“Hey, are you riding me?” I blanch, stuttering over my mistake. “Riding with me?”
Zoey turns away from the full-length mirror in the corner of her room, her lips quirked in amusement at my blunder. She’s changed into a pair of black skinny jeans with some sort of lacy black top. Her favorite worn white Converse are already on her feet.
“Yeah, I have no idea where this party is.”
I’m grateful she doesn’t comment on what I said by accident, but I’ll be cursing myself for it all night.
“I’m going to swing by the store and grab a few things to take with us.”
“Ah, yes. BYOB.” She grabs her phone, tucking it into her back pocket. “All right, I’m ready.”
Yanking my keys out of my pocket, I jingle them, spinning them around my fingers. It’s already dark outside. By the time we get to the party it should be fully raging. I’ve already gotten a slew of texts from Teddy asking where we are and one from Mascen asking if I’m coming.
I follow Zoey down the stairs to the parking lot. We pile into my truck and I crank the engine. Despite the year and outrageous number of miles, she runs like a dream. Joe’s helped me keep it running smooth.
I stop off at the grocery store and Zoey hops out to go in too.
“What are you in search of?” I ask her, grabbing a cart.
“Oreos.” Her lips pout. “I can’t believe they’re getting rid of red velvet. What a travesty.”
“Truly, a crime,” I go along with her. We hit the liquor aisle first and I get Teddy’s favorite, Zombie Dust. One of his texts was pleading for me to bring more because Murray stole what he brought. “You want anything?” I motion to the endless amount of beer to choose from.
She shakes her head. “Nah. Are you getting any root beer?”
“But of course.”
She grins. “I’ll take some of that then.”
“Staying sober?”
“I’m not a big drinker,” she admits, walking beside me with her hands in her back pockets. “It usually gives me a headache and I regret my life choices, and I already had two at the game today, so I better not push it. That’s all you’re getting for you, though?” She nods at the Zombie Dust as I push the cart forward.
“Nah, that’s for Teddy. Practice starts on Monday and I’m not risking getting shit-faced tonight and still feeling it then. Coach can be a hard-ass. It’s like he can smell alcohol on you even if it’s been a week, and then he pushes us harder, and I don’t want to do death sprints on the first day.”
“Death sprints?” She giggles as we turn onto the candy aisle. I grab several packs of my favorite gum as we pass.
“Well, I call them that because he makes us go until we collapse. He’s a great coach, though. Couldn’t ask for better.”
She turns away from me, but not before I see a funny look flicker over her face.
“Ooh!” she cries, running down the aisle to the cookie section. She scans the shelves for red velvet, her face falling when she doesn’t find any. “It’s not here.” The distress is evident in her voice.
“Hold on, let me look.” I scan all the packs and she’s right. “Nope, no red velvet. Maybe you should give something else a try.”
“I don’t want to give something else a try,” she grumbles, shuffling her feet. With a sigh, she crosses her arms over her chest, staring at the Oreos like they hold all the answers in the universe. “Fine, I’ll get the carrot cake.” She grabs a pack and drops it into the cart, but I can tell she’s still not pleased about the idea.
I make a vow to myself to check out some other nearby stores and see if I can even get Teddy on it, so we get her as many packs of red velvet as we can.
We head to the checkout, once again passing the floral area, and Zoey’s eyes light up.
She clasps her hands beneath her chin and pouts her bottom lip. “Do you mind if I look at the plants?”
“Go for it.” I follow her, trying not to show my amusement as she scours the flowers and plants, searching for something she might want to take home.
She picks up a tiny succulent that looks like it’s seen better days and sets it in the cart, actually petting the plant on top. “Don’t worry, I’ll save you,” she whispers at the plant, and I chuckle. She shoots me a look. “I can’t leave him here to die.”
“Him, huh?”
“Shush.” She holds a finger up to her lips. “We can go now.” She wiggles her fingers for me to push the cart forward.
After checking out, I load everything into the truck and text Teddy that we’re on our way.
The house Cree shares with some of his friends is ten minutes from the store. When we get there, the street is packed with cars. It’s a good thing it’s mostly college kids around this neighborhood or the cops would’ve already been called.
People spill out onto the lawn, laughing, dancing, just generally having a good time. I’m suddenly cursing my decision not to drink tonight, because dealing with this shit sober isn’t fun.
I shoot Teddy a text, telling him to come get his beer and hop out of my truck grabbing the root beer. Teddy runs outside, his shirt missing and a flowered bucket hat on his head that God knows where he got it.
“Thank God. I’m going to kill Murray for downing all my good stuff. Such a fucker.” He reaches inside the truck and grabs the Zombie Dust, his eyes getting big and round. “My precious,” he says in a Gollum voice, and then runs back away. “Thank you,” he yells, behind himself before he disappears into the house.
Zoey shakes her head, laughing softly under her breath. “I swear he’s some sort of experiment that got loose and never recaptured. Like Stitch.”
“I think you have a point.” We head inside the house, the music blaring loud enough to rattle the windows. It’s hot too, thanks to all the closely packed bodies. I set the root beer down in the kitchen, sticking it in the fridge. “It’s not cold, but do you want any?” I ask Zoey over my shoulder.
“Might as well.” She holds her hand out and I grab one of the drinks, passing it to her. She swipes a bottle opener from the counter and pops the top, taking a long sip.
And I’m staring. I grab my own and straighten, hip checking the door closed.
“Ah, there he is! Wasn’t sure you were going to make it!” Cree comes over, holding out his hand. I take it and we give each other a half-hug. “When does your practice start, dude?”
“Monday.” Zoey passes me the bottle opener.
“Ah, so that’s why you’re not drinking the hard stuff tonight.” He eyes the drink in my hand. “Such a shame.”
“I’ll still have fun.” I shrug.
“So, you play hockey?” Zoey asks him. “Do all of you play some sort of sport?”
Cree smiles in amusement, shoving his long fingers through his dark hair. “I do. We tend to run in tight circles. Y’all have fun. I’ll catch up with you later.” He smacks me on the shoulder and moves by me into another room.
Zoey looks around, keeping herself tucked closely against my side. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say she’s considering making an escape for it and snacking on Oreos in the truck.
Cheers arise from the area of the living room and it feels like the blood is draining from my body when I notice what song is playing.
“Oh no.”
“What?” Zoey startles at my tone.
I shove my beer into her hand. “It’s Teddy’s song. The last time this played at a party he took off all of his clothes and started swinging his dick like a windmill—sure he’d had a lot to drink, but it’s his hype song.”
She frowns, following me as I push past people in search of my friend. Someone turns the volume up and ‘Everywhere I Go’ by Hollywood Undead gets even louder.
There are people gathered around the coffee table in the living room, cheering and sure enough, there’s Teddy on top of it doing a strip tease as he screams out the lyrics.
Mascen enters the living room from a back door and we make eye contact, silently communi
cating that we have to end this before it escalates.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Just … stay here,” I tell Zoey.
“Teddy!” I yell, but of course he can’t hear me. Mascen and I corner him from opposite ends.
“Off the table,” Mascen demands.
Teddy’s eyes are closed, and he’s absorbed in the song, fingers on the zipper of his jeans.
“Oh, hell no, we’re not doing this again.” I grab for him and his eyes pop open.
“Don’t kill my buzz, Cole.” He gyrates his hips.
“Get off the fucking table, Theodore!” Mascen bellows. “I fucking mean it! I’m not doing damage control if you turn into a campus wide meme again!”
Teddy dances around the table, trying to avoid us. He sing-songs, “Theodore’s not my name. Try again.”
“TEDDY!”
“Sure, let’s go with that!” He goes back to singing the lyrics and girls start tossing dollar bills at him when he wiggles his jeans lower. Dude’s not even wearing boxers.
The last thing I want is to manhandle his drunk ass, especially with the risk of injury, but if I don’t intervene, he’s going to end up streaking around the neighborhood in no time.
“I’ve got him,” I mouth to Mascen.
As fast as I can, so Teddy doesn’t see it coming, I grab him up in a fireman’s carry, so his weight won’t strain my body as much.
He screams like a little girl. I guess he closed his eyes again and didn’t see me coming for him.
“Put me down, man!” He yanks and pulls at me. I grit my teeth and shove my way through the cheering crowd and girls still tossing money, phone numbers, and fuck I think those were panties that just smacked me in the head.
“I’ll put you down in my truck, because I’m taking you home.”
“I don’t want to go home! I’m just getting started! Don’t be a party pooper. That’s no fun.”
Mascen’s on my heels and I stop by Zoey. “Can you grab my keys from my pocket?” I ask her.
Her eyes widen, but she jerks her head in a nod and does what I ask. I breathe carefully and evenly, trying not to think about how close her hand is to my dick. I can’t go there with my thoughts, definitely not when it looks like I’m going to be babysitting a drunk Teddy tonight.
She secures my keys and then the three of us—well, four counting Teddy strapped across my back—make our way outside and down the block to my truck. Zoey runs ahead, opening the passenger door so I can put him inside.
As soon as I get him in the truck he’s trying to get out, protesting about how he’s fine.
I shove his chest back and strap him in. “Don’t give me a song and dance about being fine. You don’t even have a fucking shirt on.” I slam the door closed and turn to face Mascen and Zoey. I blow out a pent-up breath, clasping my hands behind my head. “I’ll take him back to our place,” I say to Zoey. To Mascen, I add, “We know he can’t be trusted on his own.”
Freshman year, after another experience, we took him back to his dorm and left him, but he escaped and came right back to the party. The guy needs twenty-four-hour surveillance when he reaches a certain level of intoxication.
Behind me, he bangs on the window.
My patience thin, I yank the door open and get in his face. “Did you, or did you not, tell me that your parents are done with your shit? How do you think they’d like to find out about this stunt?”
His eyes grow to the size of saucers and he blanches. “Don’t tell my mom. She’s scary.” He shudders.
I close the door again and exhale. “Zoey, stay if you want. I know we only just got here, but I’ve got to keep an eye on him.”
She’s still holding both bottles of root beer and the keys. She gives a shrug. “It’s okay. I don’t really know anyone here anyway. Let’s just go home.”
“You sure, man?” Mascen finally speaks, shaking his head as he looks at Teddy through the glass. “You can take him to my place, and I’ll deal with him.”
“Nah, I got it.”
Mascen can be kind of a dick and doesn’t always say the right thing. Teddy … there’s something about him that I always feel the need to look out for.
He jerks his head in a nod. “All right, I gotta go find Rory.”
He walks off and the truck door opens. I’m ready to shove Teddy back inside if he’s making an escape for it, but instead he leans his torso out and croaks, “I’m gonna hurl.”
Zoey cringes and I sigh as he vomits all over the asphalt.
“You’re going to have to sit in the middle,” I warn Zoey.
“If he pukes again, I’m tossing him out on the road.” She wrinkles her nose.
I take the keys from her and nod at the drinks. “Just hold onto them. I don’t exactly have cup holders.”
“What if we get pulled over by the cops and they think it’s beer?” She shrieks in horror.
“Good point,” I cringe. Taking them from her I dump the root beer out and toss the glass bottles in some random person’s recycling bin. “All set.”
Opening the driver’s side, I let her slide across the bench and settle beside Teddy.
I hop in and crank the engine, trying to ignore the fact that gears are between her legs and the proximity that will put us at.
“Look at us,” Teddy giggles, “we’re the three best friends anyone could ever have again. Who needs Mascen? Fuck that dude.”
“You like Mascen,” I remind him, pulling out.
“I did, until he fell in love,” he draws out the word, “and now he’s all about Rory and you’re going to fall in love too. I see the way you look at Zoey.” Beside me I don’t miss the catch in her breath. “And then it’ll just be me. The lone wolf. My parents don’t care about me. You guys don’t care about me. Everyone always leaves Teddy.”
“Nobody is leaving you, bro. I’m taking you to my place.”
“But you will. Eventually. Don’t worry, I’m used to it.” He slumps against the door and starts snoring two seconds later.
Zoey looks at me with a sad smile. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I feel bad for him. He’s lonely.”
“Yeah,” I glance over at him, “he does seem that way. A little lost too.”
“It’s like behind all the things he says and his wild ways, he’s hurting.” Out of the corner of my eye I see her study Teddy like some strange new discovery she’s trying to puzzle out.
“There’s usually a lot more to people than what you see on the surface.”
We make it to the apartment, and I get Teddy awake enough that he can drag himself up the stairs.
Once inside he collapses on the couch, tossing an arm over his eyes.
“Do you want your shoes off?” Zoey asks him in a soft tone. He jerks his head in a nod.
She undoes his laces, removing his shoes gently and setting them by the front door.
I set the bag of Oreos and gum on the counter along with her plant.
“Want me to put the TV on for you?”
“No noise.”
Patting his arm, she says, “I’m going to put a trash can beside you in case you get sick.”
We exchange a glance, me silently thanking her for being kind and taking care of my friend.
Once the trash can is fixed beside him, she says, “Let us know if you need anything else.”
“A back rub.”
She laughs and pats him on the head. “Nice try.”
He lowers his arm, looking blearily from her to me. “Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad.”
“You fucker,” I chuckle. “Get some rest and drink up.” I pass him a bottle of water. “I’ll set some Advil on the table.”
“Best parents ever.”
He gulps down some water and by the time I return with medicine he’s snoring once again.
Starting back down the hall, I yank my shirt over my head, nearly colliding with Zoey when she walks out of the bathroom.
“Oh my God.” Her hands land on my chest, her
skin cool against my heated body. “I’m so sorry.” She jerks away from me.
I want to tell her she can touch me any time she wants, but I’m not that forward. I’m just not that kind of guy. Maybe that’s my downfall. But I refuse to change who I am.
“It’s okay.”
Her eyes are on my chest, taking in every muscle I’ve worked my ass off for. She seems to realize what’s she’s doing and hurriedly averts her gaze, darting into her bedroom.
I chuckle in amusement, but the damage is done. My cock is hard, and like every night, she’s all I’m going to have on my mind.
16
Zoey
I grin at the giant A circled on my paper. I busted my butt on my essay for my anatomy professor. I’d heard he was a hard ass, but I was determined not to let this class drop my GPA and so far, I’m off to a pretty good start.
Doing a little happy dance as I exit the classroom, I cringe at my awkwardness and hope no one noticed. Swinging my backpack around I stuff the papers inside. I can’t wipe the grin off my face. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I see a message.
Dad: We still on for lunch today?
Me: I’m leaving class now. I’ll meet you at the café.
Dad: Do you know what you want? I’ll go ahead and order.
I text him back what I want and I’m tucking my phone away when I hear my name being yelled across the quad. I look up and see Teddy waving at me as he jogs over.
“What’s up?”
He throws an arm around my shoulders tugging me against his side. “I wanted to say sorry for the other night. Thanks for … thanks for looking out for me.”
I get the impression that Teddy rarely apologizes for his actions.
“You’re welcome. Next time, don’t try to strip tease at a party.”
He grins, his arm dropping from around my neck. “Come on, Z, everyone wants a piece of me.” He grabs his crotch.
Rolling my eyes, I push my hand against his arm. Of course, he doesn’t even stumble. The guy is pure muscle.
“You’re calling me Z now?” He falls into step beside me as I head toward the café on the other end of campus.
Nice Guys Don't Win (A College Sport's Romance) Page 11
