Page 73 of Sticks and Stones (Shadow Valley U)
I stomp like a toddler. “No.”
“Wren.” His tone is borderline angry.
My lip pops out. I’m crushed to his body next, and he tilts my chin to meet his face.
“I know you’re used to being independent, but you’re going to have to get used to me taking care of you.”
I say nothing and let him press his lips to mine. It soothes me for a second before he lets go of me and heads up the stairs.
“Oh.” He glances over the banister, and I’m leery of his smile. “I put a tracker on your phone, so if you decide to try and pay me back for hitting your ex, and not show up to my game, I’ll be able to find you.”
My mouth drops as I stare at the device in my hand. “You are unbe—”
“Unbelievable,” he finishes for me. “I know. I’ll show you later how unbelievable I really am.”
I ignore how my belly drops with his sexual innuendo.
I am more than happy to show up to his game, but I’m still going to pay him back and show him that he can’t just come into my life and control everything.
* * *
“Wow,so this is what it looks like to live with a bunch of hunky hockey players.”
I shut the front door behind Ally but not before glancing to the left and right, making sure there aren’t any suspicious cars hiding out in plain sight. The moon is peeking out, and I really wanted to get to the arena before sunset.
I refuse to say anything to the guys, but I’m a little uneasy after figuring out that Brad isn’t the one calling me multiple times a day. I know who’s behind it, but if I don’t say it aloud, then I don’t have to face it.
“Hunky hockey players?” I bristle at her compliment. “Don’t say that in front of them. They’ll try to get into your pants.”
She laughs. “Except Stone. I heard he likes to get into only one person’s pants…in the employee bathroom.”
I trip up the stairs. Ally busts out a laugh before grabbing onto my arm and saving me from face-planting, which wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world because then I could blame my red face on the floor instead of embarrassment.
“Oh my God. Who told you that?”
We walk into my room, and she glances around. The covers are messy, and Stone’s school stuff is sitting beside mine on the desk. My clothes are on the floor, and right beside my t-shirt lays Stones.
“Wait, you’re rooming with him too? Wow, you two are the real deal.”
“Who told you about the employee bathroom?” I pray it wasn’t my boss. The last thing I need is to be fired from my job.
“Relax.” She waves her hand into the air. “I saw you guys leaving. No one else knows, and your secret is safe with me.”
I shake my fingers out. “Whew. Thanks.”
She nods and takes her hair down, running her fingers through the golden strands. “But just a warning, that man is obsessed with you.”
“He is not,” I argue before working on my own hair. My brown strands weave in between my fingers as I pull them into a high pony, fluffing the ends of it for a little volume. I think about Stone and how he put a tracker on my phone. Okay,fine.“He’s possessive. Not obsessed.”
Ally stops putting on her lipstick. “I don’t see the difference.”
My lips twitch because she’s kind of right. Then we both laugh, and I have to admit, it feels nice to have a girlfriend again. I’ve had a few acquaintances here and there, most of them girlfriends of Brad’s friends, so none that amounted to anything. I still talk to Jasmin at least once a week, but she doesn’t attend Shadow Valley, so it isn’t very often that we get together.
“Want to be naughty with me?” I ask Ally.
I smile to myself as I head for the bedroom door.
“Does this involve pissing Stone off? Because after watching his reaction after you dumped beer on his lap the other night, I am totally down.”