Page 54 of Troublemaker
“Go refill everyone’s water bottles and get towels. I want you standing there—” he pointed next to where he and Trey stood— “throughout the entire game in case we need you.”
I opened my mouth. He was the stalker, how was I in trouble?
As if he read my mind, he said. “I’m your boss now, remember?”
Oh, and I could ruin that for him.
I could ruin everything for him. One sentence to the dean, and I could destroy his entire career—and my own future. That was the real fire I was playing with.
But I also remembered the way he’d carried me inside his house last night, carefully washing my body and making sure shampoo didn’t get in my eyes, and I couldn’t—wouldn’t—do it.
So instead, I trudged off to refill water bottles and get towels like the good girl I sometimes pretended to be, even if I daydreamed about putting laxatives in his water bottle. That would’ve been a better choice than Vice. That’s what he deserved.
As I headed to the tunnel, Emory called after me, “Don’t cause any more trouble, troublemaker.” He sounded huffy.
But not nearly as pissed as Coach when he turned to him and said, “Don’t you fucking call her that, or I’ll kick you off this team for good.”
Emory slunk down where he sat. “Got it.”
“Good.”
Oh god. We were going to be spending a lot of time in close quarters for the next few hours, and I hoped we all survived.
After the first period,the team headed back to the locker room. I followed, sandwiched by Blake and Trey. I was careful not to even look at Emory, in case Coach saw me and decided to bench him for the rest of the season to teach him a lesson or to follow through on his earlier threat and kick him off the team entirely.
When we reached the locker room, Coach grabbed my upper arm, holding me back.
Trey looked over at him with questioning eyes.
“I need to talk to Lucy for a second. I’ll be right in.”
Trey’s lips pursed, but he just shrugged and left us alone in the hallway.
“Lucy…” Blake trailed off, for once at a loss for words.
“Oh, I can help with this,” I said. “Lucy, I’m sorry. Lucy, I fucked up. Lucy, I promise not to do sketchy shit anymore instead of talking to you directly about my feelings…”
His forest green eyes were paler than usual. He shut them, and swallowed, then reopened them, focusing on my face.
He spoke. “Lucy, what I did was wrong. I never in a million years should have bugged your dorm room, stolen your underwear, or hidden in your room and listened to you come?—”
“Wait, I’m sorry. You didwhat the fucknow?” I interrupted.
He’d been in there when I’d jilled off? Oh god, I’d been fantasizing about him. I’d said hisname. I was embarrassed, and I hated that. He was the one who should be embarrassed.
“No wonder you knew I was into you,” I said. “That’s so fucked up.”
He nodded. “I know. It was. It is. I was in the middle of bugging your room when you showed up, and so I had to hide under the bed?—”
“You fit under my bed? You’re a giant!”
That didn’t actually matter, but it was what occurred to me in the moment.
He clearly thought the same. “That’s what you care about?”
“No, but I’m trying to picture it. You, underneath my bed while I was getting myself off…” I trailed off, really picturing it. “Did you wrap a hand around that big cock when you listened to me?”
His Adam’s apple worked. “Are you trying to seduce me, or do you want an explanation? Because the former can’t happen here, and the latter is more important right now, anyway.”
