“You should do the same. Take a shower so you don’t smell like ass tonight,” Alex advises.
“Why? What’s tonight?”
“Are you shitting me? You were there when she invited us.”
I frown. “Who?”
“Zoey.”
It clicks in my mind.
“Zoey… as in Kass’s friend?”
“Yeah. It’s her birthday. She’s got an entire club waiting for us. She knows the owner.”
Right. She came up to us in the hall earlier. I didn’t listen to a single word coming out of her mouth, lost in my head.
“Who’s going to be there?” I ask.
Alex begins listing people I couldn’t give less of a shit about. Then he says the name I’ve been secretly waiting to hear.
Kass’s.
It may sound stupid, because of course she’d attend her best friend’s birthday, but I needed to hear him say it.
“Between us, you could stand to get laid, dude. You’ve been training twice every day this week. Get a life,” Alex mocks.
Oh, the irony. He has no idea I’ve been training every single day precisely because I need to get laid.
Jesus Christ, I’m horny.
Going from having sex regularly to not at all will do that to you. Had to find an outlet for all that frustration. Fighting seems to be the only thing that takes my mind off it. It’s more a temporary fix than a cure, really, but I’ll take anything I can get.
To my surprise, I didn’t hit up Callie—or any of the other girls who could’ve easily helped me with my blue-balls problem. Tried to scratch the itch myself, hoping it’d do the trick.
Spoiler alert: it didn’t.
The way I left things with Kass hasn’t exactly been helping. This fucking girl could give me blue balls for weeks.
“So, you coming?” Alex questions, slinging his gym bag strap over his shoulder.
I shrug. “Meh. I’ll let you know.”
I highly doubt Kass wants me there, if her ghosting me is anything to go by. Alex nods, walking out of the crass building I’ve grown to know like the back of my hand.
I wait for the roar of his car to fade into the distance and hurry toward the old gym’s showers. The plumbing screeches a high-pitched, hissing sound when I flick the faucet on, leaving me to wonder if this is the day a pipe finally bursts in my face.
I could probably shower at Alex’s, but I’ll die before letting the guys find out about my situation. Before I let anyone find out. I don’t need them. I’ll figure it out on my own.
I always do.
I strip naked, my muscles sore from the five hours I spent wiping my hands with Blake, and toss my phone onto a nearby bench before entering the water.
She hasn’t texted me today.
Or yesterday.
Or the day before that.
Not that I’m surprised. I deserve every bit of her silent treatment. As much as I hate to admit it, I almost texted her a few times. Caught myself wishing I could tell her whenever something funny happened.
I think… I kind of miss her?
I promised myself I wouldn’t touch her again, but… she was standing there, looking at me with those big blue, teary eyes, and it triggered something in me.
It gutted me.
Made me want to fix it.
Then she started sobbing in my arms, and every atom in my body spurred to life, begging me to make it stop. So, when she flat out asked me to, I did the only thing I could think of.
Kissing her was the plan.
Almost fingering her wasn’t.
Shit, what are you doing to me, control freak?
I should’ve had more self-control, kept my mouth—and my hands—to myself. I can still feel how wet she was. I wasn’t even touching her, and she was ready for my…
Fucking hell, Will, stop!
I give myself a stroke in the hope it’ll expel her whimpers from my mind. The way she called my name, gasped at my touch. We were so close. Then she got a call from that dumbass Luke, and I lost my temper. She was supposed to be on a date with him while I was making her moan. I lashed out, told her a bunch of BS I didn’t mean. I hurt her.
Trying to protect myself.
I know I made the right decision. I was being a good friend to Kendrick by walking away—fine, a slightly less awful friend—but then again, a good friend wouldn’t be beating his dick to his friend’s sister right now. It’s wrong. Kendrick would kill me if he knew, but I can’t change the fact that I want her.
Bad.
Maybe if I just get her out of my system.
Maybe if I just give in once.
All I know is I can’t stay away anymore.
And, so tonight…
I won’t.
Kassidy
The second Zoey, Morgan, and I step inside the piping hot, cramped club, the urge to charge back into the Uber slams into me. Zoey is quick to locate Sean and snatch mine and Morgan’s wrists, hauling us toward the bar.
“There’s the birthday girl.” Sean flirts over the music, earning himself a luscious kiss from Zoey, who flings her arms around his neck, hungrily devouring his mouth. Morgan and I make eye contact, exchanging Well, this is awkward smiles like the five-year-olds that we are.
“I still can’t believe you got us in. Are my friends all here?” Zoey gushes.
Sean directs a glance over his shoulder, most precisely at the man mid conversation with the bartender. His uncle, I presume. Sean says something I can’t hear, and the bald forty-something-year-old nods.
“Yeah. They’re here,” Sean confirms. “Bouncers took their names at the door.”
“Great, I’m going to go find them.” Zoey sees someone in the distance. “Mia!” she shrieks, stumbling off without so much as a warning. Sean trails behind her, smacking her ass and looping his arm around her shoulders as they push through the crowd. Mia. I never met the girl, but if I remember correctly, she’s the single friend Zoey is hoping to match with Alex.
I make “What the hell are
