Page 5

JORDAN

I n my short life of twenty-one years, there were very few moments when I panicked. I could count on one hand the times my brain went bonkers and spiraled into a verbal-diarrhea situation. This was one of them.

“He’s my bestie. My guy fry. My dude. I’m staying with him, but I’m not with him, ya know? We’ve been friends a long time. Seen too much. Knows too much.”

Preston ran a hand over his jaw, his face not giving anything away.

He’d just touched my boob…something we had never done.

He played with my nipple with his finger, and his chest heaved, and his eyes went all wild and heated.

I loved seeing that side of him, a side I never knew.

He was into me despite all the shit he knew about me, and a part of me wanted more.

The second Liam opened the door though, my mind snapped back to reality. I had to cool the hell off. It was Preston… my Preston, and we stepped a foot past the line we always drew. I had no idea what that meant.

And now he wanted to leave me with Liam. I wasn’t exactly Preston’s type—he preferred more rule followers, less chaos, which was so not me. I couldn’t stop staring at Preston, who looked bored at being here. No traces of the heat or the moment we shared remained. His expression was almost pained.

“Love that,” Liam said, reminding me he was here. I’d forgotten about him in my panic. “You wanna hang a little more down here, Jordan?”

God, I wished I could read Preston’s face. I used to be able to, but he intentionally masked it right now. He could regret what we did, which would be weird for a day, but I’d be okay. Or he could hate it and be disgusted with me. Or he could think it was no big deal at all.

“I’ll be up for a bit if you want to stay. Just text me when you want to head up.” Preston rocked back on his heels, the epitome of nonchalant.

I was the opposite of nonchalant. I was mega-chalant. All the fucking chalants. I studied him, trying to find a clue of what he wanted me to do. I was here for him. Chewing my lip, I shrugged. “Sure you don’t wanna stay a little more? Make this a group match of odds ?”

“Odds?” Liam grinned. “That sounds fun.”

“Oh. It’s fucking fun. We can do double-downs too,” I said, more for Liam, but I spoke to Preston. “It’ll help distract from the championship tomorrow.”

Preston shook his head, his gaze moving to the door. “Nah, I’m good. I know you need your wild though. Have fun.”

He didn’t wait before he walked out of the pool door, leaving Liam and me in the pool. My chest hurt from his dismissal, but it wasn’t like he’d done anything wrong.

“He’s in his head. I’m sure you know that we won, but he had an off game.” Liam swam closer to me, the water lapping up my skin. “I’m worried about him.”

“Are you prying into Preston’s life or trying to chat with me?

” I swam away from him, the thrill of flirting a constant joy.

I loved the push and pull, the banter of it all.

I loved knowing people thought I was funny or they liked my body.

This attention was easy to handle. It was superficial and entertaining.

It was a perfect distraction to whatever the hell had happened in the hot tub.

“Maybe a little of both.” Liam caught up to me and grabbed my foot, dragging me to him. Our faces were a foot apart, and it’d be so easy to lean into him, kiss him, and stay with him for the night. It’d be fun, but I hesitated.

My brain was still on Preston’s face when he touched me.

“Hey,” I said, refusing to lead him on when my mind was on someone else. That wasn’t fair to anyone.

“You’re into Charming.” Liam smiled, his hands still on me. “I’d never go after one of my teammate’s girls.”

“I’m not into him.” I winced at how cheesy that sounded. “It’s complicated?”

“It always is.” He let go of me with the same understanding smile. “If it’s ever not complicated, I’m interested.”

“How forward of you.” I grinned. “I love that confidence.”

“Why thank you.” He dove into the water and swam a lap, coming up for air at the other end. He shook his hair out before facing me again. “You should go.”

“We’re not together,” I clarified. “If this were a regular night on campus, we’d already be in your room, but I came here to help him out of his head, and I feel terrible leaving him.”

There. That felt like the truth. It was true. But Preston touched me, and it couldn’t mean anything. I pushed up from the pool, feeling Liam’s gaze on me as I grabbed my towel. “Don’t be too wild tonight. The team needs you.”

“Same to you, Jordan.”

I blew him a kiss before making my way toward the hotel room.

Liam was gorgeous, kind, and smart. He’d be perfect to have a hot holiday fling with.

I’d be able to enjoy a few nights with an athlete and then reform myself to being a good girl for the externship at the country club. So why did it feel weird?

Nerves got the best of me as I made my way toward the door to our room.

Would Preston be mad at me for staying in the pool?

Would he be upset about what happened between us?

I hated the thought of him being upset with me for any reason, but I wouldn’t know until I spoke to him directly.

I knocked on the door, my heart fluttering.

“Preston, it’s me. Open up.” I banged on the door again, annoyed it took him so long to answer.

Maybe he was in the shower? He liked to shower after swimming because of chlorine.

I pressed my ear to the door, listening for the sound of the bathroom, but nothing came through.

I knocked again, harder. If this was punishment of some sort, that wasn’t fair. Tears sprang into my eyes.

Preston wasn’t cruel. He wouldn’t do this to me ever. He’d protected me at the bar. So something had to be wrong. I banged again, still with no answer, when a door opened down the hall.

Tyler.

“Tyler, hey, I’m Preston’s friend Jordan.” I jogged toward him. “I’m locked out of my room, and Preston isn’t answering. I don’t have my damn phone. Can you text him?” I shivered, my teeth chattering together.

“Hey, come in here.” He ushered me into his room. “Borrow a sweatshirt while we figure this out. Your lips are blue.”

“Y-yes, please.” The adrenaline kept me warm at first, but now the chill got to me. I forgot my phone and didn’t plan to be standing outside in a towel. Tyler rummaged through a bag and tossed me a dark navy sweatshirt, just as another teammate walked out of the bathroom shirtless .

Xavier Romero.

Not only did I know all the guys because I went to every game and was their biggest fan but also because they partied at our house. I was friendly with them. “Hey, Romero, sorry to drop in like this.”

He frowned. “Why are you wearing a towel?”

“Funny story.” I winced, hating how I blushed. I rarely was embarrassed or ashamed, but this time, I felt silly. Why would I suggest swimming without a suit? Why would I go up without my phone? Why didn’t I leave with Preston?

Xavier stared at me, waiting for me to finish speaking when Tyler cut in. “Here, put this on. We gotta call Charming, let him know.”

“Thank you.” I put the large sweatshirt on and was engulfed with warmth. “Didn’t realize how cold I was until right now.”

“It’s like twenty degrees outside, girl.” Tyler stared at his phone, his fingers moving. “Let Charming know you’re with us.”

“Appreciate this. Seriously.” I hugged the sweatshirt around me tighter, wishing it would cover me whole. “Didn’t mean to get locked out.”

“Hey, one time, Ty was locked out during a hookup in only his boxers. Had to walk the entire hotel in them where we all fucking saw.” Xavier laughed, hitting his buddy with a pillow. “Remember that, Ty?”

“How could I forget that?” He rolled his eyes, and a kind, thoughtful smile formed. “Don’t feel stupid, okay? It happens to all of us. I’m glad I found you though.”

My throat tightened. These guys were all so kind.

They played rough and partied hard, but they were all caretakers and had so much honor.

I didn’t know if it was the coach who mentored these guys to be decent or if the team was lucky, but I was grateful.

I never let myself think about what-ifs because that was useless, but a few snuck in at how unpleasantly the night could’ve gone.

Xavier dressed out of view where Tyler laughed at something on his phone.

I felt so awkward. They were accommodating, but I was in their space, unwanted.

Being a burden was the most triggering feeling for me.

The insecurities busted out of hibernation, and with that, my confidence plummeted, and I spiraled.

I’d do rash things just to take my mind off the turmoil.

“Want to play a round of cards? We usually have Uno,” Ty asked.

“Oh, no I don’t want to be a bother. Actually, could you text Quentin?

My best friend is with him, and I can crash in their room.

” I stood. That was the better idea. Logan wouldn’t care.

Hell, I’d sleep in the tub and wear headphones so they could still bang each other’s brains out. I wouldn’t care.

“You’re not a bother at all. Not often a smokeshow in a towel needs to be rescued.” He winked, earning himself a chuckle.

“Smooth. Well done.”

Knock, knock.

I jumped at the intensity of the knocks, goose bumps breaking out over my skin. I already knew who it was. The knocks sounded angry.

“It’s Preston.” The voice boomed, a clear bite of annoyance in every syllable. My stomach bottomed out as I made my way to the door. Manners came first, and I turned with a smile. “Thank you both for the help. You’re such gentleman.”

“I’ll make sure to tell my mom you said that.” Xavier winked, his attention then switching back to the TV.