, I pry them open to see exactly what I’d feared. Two missed calls, both from Rya, and a slew of message notifications. Thumbing open the first message, I grit my teeth as my eyes fall on her obvious confusion when I hadn’t shown up.
I’m waiting by the front doors, like we said.
