Page 53

Crew

S tallions was packed shoulder to shoulder after our win tonight, and I kept finding myself glancing around to make sure Kota was still in sight.

Some Drake song was blasting, and I was already on my fifth beer of the night, eyes skimming over Kota’s ponytail that was so tight she could’ve whipped someone with it. Her red top looked like it was clinging onto her chest for dear life, her black skirt short enough that I could probably grab a handful of her ass in a split second.

Which also meant I was checking around to make sure no horny guys were eyeing her.

A stiff yank pulled me over, and a small panic overtook me when I could no longer see Kota’s smiling face, laughing it up with Bridget.

“I think I figured it out,” TJ said, all smug with confidence dripping from him.

Uh oh.

“What?” I huffed.

All seriousness in his tone, he said, “Are you hooking up with a guy?”

“Jesus Christ. What the fu— No!” I shook my head rapidly.

I truly thought TJ had been slowly catching on, but clearly, I was dead wrong.

He gave a pout, rubbing the back of his neck in defeat. “Really? I’m not right?”

“No!”

“Oh,” his shoulders slumped, leaving me genuinely surprised as to how he could’ve possibly been so confident going into this conversation. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with it if you were.”

“I know that,” I said, calmer. “But no, I’m not hooking up with a guy.”

“Alright,” TJ sighed, accepting defeat. “Well, I’ll figure it out eventually.” His eyes stopped not-so-innocently on a small blonde that was eye-fucking him a few tables over. “Mind if I ditch you?”

“Please do,” I grumbled, watching his face light up before his gaze locked in on his target, pushing through the crowd to reach her.

But when I returned to my spot between Cody and Matt, Kota was still out of sight.

Fire burned through my chest, and I circled around myself frantically, wishing she had been a few inches taller. Or simply that there weren’t so many short brunettes wandering around.

I couldn’t see Bridget either, couldn’t spot Lane. My panic was practically tattooed on my forehead, catching the attention of my teammates.

“You good?”

I jumped at the sound of Lane’s voice coming from behind me, nearly collapsing. “Yeah...” I muttered, catching my breath. “Yeah, where are the girls?”

“Bridget’s waiting by the door for me. We’re both gonna go home and head to bed. We’re really tired.”

I don’t care what you and Bridget are doing.

Keeping my voice as cold-blooded as possible, I asked, “And Kota?”

I studied every feature of Lane’s, searching for any sign of suspicion. My face remained stoic even through my deafening heartbeat, praying that Lane couldn’t hear it over the music.

He pointed across the bar. “She went that way.”

Transfixed on the corner he gestured to, I still couldn’t see her.

Lane spoke through a sigh. “Please make sure she gets home alive.”

“I will.”

“I mean it,” he said sharply.

So do I.

“Alright, yeah, yes, I know. Good night, Captain,” I waved him off, earning a mutter of expletives as he walked away.

The second he rounded the corner and out the door, I was on the move like a stalker. I had not a single clue where this protectiveness was coming from, but my heart was going to burst of anxiety if I went another minute without her standing right in front of me.

But everyone was in my goddamn way.

I was doing my best not to bulldoze all the girls in my path, beer raised high above their heads to avoid another scenario like the one that occurred on the night I met the brazen girl I was currently after.

I felt deranged; everything that was happening was way out of character for me.

I didn’t cuddle with girls after having sex with them.

I didn’t care to have their attention afterwards, especially if I was out with my friends celebrating a win.

I didn’t lose it whenever they were out of sight.

Everybody around me was laughing, having a good time, completely oblivious to me trying to push past them with the softness and patience of a teacher but the mind of a manic.

When a small tug rattled through my arm, I swung around with the hope that it was her, but whoever the girl was was someone I didn’t recognize

However, she recognized me.

“Crew,” she smiled, long brown curls cascading down her chest, eyes so brightly blue that they were almost translucent.

“Hey,” I casually said, pretending like I knew exactly who she was. But truthfully, I had no idea if she was a past hookup or just someone that knew who I was.

“You guys played really great tonight!”

Other than me getting knocked on my ass, yeah.

Her hand was still clutched around mine, and I wanted to rip myself away. “Thanks,” I said, voice passive, eyes impulsively flitting past her.

“Are you busy after this?” Her lashes fluttered, thick and dark, pink lips curling upwards.

This was exactly how I would’ve wanted my night to go months ago. With a random girl throwing herself at me. With my arm clutched around her slim waist, leading her into my bedroom to make her scream my name loud enough that it could be heard across the ocean. Then slyly find a way to kick her out in the morning and go about my day.

But that wasn’t how tonight was going to end.

“I am,” I nodded, carefully releasing myself from her grip. “Excuse me,” I trotted past her.

Seemingly, Heaven finally decided to answer my prayers, bringing Kota into view.

But as if Hell wanted to rain on my damn parade, she wasn’t alone.

A guy in a blue flannel had his back to me, blocking and unblocking her face each time he swayed side to side.

They were alone, isolated in a corner. Who knows how long they’d been there? Talking and laughing while I was practically choking on air in her absence?

Tension rocketed down my spine as I stood, feet glued to the floor. I waited to get a glimpse of who the guy was, free hand already drawn into a fist.

I didn’t give a fuck that I was standing in other people’s way. Their light, yet no-so-subtle shoves barely moved me out of place.

My dark glare pinned the back of his head, wishing it had been enough to make him disintegrate to ashes.

However, it was enough to make him spin, standing beside her rather than in front of her.

Oh, fuck no.

My plastic cup was in pieces in my palm, beer drizzling down my arm to join the puddle I’d just made on the floor. The remnants of the cup were abandoned somewhere along the line as I neared them, eyes blazing with a vendetta. Poison was already sitting on my tongue, waiting to be spewed.

Bobby’s head was lulled towards her, a sleazy and lovesick smirk painted on his face like he was sure Kota would end up in his bed tonight.

I’d burn down this whole fucking town before I’d let that happen.

With no remorse, I situated myself right between them, cutting Bobby off. “Are you ready to go home?”

As if she wasn’t half naked in my bed less than twenty-four hours ago, clutching onto me tightly in her sleep like a baby koala, Kota’s eyes were as frigid as Arctic waters. Any bit of warmth that I’d been able to bring into those beautiful irises was gone. The ice queen had me nearly convinced that I’d made up everything that happened last night.

Nearly convinced.

Teeth gnawing at the inside of my cheek, I watched as she took a tiny step backwards, acting startled, staring at me with those empty eyes. “Crew?!” she exclaimed. She might as well had just screamed Where the fuck did you come from?!

It only made the fire inside of me grow a little hotter, simmer a little brighter, because it made me insinuate that I actually had interrupted something.

“Ready?” I asked softly.

Slim shoulders rising and falling with a deep breath, she let her head drop for a moment. “Alright,” she said, barely audible over the Taylor Swift song that was turned up so loud that it sounded like she was screeching through the speakers. I was a hundred percent sure TJ was embarrassing himself somewhere in this bar right now, and usually, I would’ve been the first one there to laugh my ass off at him, but it was impossible for me to take my eyes off Kota right now. “Let me just go to the bathroom,” she said.

Before I could offer to wait for her by the bathroom or the back door, she was gone, leaving me with no choice but to wait for her here. Moving would’ve subjected me to losing her in the crowd.

With a casual tap on my shoulder, Bobby seemed too comfortable next to me, too confident. I wasn’t sure if it was the liquor coursing through him or if he was just that fucking arrogant.

“Hey,” he slurred. “Can we just be cool from now on? I’m trying to get back with Kota and—”

“Yeah, that’s not fucking happening.” And there was the poison that had been patiently waiting, finally falling out.

He seemed taken aback, giving a light scoff. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, did you not hear me the first time? I said that’s not fucking happening.”

Bobby’s eyes turned hollow, unstable, which only made me want to keep him away from Kota more. He was absolutely sloshed; no wonder he wasn’t able to stand straight when I was watching him from behind.

With a tight jaw, he said, “Well, it’s not up to you.”

I shook my head. “No. It’s not,” I agreed. “But if you were smart, you’d listen anyway.”

Bobby was acting like he had no idea where this was coming from, as if we never had a similar conversation to this before. He was trying to stab me with a hostile scowl, but it felt more like a pinprick than a knife wound. “Is that a threat?” he seethed.

My words came out like a gunshot, thundering and dangerous. “Fuck yeah, it is.”

“I’m not afraid of you.”

I could feel my face twist into a snarl as I spoke, towering a few inches over him as I leaned forward. “You should be.”

I didn’t own Kota. That, I was fully aware of. She was completely capable of making her own decisions, but no way in hell was I letting her leave here with this scumbag who had already fucked up. For God sakes he made her cry when I had been convinced that she was unbreakable.

Also, the fact that he thought he had this in the bag and that he’d walk away unscathed in a fight, with Kota on his arm, was beyond me.

This kid was a solid four inches shorter than me, sitting below six-foot, at least thirty pounds lighter than me. A single punch probably would’ve had him on his ass, and with the backup I had in the room tonight, he definitely would’ve been fucked.

Either way, I wasn’t here to fight. I was here to take Kota home. And to make sure this fuckface didn’t bother her anymore.

But there was a fear eroding me away, slowly yet surely, that maybe he wasn’t bothering her. Maybe she wanted to be talking to him.

Some of my anger seemed to dissipate when Kota appeared at my side, seeming just as flustered as she did when she wandered off.

“Alright,” she muttered.

“Alright,” I muttered back.

Eyeing me like I was stupid, I got another flashback to how things were before we were doing whatever it was that we were doing now.

“So, are we going?” she huffed.

I pushed off the wall I’d been leaning against. “Yeah.”

With a grim, “Bye, Bobby,” she led the way out, weaving through people so fast that I was nearly left behind.

“Kota!” I desperately called after her, but she either couldn’t hear me or didn’t give a fuck. I let out a set of swears under my breath, repeatedly reaching forward to grab her wrist but missing every time.

When the sea of people finally parted, and she slammed the door open, releasing us into the bitter winter air, she still didn’t turn, not even once to make sure I was behind her. Her steps remained brisk, and I wasn’t sure how two legs that were so short could manage to glide so far in front of me.

“Damnit Kota, can you slow down?” I roared, my voice echoing off the buildings surrounding us.

She swung around, arms crossed tightly, hiding her red top that I’d been admiring earlier. “What was that?”

“What was what?”

“Why were you acting jealous?”

I’d been wanting to stare at her all night, but suddenly, I couldn’t look at her. Eyes whipping around from parked cars to broken trees to the thin layer of snow beneath my feet, I mumbled, “I... wasn’t...”

“Oh really?” Kota’s glare could’ve melted the snow; it sure as hell was close to melting me. But peering up to steal a glance, I felt nothing but a strange mix of insecurity, embarrassment, and lust.

She was kind of hot when she was mad.

“What did you say to him when I walked away?” she questioned.

Starting with “I...” and trailing off, nothing followed for a moment besides a deep sigh. As I shifted my weight uncomfortably, I wondered if lying was a good idea or not. Ultimately, I decided to face the consequences of the truth. “I told him to stay away from you.”

“Why?”

“Because, I... didn’t like seeing him talk to you.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want you talking to other guys.”

This was it. She was either going to tell me to piss off, or she would accept what I said and go with it. Either way, it was her decision, regardless of how I felt about it.

“Why?” she practically screeched. “I’m sure you’ve been talking to dozens of other girls and hooking up with them too.”

“I haven’t,” I said, but her eyes rolled, and she turned to stomp away in that same audacious, Kota-like fashion I was used to. I reached for her small wrist and caught it this time. When her head circled back to me, her eyes were much softer, as if my touch was enough to bring that side back to her. I kept my tone steady and as soft as velvet. “I swear to God, I haven’t touched another girl since the first time I touched you.”

Isla popped into my head. Oh, fuck.

“Wait, shit. I’m sorry, that was a lie.”

Her face fell and a tiny shard of my heart split off and tumbled straight into my lung, nicking it open. “There was one girl,” I admitted. “But in my defense, it was only because she looked like you.”

I watched as her face skewed from despair to anger to confusion. “What?”

Still holding onto her, I squeezed a little tighter in an attempt to bring her closer, but she wouldn’t budge. My head shook in embarrassment knowing that this honesty hour was about to get even more brutal.

“When Lane and I went on our trip, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. And then there was this girl that looked a lot like you, and I ended up bringing her home.”

I’d thought the confession would’ve been a compliment, even a fucked-up one, but her face twisted into sadness like I could physically see her icy heart breaking inside of her chest.

I groaned, closing my eyes. “And then I said your name in bed.”

When all I heard was a choking sound, my eyes popped open. The smile on her face said it all and her laughter rang so loud in my ears that I probably could’ve gone deaf.

Kota bent over, snagging her wrist out of my grip just for the sake of holding her own stomach. “You what?! ”

I hadn’t heard her laugh this hard since we saw the “Milfs love me” guy at the gym. The sound was soothing, and all unease was gone, relief settling into my bones. “I’m not repeating it,” I said with a tiny smile.

“That is gold!” she said, clapping her hands together. “You really shouldn’t have told me that. I’m making fun of you until the day you die.”

“Well, you looked sad,” I said, settling into step beside her when she started off towards home.

“Maybe I was faking it.”

“No, you weren’t.” Hand brushing against hers, I stepped in front of her, wrapping my arms around her small frame. She didn’t hug me back right away, as if unsure if it was safe or not, but I held onto her until she did, her tiny arms barely reaching around me.

“You’re hugging me,” she muttered, face smushed against my chest. “Why are you hugging me?”

“Because I wanted to.”

“We’ve never hugged before.”

“I know.”

“It’s weird,” she said.

“I know,” I laughed. “Well, I could tell you were cold.”

Easily, she called my bluff, and even through the sassy ring to her accusation, she still didn’t let go. “That’s not why you’re hugging me.”

“No,” I admitted. “It’s not.”

“Okay,” she squeaked quietly. “And hey, are you okay after the game? I never got the chance to ask you earlier.”

I already gave her one embarrassing confession tonight— I couldn’t give her two and admit that she was the reason I got distracted and thrown around like a ragdoll.

I pulled out of our hug but kept her hands in mine. “Yeah, I’m alright. Prolly just have to ice when we go in.”

Kota nodded. “Should we go inside then?”

“Yeah,” I murmured. “Let’s go inside.”