“I should go. Gotta go and be young and dumb.” I wink teasingly, but I don’t feel it.
Mostly, I just feel sad. And that was the opposite of what I was hoping my time with Tristan would be like.
“You’re a good kid, Pip. See you soon.” He gives me a little salute before turning on his heels and marching toward his class.
With a heavy heart and my head full of memories I really don’t need to be dwelling on, I quickly walk in the opposite direction in search of another coffee and somewhere I can sit in peace to get on with some work.
I look back over my shoulder when a shiver of awareness runs down my spine. But to my disappointment, Tristan isn’t watching me.
The rest of the day dragged, not helped by the fact Clara and one of her bitches were in my last class of the day. West also happened to be in it as well, and they practically spent the entire time snarling at me for spending more time with their beloved players.
“What the actual fuck is their problem?” West growls when our professor brings our class to an end after delivering one meaty assignment to complete on the first day back. Ugh.
“They've got their panties in a twist because they caught me hanging out with Tristan earlier. Their possessiveness knows no bounds.”
“So, he’s your brother’s best friend. Jesus. It’s not like you were fucking him out on the quad. You weren’t, right?” he asks, amusement dancing in his eyes.
“What? No. Of course, I wasn’t.” Sadly. “Why would you even say that?” I pretend to act horrified by the suggestion, but I’m pretty sure West sees right through it.
“It’s no secret that you’re going through a bit of a dry spell, titch.”
“West!” I screech.
“What? We live in the same house. I hear things… or not.”
“Fucking hell. I’m not having this conversation right now.” I stuff all my things into my bag and push to stand.
The auditorium is almost empty already with everyone else’s need to escape. I get it, the first day back is hard. But I fear that the second I head home and lock myself away in my room to work, my mind is going to wander, and I know exactly the direction my thoughts are going to go in.
“You know,” he purrs, cluing me in as to where this is going, “I could always offer a hand.”
“Seriously?” I snap.
“We wouldn’t even have to tell the others. It could be our little secret.” I look up just in time to see him wink. “I’m good, I promise.”
“With an ego like that, how could you possibly not be?” I deadpan.
His smirk only grows wider. Weirdo.
“Thanks for the offer and all that, but I think I’ll pass. I’ve got a perfectly good vibrator that will do the job just fine.”
“Pfft.”
I stand there with my hands on my hips as I wait for him to follow that judgmental scoff with something. “Spit it out. I’m all fucking ears.”
“You just deserve better than your pussy blaster, is all.” He shrugs like this is just an everyday conversation. Although, in our fucked-up little family, I guess it is.
“Okay, firstly, most of the guys around this campus are fuck boys wanting a good time, and trust me when I tell you, they do not do it better. And secondly—”
“You’re not going to win this argument,” West calls over his shoulder as he descends the stairs ahead of me, ready to escape for the day.
“And secondly,” I call, ignoring the fact there are still a few people milling around and the class GA, “you have no idea just how mind-blowing a decent vibrator can be.”
My skin prickles with the attention of the eyes in the room.
“Give me one over a guy with noodle fingers and a flappy tongue any day.”
Someone barks out a laugh behind me, before a female voice calls, “amen,” but I don’t turn to look.
“If you say so,” West murmurs, holding the door open for me.
I’m still on a rant about the benefits of a battery-operated boyfriend and the lack of bullshit, lying and cheating that comes with one when we find Ella waiting outside for us, having finished her class a few minutes ago.
Her brows pinch as she studies us.
“And do you know what else?” I bark.
“It makes you breakfast in bed the next morning?” West asks with a smirk.
“Now you’re just being ridiculous.”
“What’s going on?” Ella asks, looking between the two of us.
“Violet has turned convincing me that a vibrating plastic imitation cock is better than the real thing into a competitive sport.”
“It’s not,” she replies bluntly.
“Ella,” I complain, hoping she would be on my side with this. With all the drama she had recently involving he who shan’t be named, I thought she would have been more than on my side.
“What?” She shrugs, grabbing her bags from the floor and walking toward the parking lot with us. “It’s true and you know it. Nothing compares to getting good and railed by a guy who knows what he’s doing.”
“Thinking of anyone specific there, El?” West asks. “Ow, bitch,” he hisses when she smacks him around the back of the head.
“Do you remember our deal, Rogers?” Ella growls.
“Yeah, yeah,” he mutters, popping his trunk and dumping his stuff in. “I should leave your ass here for that.”
“But you won’t,” she says, smiling sweetly at him. “You love me too much.”
“I’m such a dumbass,” he quips before pulling open his passenger door and allowing her to climb in.
“I’ll take the back then, shall I?” I tease. But before I get a chance to open the door, my skin prickles with awareness as if someone is watching me. But a quick scan of the parking lot tells me I’m being ridiculous and I climb into the car.
“I thought you only needed plastic, vibrating friends these days,” West deadpans.
I flip him off, and his laughter rings out around the car long after he’s slammed the door.
Ella’s eyes find mine in the rearview mirror and I glare back at her.
“Don’t. Just don’t,” I warn, but predictably, she ignores me.
“Lunch went well then.”
“This has nothing to do with him,” I hiss, folding my arms over my chest like a petulant child and staring out the window, much to West’s amusement when he joins us.
Ella and West chat away about classes and the upcoming year as he drives us back to the house and I happily lose myself in my own head.
“There you go, ladies. I take payment in the form of blow jobs and orgasms,” he teases as he pulls the car to a stop in front of our new house.
“You’d better give Clara a call then, she’s especially desperate today. She might even go for it with your tiny cock.”
West scoffs. “She couldn’t handle me, even with all her practice.”
“Sure, you keep telling yourself that, big man,” Ella quips before we climb out and let him head off to his afternoon training session with the team.
“Hey honey, we’re home,” I shout when we find evidence of Micah already being here the second we step into the house.