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Twenty Two

Hailey

When I finally managed to pull myself out of shock, I got behind the wheel and drove home. The boiling anger and defiance toward my father burned away the cold second by second.

Who the hell did he think he was?

Dump Colt? Over my dead fucking body.

I trudged up the stairs to my dorm room instead of taking the elevator, needing to burn off some energy after the whole debacle. If my dear old dad had thought I was rebellious before, then he was in for a real treat now. I would play his fucked-up game for now, but only to lull him into a false sense of security.

He would not decide the course of my life, and he was certainly not going to fuck things up with Colt now that I finally had a chance.

The drive had helped me clear my head and work through the indignation and anger, but that didn’t mean it had disappeared. Huffing, I entered our room and tossed my stuff onto the unmade bed.

Just as I was kicking off my shoes, Ella bustled through the door.

“There she is!” she exclaimed with a shit-eating grin. “Didn’t think I’d see you here so soon.”

Apparently, Colt had texted Ella from my phone last night so she wouldn’t worry. Swoon. But also, a little embarrassing, considering my passcode is his birthday, and he seemed to have figured that out somehow. I apologized for leaving Ella alone at that party, but she had waved me off, telling me she was a big girl.

***

“I can’t fucking believe it. Bro, this is wild. Like something out of a movie.” Ella’s eyes were twice the normal size.

I just sipped my white Monster, a slight smile on my lips, still a little baffled all this had actually happened. We were on our way to the gym, strolling across campus with the sun warming our faces.

Even though we were pursuing different sports, we had started working out together over the last few weeks. It was fun to mix things up a bit, to incorporate other points of view. I always thought it made me a better athlete.

“Please tell me you cashed in that v-card last night.”

“Not just me,” I mumbled before realizing what I was saying.

Ella’s hand landed on my arm with a slap. “Shut the fuck up. Are you serious?”

“Oh my God, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Okay, Hagrid.”

I furrowed my brows. “What? ”

“You know, Hagrid, the big dude in Harry Potter, he always says I shouldn’t have — whatever, never mind. Big daddy gave you his virginity?”

“Jesus Christ, don’t shout like that.” I cringed. “And please, for the love of God, stop calling him that.”

“Sorry, sorry, my bad. But he totally saved it for you. O-M-G, that’s the sweetest thing ever.”

“Bullshit … He didn’t.” Right?

“He totally did.” She snorted. “Girl, this guy’s been drooling over you for years, and he just happens to be a virgin? Nah, he was definitely hoping for that.”

Huh. She might be right, and the thought caused a whole swarm of butterflies to explode in my stomach.

“Maybe.”

Her scoff couldn’t have been more incredulous, and she muttered something about me being “Delulu” under her breath. We were almost at the training facility, the sun still beating down on us even though it was the end of October. I was fascinated by the way Ella’s deep-red hair shimmered in the sun, so her question caught me off guard.

“Okay, I’m not going to pry for details unless you want to tell me” — she threw me a hopeful glance — “buuut I do want to know one thing: Is his dick as big as you’d think it is? I mean, that man is ginormous, please tell me it’s proportional.”

I burst out laughing. “You’re impossible, Ella.”

“I know, and I’m cool with it. I’m weird and I embrace it. Sooooo?” She wiggled her eyebrows, making me giggle even more. I yanked open the heavy glass door and motioned for her to step through.

“Come on, don’t leave me hanging.” She pulled out the big guns and gave me her best puppy-dog eyes .

“Good God, yes, okay? Yes. Very proportional.”

“I knew it. Good for you, bestie. But how the hell are you even walking right now?”

I gave a snort of laughter, and Ella giggled devilishly as we entered the facility. My phone vibrated in my hand, and I peered down at it.

Dad: You know what I expect of you. Don’t fuck this up, or there will be serious consequences.

My stomach dropped.

***

“Um, isn’t that your boyfriend over there? I mean, he’s hard to miss, pretty sure it’s him.”

My head whipped around at Ella’s comment, which was rather awkward, considering the extra 100 pounds I was balancing on my shoulders in the form of a stacked barbell. I just managed to catch myself before I lost my balance. Straining and panting, I collected my bearings and pushed back up from the squat to a standing position.

I set the bar back into the rack with a clatter and ducked out from underneath it. Sweat trickled down my neck, and I rolled my shoulders to get rid of the dull ache from the heavy iron.

Peering in the direction she had pointed to, I met cold gray eyes instead of the icy-blue ones I had expected. Hunter. Colt was there too, but he was lying on a bench, unaware of my presence as he moved the weights up and down in a controlled fashion. As always, he was wearing a loose shirt, and I was dying to see the thick muscles hidden beneath.

“Yep, that’s him. ”

Ella ditched the squats to step up beside me and peek over. “Ohhh, and who’s that?”

“That would be Hunter, I went to high school with him too. They’re practically brothers, but he’s a bit … different.”

“Different? How so?”

“It’s hard to explain because I don’t really understand it myself. He doesn’t talk much, but … whatever you do, don’t touch him.”

Her eyebrows flew up. “He doesn’t want to be touched?”

“Nope. Not as far as I know, anyway.”

“Does he know he’s playing a contact sport? I mean, how does that work? Is he the kicker?”

I giggled. “I honestly have no idea. He’s not the kicker, I think he’s the cornerback? Don’t quote me on that.”

“Well, what are we waiting for, let’s go over there.”

I spluttered, choking on the sip of water I had poured into my mouth. “Now?”

“Yeah, of course now. I want to see that one up close.”

“Hunter?” I asked, confused. Hadn’t I just explained to her what his deal was? Well, at least sort of? She seemed more intrigued than put off, though, and I didn’t know if I liked the glint in her eyes.

“Okaaay. But I really mean it. He doesn’t want to be touched. You got that, right?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely.”

We strode across the room to them just as Colt sat up and dropped the weights with a loud thud. The shirt was stuck to his back in a few places, and as he stood, he pulled it away from his front in a move I’d seen countless times before.

“Hey, stranger.”

Colt spun around, surprise written all over his face. For a moment, the mask he always wore slipped, and he flashed me a heart-wrenching, crooked smile before it fell back into place. His gaze roamed down my body, getting hotter and hotter as it traveled farther down and took in my skin-tight workout clothes.

“Those looks again. Guys, please, I’m not getting laid right now, all this passion will set me on fire if you keep it up.”

Ella struck a tone of feigned desperation that made me shift my gaze away from Colt and stare at her with raised eyebrows. She didn’t hesitate for a second and turned her attention to the blond titan in front of us.

“Hi, I’m Ella.” She waved at Hunter, who, as usual, remained silent.

His face remained an expressionless mask, but unlike Colt’s, there was a certain coldness to it. Colt sometimes joked that Hunter acted like a robot, and I could see the similarities. His steely gray eyes stared down at my roommate without returning her greeting.

Over the years, he had bulked up, like Colt, and became even more imposing, but in a different way. Colt was thick, but Hunter’s every muscle was cut. They were almost the same height, and although Ella towered over me by several inches — apparently that was useful for tennis — both of them loomed almost a head above her as well.

When it became clear Hunter had no intention of answering, Ella spoke again. “I’m Hailey’s—”

“Roommate. I know.”

“Oh,” she said, perplexed, and my eyebrows went up as well.

When I glanced back at Colt, I saw an equally bewildered expression.

“Anyway, Ella, this is Hunter, Colt’s best friend and roommate.” Before I could finish my sentence, Hunter had already turned away to take his position on the bench. He didn’t give a singular fuck — as usual. For a moment, all three of us watched as he picked up the weights, completely unfazed, and began his set.

“Um, okay. Sorry about that, Ella, don’t take it personally. He doesn’t really talk much.” Colt’s tone was apologetic and slightly sheepish.

“Yeah, Hailey already mentioned that.” She didn’t take her eyes off Hunter’s form, still with that almost creepy, fascinated glint in them.

“Okay, I guess we’ll just ignore that too. I’ll see you later? Dinner?” I turned back to my boyfriend — eek .

“How much longer will you be here? We could go to my place together when we’re done?” He walked backward toward the bench.

“Sounds good to me. Is that okay with you, Ella? Do you need a ride?”

“Sure, don’t worry about me. I’ll probably just walk, it’s not far.” Was it my imagination, or did Hunter just twitch?

“Are you sure?” Colt asked as he plopped down heavily.

“Yeah, dude, I walk this almost every day, it’s really no problem.” Ella waved dismissively, a friendly smile on her face.

Hunter let out a grunt that had her eyes darting in his direction again, and Colt seemed to interpret it as some kind of demand. No one knew Hunter as well or could understand him the way Colt could. “Alright, man, I’m on it.”

“We should probably get back to it too. See you later, babe. Hunter, always a pleasure.” I gave them a little wave, not that Hunter cared, and started backing away .

“See you boys,” Ella purred, waving her fingers as she led the way.

“Later,” Colt puffed, strained as he moved the weights. So hot I needed to fan myself.

“Well, that was interesting .” Ella’s long wavy ponytail bobbed with each step.

“You could say that.”

“I like him.”

“Colt? Yeah … I know.” I said slowly. “I was there when you met him. The first day we moved in?”

“No, not Colt. I mean, wait, of course I like Colt, in a he’s nice and my roomie’s boyfriend way. But I was talking about Hunter.”

“Oh. Oh. ” I smacked my palm against my forehead. Had Colt really fucked my brains out last night?!

Ella snickered.

“You … like him? Girl, you haven’t even exchanged two sentences.” I tried my best not to sound as flabbergasted as I was.

“Eh, I just have a feeling.”

“ A feeling ?” My face probably couldn’t hide the incredulity any longer.

“Yup. When you know, you just know.” She shrugged one shoulder, mouth pulled to the side, head tilted slightly.

“When you know what exactly?” I asked, confused.

She stepped under the bar we’d abandoned earlier and lifted it off the rack with a huff. “I don’t know, I can’t really explain it to you. I like him, I think he’s interesting. And that’s it. That’s all I know. There’s just something there. I’ll figure it out eventually, I always do.”

“Gotcha.” I nodded, even though I most certainly didn’t know where she was coming from. “Hey, I’m the last person who’s going to judge you for something like that. I’m just telling you honestly, I have no idea how you’re going to crack this nut, because he really doesn’t let anyone get close to him. But I’m here for it.”

“We’ll see. We’ve got a couple classes together actually. I just hadn’t recognized him right away.” Her voice was slightly pressed as she dropped her ass to the grass.

During the whole workout, I could feel we were being watched, and even though I was sure Colt was frequently peering over here, I was almost sure his workout buddy wasn’t taking his eyes off us either. Just a feeling.