“Good man.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “Just go easy on her, she’s wasted.”
“Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow.” Our eyes connected and I saw his concern. Asher might have had a crush on the new girl, but he cared about Felicity, and I couldn’t decide if I was relieved she had him in her corner, or insanely jealous.
Maybe both.
Hailee and Mya noticed me first. “Oh it’s you,” Felicity slurred, her body falling limp against me. “I’m not sure I like you anymore.” Her hands pressed against my chest, my body vibrating with heat.
Jesus, even her touch was magic.
“House key?” I asked Hailee over her shoulder.
“Pocket I assume.”
“If her parents wake up and discover me in their house, you’d better have a damn good cover story ready.” I kept my voice low.
“We can take her,” Mya said over my shoulder. But I ignored her, slipping my arm around Felicity’s waist and tucking her into my side.
“I’ll see you back at the house.” I gave her a tight nod. Hailee returned it, amusement dancing in her eyes. But it was nothing compared to the curious stares aimed at us as I herded Felicity out of the bar. I was just relieved that Jenna and the gym team were nowhere to be seen because that was one shitshow I didn’t need right now.
“Jason?” Felicity murmured.
“Yeah?”
“Whatever you’re doing, stop. I hate you.” She sucked in a shaky breath. “And I hate myself for ever thinking you could change.”
“Yeah, yeah, Giles. You hate me, I get it. Now get your drunk ass in the car.”
Fifteen minutes, and one emergency stop later, thanks to Felicity thinking she was going to puke all over my car, we were at her house. I dug the key out of her pocket, Felicity cradled in my arms, and unlocked the Giles’ front door. She let out a soft moan when her head bumped the wall as I slipped inside.
“Ssh.” My fingers traced her cheek. The last thing I needed was Mr. Giles to find me carrying his daughter upstairs but yet again, all rational thought had flown out of the window.
Thankfully I remembered the layout of her house so I didn’t have to worry about walking in on her parents sleeping.
“Okay, let’s get you into bed.” I dropped her down onto the mattress and began the torturous task of undressing her.
“No,” she murmured, trying to fumble with her clothes. “I can do it.”
“You can barely talk, let alone get undressed.” My fingers peeled hers away. “Let me do it.”
“Why?” she murmured, her head rolling like a rag doll. “I’m no one. Nothing.”
“You’re not nothing.” I brushed the hair from her face, fighting a smile, and ignoring the giant lump in my throat.
Couldn’t she see she was someone to me? That she was slowly becoming too important, which is why I had to walk away? Before we were both in too deep and things became too messy.
Felicity relented, her body pliant as I peeled her shirt and jeans off before tucking her into bed. Her eyes were closed, her breathing deep and steady. She’d drunk a lot tonight. Too much. And I knew it was my fault for how things went down earlier.
“Fuck,” I muttered, stepping away from her before I did something stupid. Something more stupid than sneaking into her house on a Thursday night while her parents slept down the hall.
But I couldn’t seem to drag myself away either. Because in that moment, with her passed out on the bed, I could pretend. Pretend she was mine and I was hers. Even if it was only a dream. One I knew could never become reality.
Leaning against her desk, something caught my eye. Reaching for the stack of papers, the familiar crest stared up at me. “What the...” My eyes squinted as I snatched up the college application, a sinking feeling tugging at my stomach.
There was no way.
No way she was applying to Penn, my fucking school.
Yet, there it was, staring me in the face, like a giant screw you from the universe.
“J- Jason?” Her soft voice hit me dead in the chest. “Are you still here?”
I wanted to go to her, to reassure her everything was okay. That she was just disorientated from all the liquor in her bloodstream. But I was paralyzed by the papers in my hand. At what they implied.
Penn was Ivy League, one of the best colleges in the country. What were the chances that Felicity also had plans to go there?
Unless... no. She wouldn’t pull that kind of crazy shit.
Would she?
Suddenly I couldn’t breathe. My chest tightened around my lungs like I’d been sacked by a hulk of a linebacker. Quietly hurrying to the door, I glanced over at her one last time before ducking out of her room and retracing my steps out of the house.
Felicity was never supposed to be a distraction. She was never supposed to bury her way under my skin.
Only she had.
And for as much as I’d resisted, for as much as I knew it was a terrible idea, deep down, I had been coming around to the idea of exploring this thing between us. The inexplicable pull. But I wasn’t looking for anything serious. Didn’t have time for it. Not now. Not when I went off to Penn next fall. So the idea she would be there, on campus, showing up all over the place... I couldn’t deal with that shit.
It was better this way.
Better she hated me.
Better she got all ideas of her and me out of her head.
Felicity deserved Prince Charming, not the misunderstood Knight with a chip on his shoulder and hate in his soul.
The vibrations of my cell pulled me from my thoughts and I dug it out my pocket. “Yeah?”
“Check your snapchat,” Grady said. “We’ve got a problem.”
“Do I even want to know?”
“I think you’ll want to see this, Cap.”
“Fine,” my jaw clenched, “thanks for the heads up.”
I waited until I was in my car to open up Grady’s message and when I did, I knew only one person was responsible.
Thatcher.
Chapter Twenty-One
Felicity
“I think I’m in hell.”
“No,” Hailee said, “that’s just your hangover talking.”
“Don’t say that word. It’s evil.”
“What did your mom say?”
“Oh, I hid out in the bathroom until she left for work. But if I don’t make it through the day, I’m ready to fake a stomach flu. So ready.”
“That was some impressive display last night.” She gave me a pointed look; one I felt all the way down to the pit of my stomach.
“Honestly, I don’t know what to say.” My cheeks flushed.
“You could start with the truth.”
“I’m not sure you’re ready to hear it.” I peeked over at her while the rest of the student population filed down the hall, moving to their classes.
“Hey,” she grabbed my hand, “It’s okay. You don’t need to protect me. I know you like him. I know he likes you—”
“He doesn’t like me, Hails.” My head shook side to side. “I’m just a game to him.”
A game I could never win.