Page 1 of Hard Hitter

1

Chloe Asher would be the death of me. I was tired, bleary eyed, and awake way too fucking early in the morning to deal with her. The sun hadn’t even come up yet.

I’d only been asleep an hour or two when a crash had me bolting into the hallway of our apartment, where I found the subject of most of my fantasies standing outside my door. If she hadn’t been D’s sister, I’d have gone back to bed, preferably with her next to me.

Instead, Chloe’s wide green eyes darted between me, my roommate, Mac, and the llama picture she’d knocked off the wall. Her dark hair tumbled over her shoulder in soft curls, and in the dim light from the living room, her tiny dress shimmered blue green like the mermaid she’d been in my dream.

Not that I’d ever admit to dreaming about her.

At some point after I’d left the party at her place last night, she’d ditched her pointy-heeled shoes, and I forced myself not to immediately scoop her up in my arms to protect her bare feet from the broken glass littering our floor.

“Don’t move,” I grumbled when she looked like she’d take a step toward me.

She scowled at the gym bag in the middle of the hallway. “Do you guys have to be pigs all the time?”

Mac, owner of the offending gym bag, shrugged. “I live here, and no one else complains. Besides, you’re the one who made the mess.”

He ran a hand through his tousled hair and glanced back at his door, a sure sign he wasn’t alone in his room. We couldn’t leave Chloe standing in the middle of the glass, but Mac only wore a towel wrapped around his waist.

I could reach her from where I stood, and I wouldn’t end up naked in the process. With an internal groan, I beckoned her to lean toward me. Chloe’s eyes narrowed, but she shifted her weight in my direction.

Keeping my hands at her waist, I lifted Chloe out of the danger zone—she weighed next to nothing. I deposited her on glass-free carpet then backed away nearly to the living room, crossing my arms over my chest to keep from reaching for her again.

RJ and Parker, the last of my roommates, shuffled out of their room and stopped short. At least they’d taken the time to put on clothes. I didn’t need another reminder that everyone was getting laid except me.

“What the hell is going on out here?” Parker asked.

I watched Chloe, surprised to see the slight wince. She wasn’t the timid type, and honestly, breaking shit in someone else’s apartment in the middle of the night was entirely on brand for her.

When she didn’t answer, I gave him the only information I had, hoping she’d fill in the rest. “Chloe tripped over Mac’s gym bag and knocked the llama off the wall.”

Parker’s brows drew together as he took stock of the floor, Mac’s lack of clothing, and Chloe’s outfit from last night. I clenched my jaw against the unbidden urge to defend her. She was perfectly capable of defending herself if she chose.

Except she didn’t.

Parker glared at Mac, I glared at Parker, and Mac edged closer to his door. None of us were in top form, especially since I was probably the only one who’d slept.

RJ broke the standoff. “Chloe, what are you doing in the hallway?”

Chloe’s eyes flicked to RJ, then back to me. “I needed some help, so I came over here to ask. I’m sorry I bothered everyone.”

There it was. The only reason Chloe paid any attention to me now—when she needed help. After spending hours watching her flirt with every guy at Eva’s birthday party, I wasn’t in the mood.

I nodded at Mac. “Looks like you’re taken care of. I’m going back to bed.”

Mac sputtered. “What? No, man. I’m half-assed naked.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, willing him to take this one for the team, but Mac didn’t get my telepathic message.

He rolled his eyes as if we were confused about his state of undress. “Like butt-assed naked but still got a towel on? Noah can help her.”

In an act of friendship aggression, he went back into his room and shut the door without another word. The one time Iwantedhim to be loud and annoying. I chanced another look at Chloe. Her face seemed more expressive than usual minus her glasses, pleading with me to help without making a fuss.

Or maybe I was still suffering from the weird-ass dream where I’d had her naked in the pool with gleaming scales hugging the curves of her hips.

I clenched my jaw, unwilling to give in this time. “Parker or RJ then.”

Chloe winced. “They can’t help.”

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