Tobias is hitting the bag with a ferocity that makes me shudder.
He’s not hot today. He’s the enemy.
He stops his assault on the bag and, with his back to me, begins to pace, his chest heaving and falling as I sit down on a mat with my lunch, back to the wall.
“You should really wear a fucking bell,” he pants.
“You should know, if you hurt him, I’ll hate you with every fiber of my being.”
He snaps his head back and glares at me. “I didn’t ask for this fight. He did.”
Pissed, I hop—yes, hop—up and make my way toward him. “You’ve been begging for one of them to fight since we got here.”
“Is that the”—he air quotes my name—“ ‘Truth?’ ”
“Fuck you,” I spit at him.
“I’d rather fuck—”
“Wasn’t offering. And spare me the itty bitty visual. I know you and Double Dee have a thing. Good for you. But you hurt him, you’ll pay.”
“Don’t threaten me, Truth.”
“This is my fault. Okay, I get it. But I’d rather you punch me in the face than hurt my brother.”
“You have that little faith in him?” He shakes his head.
“No, he’s sparred with bigger than you most of his life. It’s you I have no faith in.”
He licks his lips as he steps closer and lifts his hand like he’s going to touch me. My nipples tighten in anticipation, as he looks down at them, and stops himself.
“What’s wrong Easton? You afraid you’ll pop a pup tent in your sweats if you—”
“Shut the fuck up,” he snaps. “You stick to having no faith in me, or any other assholes around here. None of us want you for anything other than to stir up your boys.”
Ouch.
His eyes move from one of mine to the next, and then he looks me up and down. “That right there is your truth. Never lose focus on it.”
“What?” I ask as he walks around me.
He grabs his bag and towel off the bench by the wall then turns toward me, pinning me with an angry glare. “Any other thoughts you may have in that pre—” He stops, clenches his jaw, his nostrils flaring, before continuing, “In that pathetic head of yours, shut it down, because I would ruin you.”
Rendered speechless, angry … hurt by the word pathetic, which in and of itself is pathetic, because who the fuck is he anyway? I stand and watch him through the mirrors on the wall as he walks out of the fitness center and the girls come walking in.
Chapter Eleven
Idiom
Her feelings are all over the map.
Truth
When tits deep in them, it’s nearly impossible to be ‘all over the map’..
“Hey.”
I jump at the sound of Justice’s voice, and he chuckles. He’s been doing a lot of that lately, which is uncharacteristic of him.
“What are you grinning about?”
He scowls and points to himself. “Me?”
I put my phone on the charging pad then lean back against the headboard of my bed. “You look happy.”
His scowl deepens as he leans against the door. “I’m always happy.”
“Okay.” I roll my eyes. “So, spill it.”
He arches a brow. “Not something I care to share with my sister.”
“Tell me it’s a girl and not this fight.”
“Something like that.”
“Are you in love?” I ask, hopeful, because he deserves to be happy and not just have a happy ending.
“Fuck no,” he huffs. “Told you a long time ago that there’s a time and a place for that shit, and it’s not in high school or college.”
“So, it is the fight.” I cross my arms over my chest and scowl at him.
“T …” He rolls his eyes.
“You shouldn’t get happy about a damn fight.”
“I’ll spell it out for you once. Girls who may have once found me intimidating seem to like guys who fight. The harvest is grand, the bounty plentiful, and smell real damn good at Seashore. My cup, so to speak, runni—”
I hold up my hand to stop him. “I get it.”
He laughs, and I can’t help but do the same.
“You feeling a little better?” he asks, sitting on the edge of my bed and not flopping down on it.
I nod. “You can sleep in your own room tonight.”
“Good.” He grabs his pillow and blanket off my bed, pops a kiss to the top of my head, turns, and then walks toward my door, but then he turns back. “Heard they’re treating you like a queen now.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m sure they’re up to something.”
“Spoiler alert, T: Reeves says he likes you.”
“What?” I ask, disgusted.
“I told him he looked at you wrong, I’d break his face.”
“Is that so?” I throw a pillow at him, but he easily dodges it. “You stay out of my dating life unless you want me tits-deep in yours.”
He shakes his head and walks away.
After a few messages between Patrick and me, regarding my concern that Justice is simply deflecting and Patrick telling me guys are just not that deep, I set the phone on the charging pad and snuggle up in my bed.
Thursday
“Jesus,” I grumble as I walk out of the bathroom and past Miles on my way to the fitness center.
He rolls his eyes and pushes off the wall.
Turning the corner, I see Kai leaning against the locker right next to mine.
“You’re out of order today.”
He looks up from his phone. “What?”
Shielding my lock so he doesn’t see my combination, I turn the dial and answer, “It’s been Harrison, Miles, and then you for the past few days.”
“I guess it has been.”
I toss my books in, grab my lunch and a book, shut and lock it behind me, and then start walking toward the fitness center.
The next corner I turn, I see Harrison standing in the middle of the hall, holding a dozen pink roses.
I hear whispers as I keep walking toward the fitness center. They’re far from the norm.
“Told you he liked her.”
“Gabrielle is going to lose her mind.”
“Jesus, she’s lucky.”
To that comes a response that nearly knocks me on my ass.
“Maybe it’s him who’s lucky. Look at her.”
I can’t help a smirk from tugging on my lips.
His signature pursed smirk pushes out, and his brown eyes dance in amusement as he looks me over.
When I attempt to walk past him, he steps to the side, blocking me.
“Good afternoon, Miss Steel.”
I look down at my phone. “Technically, morning, Mr. Reeves.”
He nods. “That it is.”
Focused on his eyes, not allowing myself to look down and say something stupid like I did the last time he was passive-aggressively flirting with me, I nod and say, “If you’ll excuse me.”
“The last woman I gave flowers to was my mother. I’ve never given them to a girl on a random Thursday or any other day without it being for a prom or formal, and in those cases, I did it with clear intent.” He holds them up and inhales, lashes lowered, fanning out over his face, and then he slowly opens his eyes, laser focused on mine as he hands them to me.