“They probably stayed up late braiding each other’s hair,” Vaughn says, reaching over and ruffling my hair with his meaty paw.
“Come on, man. Give us something.” Parker makes a pouty face. It’s pathetic as fuck and has zero chance of changing my mind. “At least tell us if she’s the same girl who gave you the stitches on Homecoming?”
“She didn’t give me the stitches.”
That was just bad freaking luck. The worst kind.
Parker doesn’t miss a beat. “But it was the same girl?”
I ignore him and shovel food onto my plate, piling it high with fruit and protein. Bacon isn’t strictly on my diet, but I’m feeling too damn good to care, despite the fact that my roommates are busting my balls.
“At least he didn’t end up in the ER this time,” Vaughn says, dropping into his seat.
Parker snickers. “Our boy is stepping up his game.” He leans forward, the front legs of his chair crashing to the floor. “Yo, maybe that knock on the head rebooted his system. Maybe he’s going to quit playing the field and wife up?”
Vaughn snorts and scoops fruit onto his plate. “I’ll believe it when I see it. Coop doesn’t know how to keep his dick in his pants.”
I spear a piece of melon with my fork. “You make it sound like I just walk around whipping it out all over campus.”
I haven’t done that since freshman year. I’m older and wiser now.
Reid shoots me a meaningful look. “She’s a regular at Sig Chi, right?”
Jesus. Not him, too.
“Relax. She’s not dating one of the brothers.” I’m all about no strings sex, but I’m not a complete prick. “She’s Noah’s sister.”
Reid freezes with his fork halfway to his mouth. “Dude. That’s ten times worse.”
No kidding.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he asks, dropping the fork to his plate.
“From the sounds of it,” Vaughn deadpans, “there wasn’t a lot of thinking involved.”
Parker snickers. “So much for rule number two.”
I scrub a hand over my face.
“Quinn is an adult with her own free will and agency.” Which is all well and good until Noah finds out I slept with her. “That said, it’s probably best if Noah doesn’t find out.”
Reid curses. “This has disaster written all over it. Noah will lose his shit if this ends up on social media.”
No chance of that happening.
“It was a onetime thing. Quinn won’t tell anyone. She’s not the bag ’n’ tag type.”
It’s one of the things I like best about her. She doesn’t treat me like some untouchable football god. She sees me for exactly who I am now—not for my NFL potential—and she doesn’t hesitate to call me out when I deserve it.
Which is why I can’t believe she left this morning without even saying goodbye.
If we weren’t friends, I might feel used.
What’s the protocol here, anyway? Should I call and check up on her?
No, that’s stupid.
You could ask Vaughn.
