“Ladies,” Tris drawls. It’s polite at best, but the fact he’s even addressing them sends a wave of jealousy through me so strong it almost knocks me off my feet.
He is not yours, Violet, I chastise myself.
“I could hardly believe it when I heard you were coming back. It’s so good to see you,” Clara continues, batting her lashes while playing with a wavy tendril of hair.
“Oh, have we met before?” Tristan deadpans, and I can’t help but snort.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn't see you there, Tulip.”
Oh no she fucking didn’t.
I don’t realize the growl that rings in my ears comes from my own lips until Tristan’s fingers twist in the back of my tank as I lunge toward Clara.
“It’s Violet,” I hiss.
“Oh yes, that’s right. One half of the duo who follows the team around, waiting to be thrown crumbs of attention like desperate little—”
“Pot calling the kettle black, much? Have you looked at yourself in a mirror recently? You’ve practically got ‘desperate’ tattooed on your forehead.”
“Okay, Vi. That’s enough,” Tristan growls, pulling me into his body and wrapping his arm protectively around my waist, much to Clara and her bimbos’ horror.
He steers me away with nothing more than a nod at the three of them.
“We’ll see you soon,” Clara sings, needing to have the final word.
“Calm the fuck down, Pip,” he growls in my ear. And fuck, if it doesn’t give me flutters between my thighs.
“She called me Tulip. Tulip,” I spit.
“Yeah, to rile you up. And look how well it worked,” he smugly points out.
Despite the fact I want to burrow into his side and never leave, I force myself out of his hold and smooth my hair back.
“How do you do it?” I shoot over at him.
“Do what?” he asks innocently.
“Put up with the likes of Clara and all the other jersey chasers who are only interested in bouncing on your cock for bragging rights.”
“Well, you either ignore them or just suck it up and give them what they want. If you’re lucky, you get a decent lay. If you’re not, well… mostly, it’s still better than your own hand, so…”
“Fucking hell,” I mutter. “You did not just say that.”
“You’re right. Some are fucking terrible. I’d probably take my hand over the ones that screech like I’m trying to cut their vag lips off with a blunt knife.”
“Why was I so glad to have you back here?” I mutter as we cut across the main quad that will lead us to the other side of campus.
“What? You asked,” he says, glancing over at me with a smirk.
“I guess it’s a good thing your schedule is so full. No time for entertaining the whores of Maddison Kings.”
“Oh, I don’t know. There’s always time for that.”
“You’re a dog,” I mutter.
“And what about you?” he asks, forcing me to look up at him.
“What about me?”
“Clara just implied that you have a little habit of following the team around so…”
“If you’re implying that I’m one of them, then you’ll be the one losing your genitals with a blunt knife,” I warn.
“It’s always the sweet ones who are secretly the kinkiest,” he mutters to himself.
My lips part to respond but no words come out.
Is he really thinking about how kinky I might be in bed?
No, probably not.
“You know I live with two guys who are on the team. That means we’re usually at the parties and shit. Plus, Letty, our old housemate, is engaged to Kane Legend and BFFs with the Dunn twins. I can’t really get away from them even if I wanted to.”
“And now you’ve got me too.”
“Have I?” I blurt like an idiot, making his brow shoot up as he must hear how those words sounded.
“Uh… to hang out with, yeah.”
“You’ll squeeze me in with your busy schedule and harem of chasers, huh? I’m honored, truly.”
“You’re an idiot, Pip.”
Yep, got something right. An idiot with a stupid crush that I really need to get over.
“This is me,” he says, interrupting my internal battle with my hormones.
My brows pinch, but when I look up, I find the sign for the Augustus Building emerging in front of us.
“Right, well. I hope you have a good afternoon,” I say, my voice lacking any of the excitement it had when I found him waiting for me earlier.
He comes to a stop, his fingers brushing my wrist before they tighten and tug me in front of him.
“What happened? Did I do something to piss you off?”
“What? No, of course not.” I lie. And when his intense stare begins to make me a little uncomfortable, I end up rambling instead of jumping into his arms and kissing him like a horny teenager. “It’s just them,” I say, waving my hand in the direction Clara and her bitches were. “I just get so fed up of them thinking they own any guy who wears a Panther jersey around campus. They’re entitled little—”
“Whoa, Vi. You need to calm down.” He steps a little closer, forcing me to look up into his dark eyes. The warmth of his body seeps into my skin, making certain body parts react a little too violently to his proximity.
I just have to hope that he’s so firmly little-sister-zoned me that he doesn’t let his eyes drop from mine to see my nipples trying to fight through my clothing in their need for his touch.
“I’m sorry. They just make me a little—”
“Batshit?”
“Y-yeah, if you want.”
“You don’t need to worry about girls like them. All the guys see them for who they are. And I can assure you, they don’t own any of us.” I can’t stop my eyes from rolling. “Okay, so I can’t speak for the whole team, but I can tell you without a doubt that they don’t own me. I haven’t come here to hook up with immature undergrads.”
Ouch.
“No, of course not. You’re like, old now,” I tease, hoping like fuck he doesn’t see how deep that comment cut me.
He glares at me. “Well, I’ve done my time being young, dumb, and reckless.”
“What are you trying to say?”
His knuckles brush down my bare arm, and my entire body shudders at the innocent touch.
“That you’re in college and meant to be enjoying yourself, not walking me to class.”
I shrug. “There’s only so much fun to be had on a Monday.”
“I’m sure you’ll find some if you look hard enough.”
“In the library?”
“You never know. It was good seeing you today, Pip.”
“You too, Tris. It's good to have you back.”
“I’ll message you. We can hang out, yeah?”
“Sure thing, whenever you're free. I know you're swamped already.”
“Come here, Pip.” He tugs me into his hard, strong body, and I have no choice but to wrap my arms around his wide torso and breathe in his scent.
Everything about the embrace is too comforting, too comfortable, too tempting.