Page 17

Chapter 17

Scarlett

With something heavy and unpleasant dancing in my stomach, I tear my eyes away from the brunette chasing Aiden. I don’t care that there might be something going on between them. Despite what happened the other day, he means nothing to me.

“There are some weird vibes coming off him. Did you feel it?” Tabitha asks and I shake my head.

“He seems fine to me,” I murmur.

“Of course he does.” She scoffs. “You’re in love with him. Love usually messes with your sixth sense.”

“You should stop smoking that crap you carry around in your bag,” I throw back. “I don’t have feelings for Aiden Hunter.”

I yank the textbook on my lap. She’s still looking at me.

“But you have been intimate with him.”

My head snaps up. “What?”

Tabitha chuckles. “That’s not my power talking, sweetheart. I watched you together just now. Your body language told me everything.”

Hoping my face reveals nothing, I skip the pages. Aiden and I didn’t even touch, so Tabitha saw nothing. “Thank goodness you’re actually getting a medical degree. That gift of yours won’t pay the bills.”

“Probably not, but it will help people who need it, even the ones who believe they don’t.”

“Can we get back to the project?” I snap.

Tabitha shakes her head but says no more. Thank heavens. We work in relative silence for the next hour until our legs are cramped and it’s time for work. I feel confident heading to the locker room after signing in with Melissa. Not only because the team is on the rink and I’m scheduled for laundry duty. Since Aiden gave me his word, no one has bothered me.

One month to go and I won’t have to deal with this again.

I get busy putting fresh bags in designated spots for the team to put their dirty uniforms after the practice match. A useless effort sometimes, since most of them leave their belongings on the floor. It occurs that Aiden is the only one consistent with putting his things where they belong, which would be an attractive trait, if I had eyes for him.

Which I don’t.

I don’t care what Tabitha says; I’m not in love with Aiden.

Besides, it’s obvious he has a thing for someone else.

That deep, wrenching pain returns and I take a deep breath to soothe it. Not for the first time, I wish like hell that Aiden didn’t touch me.

Or kiss me.

Or grind his cock against me.

Or make me crave for more.

It’s hard not to want something that makes you feel so good—

“Ah, there she is,” a drawl comes from behind me. “The traitor that won’t quit.”

An instant fear sends my heart clashing violently against my ribcage. A tremor runs through me as I turn, facing the guy who gives me chills whenever I see him. Noah slowly closes the distance between us, a deadly smile on his face. Even with that smirk, there’s no sign of life behind those brown eyes. I get the feeling smearing shit is like an appetizer for him.

It’s disturbing how he’d seemed so repentant and innocent that night, right before he tricked me into attending that party. This guy is dangerous. Letting down my guard around him again would be a huge mistake.

“I don’t want any trouble, okay?” I mutter, although his expression is saying that’s exactly what he wants. “Just let me do my job and get out of here.”

“You should’ve thought of that before screwing with the team. Twice.” He throws up two fingers, advancing, forcing me against a locker.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The words come out in a quivering whisper that makes his eyes sparkle even more. “Of course you’re going to deny it, you bitch. Unlike Aiden, I’m not mesmerized by that fake innocence you keep touting around.”

A shocked scream flies from my throat as he suddenly grabs a handful of my hair. My scalp stings, but it’s not as brutal as the pain that shoots up my spine when he slams me against the locker. “Those little pranks were our attempts to play nice. You don’t wanna play nice, do you, Scarlett—”

“Somebody help me!” I yell between sobs.

Noah grabs my lips. “Shut the fuck up, bitch.” He presses his knee between my thighs. “What’s it gonna take for you to leave us alone, huh? Do you want a fuck? Is that it? Are you doing this to get our attention, you fucking nerd?”

“Let me go, please,” I cry, trying to pull from his grasp.

“Oh, I certainly will, right after giving you what you’ve been desperate for.” His knee presses into my center. I push at his chest with my free hand and he flies away from me.

Wow.

His body sails to the other side of the room, bumping hard into another locker. Aiden moves toward him, tall and furious, his hands curled into tight fists.

“I fucking knew it,” he grumbles. “You weren’t coming back for your shin guard. You knew she’d be up here.”

Noah chuckles, pushing against the locker to force himself up. “I always knew you were smarter than you let on—”

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, you stupid motherfucker?” Aiden snaps.

In a surprise move, Noah lunges and pushes at Aiden’s chest. It was clearly unexpected, sending Aiden staggering backward.

“Giving the bitch what she deserves,” Noah answers. “What are you going to do about it, huh?”

I cover my mouth with a gasp as Aiden pulls back and punches Noah’s face. Hard. A crunching sound and Noah goes right down.

“Get up, you fucking coward,” Aiden huffs, parting his legs in a defensive stance with both fists raised.

Noah pushes to his feet and swings at Aiden, who shifts out of his reach. As Aiden retaliates, Cameron suddenly appears between them and gets a solid blow to his jaw.

“Fuck!” he yells, clutching his face while easing Aiden off with the other hand. “Dude, chill!”

“Chill? This asshole tried to violate Scarlett. Again,” Aiden snaps.

Cameron glances over at me, then mutters something under his breath, still pushing at Aiden. “Regardless, this is not the right way to handle things.”

“Oh, screw the right way. Let me fuck him up.”

“No—”

Noah touches his busted lip and stares at Aiden with wonder. “Are you fucking serious, man? You bruised my face because of this dumb bitch?”

Aiden rushes him again, but Cameron blocks him. “I told you Scarlett is off limits. The fuck is wrong with you?” Cameron yells.

“What’s wrong is that someone——is still trying to mess with the team, but you can’t see that when you’re fucking her,” Noah bites out.

Cameron raises his brow at Aiden.

“I’m not sleeping with Scarlett,” Aiden replies, staring at Cameron. “I swear to God.”

Oh, wow. Would sleeping with me be that bad?

“You better fucking not, or I’ll make it my mission to turn everyone against you,” Noah throws back, still touching his bruised lip.

Aiden chuckles, which is quite out of place in this moment. “Fuck out of here with that empty threat, Noah. The team needs me just as much. I’d like to see who’s bold enough to separate themselves from me.”

Noah clicks his tongue impatiently. “Keep defending that traitor, but don’t come crying to me when she proves how right I am, you fucktard.” He slides a glare at Cameron. “You know better. Fucking do better.”

With that, he storms out. Aiden immediately walks to where I’m still standing against the locker, all this time too terrified to move. “Did he hurt you?”

I brush off his attempt to touch me and ignore the question in his eyes. “No.”

“You should still make a report to the office, anyway,” Cameron advises, coming up on the other side of me.

“Agreed,” Aiden says.

Again, I shake my head. “Reporting Noah could get him suspended from the team. He already hates me enough.”

Aiden’s expression shows a clear disapproval. “This is not the time to consider his welfare. What he did—”

“So, I report it, and then what? I haven’t known Noah as long as you guys, but I know enough. He’s going to want revenge. Who the hell is going to watch my back until I graduate, huh? You?” I point at Cameron. “You?” I jam my finger at Aiden’s chest.

“I’ll hire a bodyguard if needs be,” Aiden replies passionately, and I laugh. You don’t want to sleep with me, but you’ll spend thousands to keep me safe. Yeah, right.

Cameron gives him a weird look.

“That’s sweet of you to offer, but no thanks.” I ease between them. “If you really want to help, how about proving that I’m not the one trying to sabotage the team? It’s the only way to get Noah off my back for good.”

“Consider it done.” Aiden’s firm response comes quick and clear, filled with so much conviction that I want to believe him.

But, I can’t.

Tabitha might’ve finally gotten into my head, because I can’t shake this feeling. My enemy-turned-frenemy is giving me weird vibes, too.