Page 6 of Don’t Leave (Stay #2)

CASSIDY

“ Y ou know that what you’re wearing is the antithesis of sexy, right?”

I glance at the blue scrubs and fake stethoscope dangling from around my neck before arching a brow at Brooklyn. Her assessment of my Halloween costume isn’t off target.

“I wasn’t going for sexy.” Unlike a certain someone who shall remain nameless, I’m not trolling for a little hookup action tonight.

Brooklyn, who happens to be a champ at multitasking, adds the finishing touches to her smoky eye before huffing, “Mission accomplished, nurse Ratched. No one will mistake you for sexy.”

My brows snap together. “That’s Dr. Jameson, to you.”

Her only reaction is to roll her eyes. After two and a half months of rooming together, I’m more than used to Brooklyn’s attitude. In fact, I’d go so far as to say I’m barely affected by it.

My roomie’s costume on the other hand is sex personified. She’s poured her curvy body into a tight, black bodysuit before adding a pair of midnight colored cat ears on top of her wild mane of blonde hair. There’s a long tail pinned to her ass and black whiskers painted on her cheeks.

I’m almost afraid of the trouble she’ll find tonight.

And the comments…

My god the comments.

I can almost hear them now.

“Is there any way I can talk you out of wearing that?” I ask in a tone filled with hope.

She swings toward me with a grin lighting up her face. “Nope.” The word comes out sounding more like nooooooope before popping the P at the end.

My face scrunches. “There’ll be no end to the pussy comments you’ll have to endure.”

Her green eyes turn decidedly sly. “As long as they’re made by hot, muscly-type football players, I’m perfectly fine with it.”

Ugh.

Bad answer.

“Fine,” I grumble. “Let’s go this over with.”

A few girls from the floor catch a ride with us as we pile into Cole’s electric blue Mustang.

I love his car. It’s just as sexy as he is.

Apparently, I’m not the only one lacking in creativity tonight because Cole is wearing his hockey jersey with a pair of jeans.

The pads make his shoulders look even bigger and broader than normal.

The party is at a house on Greek row. As we turn onto the street, it’s difficult to tell which party we’re hitting because there are about seven or eight others already in full swing.

Tons of costumed students crowd the streets as they stagger from one party to another.

Brooklyn and Cole both warned me about how crazy it gets on Halloween.

I guess they weren’t kidding.

With my fingers firmly ensconced in Cole’s larger hand, we wind our way through the thick press of bodies.

Brooklyn is behind me, talking with Olivia, a girl from our floor.

In takes about five minutes to push our way into the kitchen where the lighting is dim but decent.

Cole grabs us a couple of waters because he doesn’t drink during the season and after the debacle that was last year, I’ve lost my appetite for alcoholic beverages.

Once in a while, I’ll have a drink but that’s about it.

When he offers one to Brooklyn, her eyes go flat as she narrows them at someone across the room. “I’m going to need something a hell of a lot stronger than that to make it through tonight.”

There’s only one guy who’s capable of eliciting that kind of response from her.

And that would be her ex, Austin.

I scan the sea of revelers. Sure enough, Austin is standing on the other side of the room with a drink in one hand and a girl tucked under his other arm. My gaze flies back to Brooklyn who looks frozen in place. Wanting to offer a bit of moral support, I slip my arm around her waist.

Even though I keep the question buried inside, I can’t help but wonder what she expected.

That he was going to keep pursuing her?

All she’s done is shut down every attempt he’s made since their breakup two weeks ago.

He’s tried calling, texting, explaining what happened the night she caught him kissing one of the puck bunnies but Brooklyn refuses to have anything to do with him. It was only a matter of time before Austin decided to cut his losses and move on.

I have to wonder by the look in her eyes if that’s what she really wants. Even though Brooklyn and I have been friends for years, living with her has given me glimpses of a different side of her.

A stubborn side.

“Are you all right, Brook?” I ask, dropping my voice so only she can hear. “Do you want to get out of here?” There are plenty of other parties we can crash tonight. And they’re all the same. Loud music, drinks a-plenty, and tons of costumed revelers.

She rips her gaze from Austin before pasting a smile on her face as if not bothered in the least. If I didn’t know her as well as I do, I’d think maybe she wasn’t. But I’m not fooled by the facade she’s putting on.

“Of course not, I’m fine. There’s no reason for us to leave.”

I give her a beseeching look. “Are you sure?”

When her smile turns brittle, I get a sinking feeling that tonight has the potential to go off the rails. “Absolutely.”

Cole returns with a red Solo cup filled to the brim with beer. As soon as he hands it to Brooklyn, she tosses it back, sucking down at least half the contents in ten seconds flat.

Yup, it’s definitely going off the rails.

With wide eyes, I meet Cole’s confused gaze. Before I can clue him in about what’s going on with my roommate, Brooklyn drains her cup before stalking off and muttering something about finding the keg.

And a hot guy.

Not necessarily in that order either.

Still looking perplexed, Cole’s gaze tracks Brooklyn’s movements before quirking a brow at me. “Do I even want to know what that was about?”

“Probably not.” There’s a pause before I add, “Austin’s here and he isn’t alone.”

This explanation only seems to confuse him more. And I can’t say I blame him for it. Cole was the one who had to sit Austin down and tell him to back off. I think the words restraining order were used during that conversation.

Multiple times.

“I thought that’s what she wanted.”

As I stare after Brooklyn’s retreating form, I realize that I’m not the only one. At least four pair of eyes, including Austin’s, follow her black swishing tail as she vacates the room.

“I’m not sure if Brooklyn knows what she wants.” Or maybe she just wishes she didn’t want the person who carved out a place in her heart.

Cole captures my distracted attention when he slips his hand into mine.

I smile as he gives my fingers a squeeze before leaning down to brush a kiss against my lips.

Needing more, I grab the front of his hockey jersey and pull him down for another.

As our lips continue to linger, someone clears their throat from beside us. We break apart only to find Austin.

One brow is cocked as he glares. “Can’t you two keep your hands off each other for five freaking minutes?”

One side of Cole’s mouth lifts as he wraps an arm around my shoulder before tugging me closer. “Nope.”

Even though I should mind my own business, I nod toward the girl who had been snuggled up against him a few minutes ago. “Who’s that?”

His expression doesn’t change as his gaze flickers toward the female in question. She perks up before smiling brightly and giving him a wave.

Austin lifts his chin in acknowledgement. “Just someone I know.”

I make a noncommittal noise deep in my throat but remain silent. His attention shifts from the tall blonde who’d been clinging to him to where Brooklyn is just visible in the other room. That’s when I realize that just a girl I know bears a striking resemblance to his ex.

Austin’s face darkens. “I need to get back to Eva.” Without another word, he stalks to his Brooklyn look-alike. What’s obvious is that neither them are completely over the other.

Cole brushes his mouth over mine before whispering, “I think my lips were right about here when we were so rudely interrupted.”

My belly dips as his eyes darken. That one heated look is enough to have the thick crowd surrounding us fading into the background.

Have I mentioned how sexy Cole is in his hockey jersey?

His lips lower until they’re able to brush over mine. “Is there any chance of getting a physical later on, doc?”

“Yup. And it’s going to be incredibly thorough.”

“I like the sound of that. Maybe we should get out of here now. What do you think?”

I press closer before nipping at his lower tug and tugging it between my teeth. “Let’s dance for a bit and then we can slip away.”

“Sounds like a date.” He winks before grabbing my hand and towing me through the gyrating throng to the living room where everyone is dancing to the loud pulsing beat.

A strobe light flickers, illuminating all the costumed students.

It takes only a moment for us to lose ourselves in the music.

Brooklyn and one of Cole’s teammates, Alex, join us. Alex is wearing a giant condom costume.

It fits him well.

The guy is all about hooking up.

His face sticking out of the made-for-her-pleasure latex is hilarious.

Watching him attempt to put the moves on Brooklyn is even funnier because she’s not having any of it. She shuts him down at every turn. Even though my relationship with Alex started out rocky, we’ve slowly become friends.

All right, maybe the term friends is a bit of an overstatement. Acquaintances probably sums up our relationship rather nicely. Cole was right when he said Alex was harmless.

He is.

The guy is built like a brick shithouse and is a real goofball. I’ve got to hand it to him—for someone so enormous, he’s incredibly smooth on his feet.

After about an hour on the dance floor, we’re all sweaty messes.

Brooklyn yells over the music, “Let’s find the bathroom.”