Page 62 of Playing Dirty (Leighton U #4)

I try and fail to fight a smile. “The tree outside my bedroom window.”

Phoenix bursts out laughing, and I can’t help but join him after hearing just how ridiculous it sounds when I say it out loud.

“God, that is so high school,” he says as his laughter subsides.

“Okay, wiseass. What would you have done? I couldn’t exactly bring him through the damn front door,” I shoot back.

“No, that’s fair. It’s just funny as hell to picture.” Another little chuckle slips from him. “I honestly can’t believe you got away with keeping this whole thing a secret as long as you did.”

“It’s not like we’re walking around holding hands on campus.”

“Sure, but secret flings always have a way of coming to light. And most of the time, they blow up in your face.” His gaze drops from my face to the crutches beside me before he adds, “Or, in your case, land you in the ER with a broken leg.”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t need a lecture on why secret hookups are bad, okay? Oakley and Quinton already took care of that.”

The statement comes out without any thought, and his expression takes on a scowl. “Oakley and Quinton know about this? Since when?”

Ah, fuck.

“I mean, they didn’t know it was him until that day we were on FaceTime in St. Louis.” I run my tongue along my teeth and mutter, “Please don’t be mad.”

It takes a second, but a hellish grin creeps over his face. “Only if you don’t get mad that I called your denial from the very beginning.”

How did I know this would come up?

“You’re an insufferable know-it-all, and I have no clue how Holden puts up with you,” I say with a laugh. “Seriously, though. You’re really not mad about all this?”

His brow lifts. “Would it be enough to make you stop seeing him if I was?”

No.

The gut reaction is immediate, and my attention drops to the counter as I shake my head the slightest bit.

“Then why are you asking?” He gives me a gentle smile before adding, “If you’re happy, that’s all I really care about. Even if your happiness makes you a traitor to everything Leighton stands for.”

I let out a groan, which quickly mixes with a laugh. “And the rest of the guys? Are they pissed?”

“T, the only thing everyone cares about is that you’re okay.”

“Seriously?”

“Okay, Wy is a little peeved that this whole” —he motions around wildly— “secret affair probably ruined our chances for City Rivals now that you’re out of commission. But besides that, no.”

“Well, they can blame the truck driver for that one.”

“Wouldn’t have been in the car if you weren’t living out that sexy stepbro fantasy,” he reminds me.

“Yet another thing I’m never gonna live down,” I mumble under my breath.

“Oh, believe me. The ribbing has just begun if you’re gonna be toting him around the house until our lease is up,” he threatens playfully, a smirk resting on his lips. “Not to mention, if they end up finding our goddamn pennant because he’s on campus all the time, I’m going to lose my shit.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that,” I say slowly.

Phoenix’s brows draw together, and he stares at me like I’ve just told him to solve a quantum physics equation in his head.

“Why would you…” He trails off, his brown eyes becoming large enough to pop out of his damn skull. “You know where it is, don’t you?”

I reach down and pat the duffle bag sitting on the stool beside me.

He blinks, his gaze darting between the bag and my face at supersonic speed. I think I’ve stunned him into silence until he finally manages a choked, “Oh my God. You’re serious.”

“You should know by now, there’s nothing I take more seriously than the Penny Play,” I tease before motioning toward the bag. “Go ahead, see for yourself.”

Phoenix is around the island in half a second, his fingers clasping the zipper before he’s even finished pulling the bag up onto the counter. But he pauses for a second, a brief flicker of distrust crossing his features while he narrows his eyes at me.

“If this is a trick, I will never—”

“Just shut up and look.”

He’s a damn kid on Christmas morning, yanking the bag open as fast as possible as soon as it’s unzipped.

And there it is: the Blackmore championship pennant.

At least what’s left of it after being shredded by metal and glass. There’s a pretty massive blood stain on it too, courtesy of yours truly, but nowhere in the rules is something like a car accident accounted for so…

Phoenix pulls it out of the bag and runs his fingers over the fabric. He slowly spreads it out over the countertop, as if not trusting it’s really the pennant until he sees it in its entirety. But then the Blackmore logo appears, and he looks up at me in awe.

“Did you find it?”

I roll my lips inward, debating just how much information to give him before deciding on, “With some help, yeah.”

He stares at me in silence, a small amount of suspicion narrowing his eyes before his gaze drops back to the fabric splayed out before him. His fingers run over the stitching of the logo before picking at some of the shreds along the edge, a little chuckle leaving him at the mangled state.

“Yeah, Blackmore is definitely gonna have to replace it next year, thanks to the accident. But right now…it’s ours.”

Phoenix’s gaze lifts to mine, and his entire demeanor changes on a dime with those last two words. A huge grin appears and he starts laughing—the kind bordering on maniacal—as he drags the fabric from the counter.

No shade to Holden, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen the guy more excited or happy in the four years I’ve known him as he starts running around and waving the damn thing.

He’s a pinball bouncing off the walls, hooting and hollering at the top of his lungs.

At one point, he wraps the shredded fabric around his neck and wears it like a cape as he races through the living room, shouting Leighton’s school song at the top of his lungs.

And while he might look like a fool, it’s certainly entertaining as hell to watch.

The door to the basement opens, Holden coming up the stairs with a confused expression on his face. Cam and Logan pop up a few seconds later too, both of them halfway down the stairs to the second floor, watching as the chaos that is Phoenix unfolds before their eyes.

“Uh, Nix?” Holden says slowly, his brows drawn down. “What’s going on?”

“Why is Phoenix dancing with a shitty flag?” Logan mutters, and I catch him glancing at Camden beside him.

“I have no clue,” Cam replies.

All eyes in the room snap to the front door as it opens enough for Madden’s head to pop through. His brows are knit with concern as he looks around the living space.

“I heard shouting so—”

Phoenix is on Madden in an instant, ripping open the door all the way and damn near tackling my boyfriend to the ground. He catches himself on the doorjamb, and Phoenix yanks him inside by the front of his shirt, letting the door slam closed behind them.

“What the hell is going on?” Madden asks, eyes popping wide with confusion.

His gaze shifts around the room some more, clearly trying to make an assessment on the situation, before it finally falls on what Phoenix has wrapped around his neck.

“You’re a fucking sellout for love, and I could kiss you for it.”

Madden holds up his palm. “Please, don’t. I have a no-kissing-Timberwolves policy. With one exception.”

“And, uh, I’m right here,” Holden says, holding up his hand.

Phoenix turns to Holden before lifting the flag and waving it toward him. “Yes, you are. And you owe me a hundred bucks, fucker.”

Holden’s brows crash together. “What? Why?”

Phoenix’s grin belongs to the Devil when he says, “Because little bitty Theo seduced the captain for intel after all.”

My stomach drops at his poor choice of words—namely, the inaccuracy in them—and I look at Madden with worry. Yet, instead of looking concerned by Phoenix bringing it up, Madden rolls his eyes dramatically before walking toward me.

“Can you please set the record straight on this?” he asks while dropping his palms to my shoulders. “Because I’m pretty sure I’m the one who did the seducing in that hot tub, not the other way around.”

“So it doesn’t count!” Holden gloats at the same time Camden shouts, “Oh, shit!”

All eyes in the room fly to the hockey goalie, who is now wide-eyed and pointing at Madden.

“I just realized it’s your stepbro!”

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

“So it’s not just my brother who walks around the house naked,” Logan supplies dryly before his attention moves to Madden. “Lock the door next time, by the way.”

“You never mentioned seeing who it was!” comes from Phoenix.

Cam’s expression becomes pinched. “Wait, he’s been here before?”

“Because I don’t feel the need to air out who everyone in this house is screwing.” Logan’s gaze darts from Phoenix to Camden. “Especially you. And besides, where the hell have you been? You literally share a wall with him.”

“Hey! Knock that shit off,” Holden gripes, and once again, all eyes move across the room in sync.

Of course, none of us are prepared to find Phoenix trying to reach into Holden’s pants while Holden attempts to shove him away. Phoe is presumably searching for Holden’s wallet or phone, though with these two, God only knows.

Madden wraps an arm around my waist and presses a kiss to my temple. “You sure you don’t wanna come stay with me?”

I shake my head. “I love your friends, but they aren’t nearly this entertaining.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” he whispers with a chuckle.

Holden and Phoenix stumble to the kitchen floor on the other side of the island in their tussle, and I glance to where Camden and Logan are still watching from the stairs.

“You better break that up before they start screwing on the floor right in front of us,” I tell Camden.

He frowns. “You’re right there. Why can’t you?”

“Because my leg is broken,” I mutter dryly before lifting up a crutch as evidence.

“Then make him do it,” he says, gesturing to Madden, who simply raises his hands in front of him.

“Not my circus, not my monkeys.”

Camden lets out a huff, but he starts down the stairs to break them up. He’s barely down the stairs when Holden lets out some kind of yelp and shoves off the floor.

“Oh my God! Just take it!” Holden exclaims before tossing his wallet in Phoenix’s face and storming over to the couch. Of course, Phoenix is quick to join him…after plucking out a hundred dollar bill and tucking it in his own pocket.

Logan lets out a long, annoyed sigh, and I catch him head back up the stairs, disappearing from sight. Though not before calling to us over his shoulder, “All you athletes are fucking weird!”

The rest of us share one of those oh shit, Mom’s mad looks, eyes wide and barely containing our laughter until we hear Logan’s door slam closed. Then we all let loose, Madden included, busting a gut until we’re breathless.

“You’re right. It is a lot more entertaining over here,” Madden says before pressing his lips to the crown of my head .

“Yeah, sure. Right now it is,” Camden grumbles before dropping onto the couch with Holden and Phoenix. His gaze darts between us all, a sense of dread layered in it. “What am I gonna do without you guys next year?”

A pang of sympathy lances through me, and as I look over at Phoenix and Holden, I see their expressions all offering a similar feeling. Because, though it hasn’t been on my mind a lot, we’ve only got a few more months left in this house together.

“We’re only a phone call away, man,” I offer, though I know it’s not the same.

Phoenix nods. “Absolutely! And besides, you’ll still have Logan.”

Camden scrubs his hand over his jaw before glancing back at the stairs. “Yeah, I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing at this point. I just hope the friends he has moving in aren’t awful.”

Holden blinks a few times before softly muttering, “Not to sound like a dick, but I didn’t even know he had friends.”

“Because you two barely left the basement all year,” I retort.

My gaze flashes from him to Phoenix, who is already pointing an admonishing finger at me.

“Nuh uh. You have no room to talk anymore.”

“Wait, is he moving in too?” Cam asks, his eyes wide before they shift to Madden. “No offense, but like…we’re already running low on hot water.”

“Yeah. Which is Theo’s fault apparently,” Phoenix muses with an arched brow.

I instantly flip him off, and Madden chuckles beside me before putting Cam’s worries to rest.

“Well, your hot water is safe, ’cause I’m not moving in.” One of his hands wraps around the back of my neck and he looks down at me intently, dropping his voice to a whisper. “But I will come back after practice if you want me to. ”

“Only if you wanna be part of all this,” I say, motioning to my roommates who have now moved on to bickering about what movie to watch.

A smirk pulls at the corner of his mouth. “Well, you put in the work with my friends. Guess it’s my turn to finally do the same.”

“As long as you don’t expect them to go easy on you,” I tease, knocking my arm against his chest playfully. “You may be my boyfriend now, but you’re still a Falcon.”

His smirk shifts into a full-blow grin, though I’m not sure if it’s because of the taunt or the newfound label I’ve applied to him.

Maybe it’s a little of both.

“You know I wouldn’t have it any other way.”