I chuckled quietly. Mazzie did have that habit.
Ajax
But we do have an exam coming up. She gets freaky around test time.
My muscles loosened.
Thanks.
I hiked my backpack over my shoulder. As I was passing the tables occupied by students, I spotted a cowboy hat on one of the tables. A Stetson, in fact. I came to an abrupt halt and studied the guy. I’d only seen Josh with a hat on, so I wasn’t sure if I was looking at Josh Turley or not. The answer came swiftly when he lifted his hazel eyes, and the tension between us skyrocketed.
I slid into the chair across from him, my backpack squishing me in. “What do you want with Mazzie? You show up at her house. For what? Don’t you think you’ve done enough by getting her fired?” I whispered, or tried to, but my voice rose with each question.
Whispers filled the room, sounding like a den of snakes hissing.
“I wasn’t responsible for the casino firing her.” He leaned in, his face reddening. “She hit me.”
My forehead creased. “What are you? Five? Don’t answer that. So… why are you stalking her?”
His grin was condescending. “Jealous?”
I set my jaw. “Look, fucker?—”
He glared daggers at me. “No, you look. You’re no good for Mazzie. She deserves someone who doesn’t sleep around with every touchdown bunny.” His voice, a deep baritone, was sharp and irritating. “A guy who can provide for her. Once you graduate, you won’t look back. You’re using her. Hell, five years from now, you’ll be sitting at a blackjack table, gambling your hard-earned football money away. Just like your loser of an old man.”
I ground my back teeth together. “And you think you’re a good person? Grabbing her and bruising her is your idea of someone who she deserves? Wake up, asshole.”
The librarian came over. “This isn’t a place to argue. Take it outside.” The gray-haired woman wagged her finger at Josh and me.
I rose. “Sorry, ma’am.” It was clear the only thing Josh and I would accomplish if we took it outside would be black eyes, broken noses, and bloody lips. While it would feel good to wipe the smirk off his face, he would still be an asshole.
“Hey, wide receiver,” Josh said at my back. “You’re putting Mazzie in danger.”
I needed to keep my cool, but I couldn’t. Not when Mazzie’s safety was in question.
I regarded the librarian who had anger washing over her. “Ma’am, I’m sorry. Give me two minutes. No trouble. I promise.” I spun around and stormed back to Josh. “What does that mean?”
“You should ask your old man that?”
“So you gave him the black eye?” I asked.
“You’re asking the wrong person,” he said.
“But you were with Shane when he beat up my father.”
Josh did a double take. “How did you know that?”
“How much does my father owe and to whom?”
Josh’s face darkened. “You’re smarter than I gave you credit for. More than he’ll ever scrape together.”
A chill shot up my spine, propelling me back in time to when Kurtis had been arrested. Now, he could be dead, and my mom and I would be left to repay his debt. The library suddenly felt confining. “Are you saying Shane would hurt people close to Kurtis?” Despite knowing the answer, I had to ask.
“What do you think? I don’t give a fuck about you. I care about Mazzie. You better hope your old man pays his debt or else you might not be playing football anymore.”
I threw him the finger, although I wanted to ram my fists into his ugly mug.
“Dude, you don’t know who you’re messing with. If I were you, I would watch your six.” He flipped a page in the book in front of him, dismissing me.
