Page 31 of Stay (Stay #1)

My gaze flicks back to his. “You two aren’t together. Brooklyn can do whatever she wants.” I’m not trying to twist the knife in any deeper, but he needs to realize that he made this mess. And stalking her around campus won’t change anything. It’ll only make matters worse. “You cheated on her.”

“For fuck’s sake, I didn’t cheat on her!” He plows one hand through his dark hair in frustration.

“Cassidy.”

My attention locks on Cole who I didn’t realize was standing behind Austin. “You guys showed up here because someone texted a picture of Brooklyn?”

“It wasn’t just of Brooklyn,” he says.

Austin scrolls to the next picture. It’s one of me and the guy I’d been dancing with.

My profile is clear in the shot, but his isn’t.

It’s a little shocking to realize that someone snapped a picture of us and sent it to Austin.

A pit grows at the bottom of my belly as I glance from Austin’s phone to Cole.

He doesn’t look upset, but he doesn’t look happy either.

“We were just dancing.” Cole and I are in such a good place. I don’t want to do anything to ruin that .

He searches my gaze for a silent moment before his expression lightens. “Okay.”

Air rushes from my lungs in relief that he’s dropped the subject so easily.

“Where’s Brooklyn?” The question is clipped out as Austin scans the sea of revelers.

I nibble at my lower lip. My fear is that she’s still with that guy. Austin is already tap dancing on edge. I don’t want anything to push him over the precipice.

“I’m not sure,” I hedge. “I was looking for her.”

His expression darkens. “Call her. See if she answers her phone, because I’ve been trying to reach her all night and she won’t pick up.”

Well, duh. You cheated on her.

I wisely keep that comment to myself.

I nod before pulling out my phone. Hopefully, I can warn her that Austin is here. After four rings, it goes to voicemail. I don’t have any other choice but to leave a message.

Once I shove the phone back into my pocket, I clear my throat. “I’ve already searched the backyard and she’s not there.”

He swears under his breath, continuing to crane his neck and look around.

Cole slips his arm around my shoulders before tugging me close as we push our way through the mob of people. “Why is Austin here? They aren’t together anymore.”

He nods toward his friend, who is clearing a path for us. The way his warm breath feathers across my ear sends a little shiver of awareness dancing down my spine.

“Austin swears he didn’t cheat on her. He just wants a chance to explain that to Brooklyn, but she won’t listen to him.”

My eyes narrow as I give him a skeptical look.

Cole returns the expression before raising a brow. “That photo of you didn’t exactly look innocent.”

My eyes widen. “We were dancing. Absolutely nothing else happened.”

Cole releases a steady breath. “I don’t want to talk about this right now. Let’s find Brooklyn and get out of here, because I can already tell Austin won’t be leaving without her.”

That’s exactly what I was afraid of.

Just as we round the corner into the living room, Austin grounds to a halt before bellowing Brooklyn’s name and charging toward the couch.

As the crowd separates, I catch sight of Brooklyn sitting on a guy’s lap.

It’s the same cute frat boy she’d been dancing with earlier.

One of his hands is stroking her thigh beneath the short black skirt she’s wearing.

Laughter falls from her lips as he whispers in her ear.

Before Brooklyn realizes what’s happening, Austin is yanking her up until she tumbles unsteadily into his arms. The guy she’s with jerks to his feet. When they’d been dancing earlier, I hadn’t realized how big he was.

He’s huge.

Then again, so is Austin. They square off, getting in each other’s faces. Brooklyn looks shellshocked before quickly snapping out of it.

“What the hell are you doing?” she yells. “You have no right to come here and pull me away! I can be with whoever I want. We’re not together anymore!”

Ignoring the angry frat guy, Austin attempts to cajole her with a soft voice and puppy dog eyes. “Babe, you’re just angry. You don’t really want to be with this douche. Please come home so we can work this out.”

The frat guy takes offense to being called a douche and knocks Austin in the chest, pushing him back a step. “Dude, she doesn’t want you. You and your friend need to get the hell out of here before this gets ugly.”

By the look on his face, he wouldn’t mind if things get ugly.

My gaze slides to the other guys in the room who have taken an interest in the confrontation. My guess is that his friends wouldn’t mind it getting ugly either.

We’re drawing all sorts of unwanted attention. People are craning their necks, trying to see what’s going on.

When my fingers settle on Cole’s forearm, his gaze flickers to mine. He doesn’t strike me as a brawler, but I know he’ll back Austin up if it becomes necessary.

Only wanting to deescalate the situation, I step forward and slide my arm around Brooklyn. “We should probably head home, it’s late.”

If we don’t get Austin out of here, a fight will erupt. And he’s not going anywhere unless Brooklyn leaves with us.

Her eyes flash as she snaps, “I don’t want to go anywhere with him.”

“That’s fine, but it’s still time to go.” I drop my voice. “You don’t know anything about that guy.”

She levels a hard look at Austin. “Maybe not, but I bet he doesn’t screw around with hockey whores.”

“I didn’t cheat on you,” Austin explodes. “You won’t even give me a chance to explain what happened. You just assumed I cheated and cut me off.”

Brooklyn’s eyes narrow to slits. “I saw enough to know what was going down. If I’d stumbled across you five minutes later, it would have been that hockey whore!”

Even though he’s simmering with anger, Austin takes a moment to get control of himself before stepping closer to her.

“Baby, please, I wouldn’t cheat on you. You have to know that.

Give me a chance to explain my side of the story and if you don’t want to see me after that, I’ll leave you alone.

Don’t go home with this tool just because you’re pissed off at me. ”

Brooklyn still looks like a firework ready to go off, but she doesn’t seem quite so angry. With a sigh of relief, I loop my arm through hers. “Let’s go, Brook.”

She continues to scowl at him. “Fine.”

Austin takes his own life in his hands when he reaches out and strokes his fingers down her arm. “Come home with me and we can talk. If you want me to drive you home after that, I will. Promise.”

“No.” A look of resolve settles across her face as she shakes her head. “We can meet for coffee in the morning. There’s no way I’m going home with you.” There’s a pause before she mutters, “I want to be clear-headed when we discuss this, otherwise, you’ll just talk me into bed.”

One corner of Austin’s mouth hitches. “Would that really be so bad?”

“Yes,” she snarls. “I’d hate myself in the morning.” She levels him with a hard glare. “And you.”

With a shrug, he holds up his hands. “Then we’ll discuss it in the morning over breakfast. I’ll pick you up at nine.”

She purses her lips before stomping away.

“Brooklyn,” the frat guy she’d been dancing with calls after her. “You know where to find me when you’re done with his cheating ass.” He gives her a wink with a smug smile.

Austin growls, his hands tightening, before stalking after Brooklyn as Cole wraps his arm around me.

We walk half a block to Cole’s car. The short drive to the dorms is an uncomfortable one as Brooklyn stares out the window while Austin tries to coax her into a more receptive mood.

Just as Cole parks in front of the dorms, Brooklyn shoots out of the Mustang with her ex hot on her heels.

I glance at Cole and find his attention already locked on mine. His fingers rise to trace the fullness of my lower lip. “Stay with me tonight.”

As much as I want to...

“I can’t. Brooklyn needs me.”

Instead of trying to talk me out of my decision, he reaches over and drags my hand onto his lap. “Are we okay?”

My heart stutters before pounding into overdrive. “I’d thought so.”

He nods before glancing at our entwined fingers. “I’m not some crazy jealous guy, and I don’t want you to think that I don’t trust you. It’s just…” his voice trails off as his gaze settles on mine. “I’ve been burned before, and I’m not interested in going through that again. Does that make sense?”

“Of course, it does.”

His expression becomes more closed off. “You have your issues and I have mine. ”

For some reason, it never occurred to me that Cole might have been hurt before or have triggers of his own.

The thought of another girl causing him pain makes me want to be even more careful with him and what’s unfolding between us. Cole has always been so cautious with me and my feeling. I want to be just as careful with his.

My hand rises to drift across his cheek. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

“There’s still a lot we don’t know about each other.”

I suck in a deep breath, knowing that he’s referring to my past.

An idea takes shape in my brain. Before I can overthink it, I force out the words. “Why don’t we go out to dinner on Wednesday. We can sit down and talk everything out.”

A smile tugs at the corners of his lips. It’s the first time tonight I’ve seen him look genuinely happy. “Yeah, that sounds good. How about I pick you up at seven after practice?”

I nod.

The need to be close to him thrums through me, and I close the distance between us until my lips can settle on his.

With a groan, he hauls me closer until I can straddle his lap in the driver’s seat.

His hands slip under my sweater as he nips at my mouth.

A whimper escapes as his thick cock presses against my core.

Thoughts of what it felt like to have him buried deep inside me roll through my head as I flex my hips.

“Come home with me, Cassidy,” he begs between deep kisses that leave me breathless and achy.

I moan as he grinds his erection against me. My eyes are on the verge of crossing. It’s so tempting to go back to his place. But how can I leave Brooklyn?

The answer is that I can’t. Especially when I was already MIA during the actual breakup.

Just as I open my mouth, the passenger door is wrenched open, and Austin stares down at us with a raised brow and a smirk.

“Sorry, dude. If I’m not getting any tonight, neither are you.” He jerks his thumb at me. “Out of the car, Cassidy. ”

He doesn’t seem all that sorry to have disturbed us. It’s probably for the best. Ten more minutes and we might have taken this further.

I make a noise that is a cross between a groan and a chuckle as Cole kisses me one last time.

“For fuck’s sake, let’s go,” Austin snaps. “I’d tell you to get a room, but I think you’d actually do it.”

“Give us a minute,” Cole grumbles before his lips stroke over mine and heat me up all over again.

His kisses are seriously dangerous. And I love it. Love that they now belong to me.

Austin pounds on the top of the car with his hand as he waits for me to climb out. As I do, I straighten my clothing. I should probably be embarrassed to be caught straddling Cole, but I’m not.

Instead of smiling at the realization, my expression turns stern as I hold Austin’s gaze. “I really hope, for your sake, that you didn’t cheat on her. She’ll never forgive you.”

The smirk falls away as a solemn expression replaces it. “I swear that I didn’t cheat on her, Cassidy.”

With nothing left to say, I nod before turning toward the dorms.

Even though Brooklyn is angry, I think she really cares about him. I’ve never seen her upset over a guy. She usually flits from one boy to the next without so much as a backward glance.

That doesn’t seem to be the case this time.