“Looking for me?”
“Always. Do you want to hang out?”
So fucking easy.
“Something like that,” I mutter. “You busy?”
“I’m at the sorority house. You should come over.”
There’s a smile in her voice. The kind that promises trouble.
“I’ll be there in twenty.”
The sorority house smells like perfume and popcorn—sweet, cloying, too pink for my taste. But Bella meets me at the door wearing an oversized shirt that might belong to me and nothing else.
“Miles,” she purrs, leaning on the frame. “You look tense.”
“Rough week,” I say, stepping inside.
“Let me make it better.”
She presses against me, and for a few minutes, she does. Lips on mine, soft at first, then demanding. My hands find her hips, and her giggle breaks against my mouth. It’s easy to forget everything when it’s like this—no loyalty, no guilt, just heat.
We stumble back into her room, half-laughing, half-breathless. Her desk lamp’s still on, papers scattered everywhere.
When she leans in again, I see a printed list taped to the wall above her mirror. I catch my breath mid-kiss.
New Dorm Assignments – Fall Update.
Names blur past until one stands out.Chloe Ashford – Room 203.
I freeze. For half a second, my heart does that awful drop.
Bella doesn’t notice. She’s already tugging my shirt off, nails dragging down my chest.
I tell myself not to look again. I tell myself to mind my own business, but it’s no use. Chloe’s everywhere. She’s in my head, under my skin, haunting every damn room I walk into.
Bella kisses my neck, and I force myself to focus.
“Hey,” she murmurs, “you with me?”
“Yeah.” My voice sounds rougher than I mean it to. “Yeah, I’m here.”
I grab her hips, lift her onto the desk, send a few pens rolling to the floor. Her laugh fills the room, soft and sharp, and for a second, it almost works. Almost.
Then she says, “I’m meeting with the other captain later. We’re working on a new routine.”
My pulse jumps at the thought of seeing Chloe again.
“Are you meeting the whole team?” I ask, too fast.
“No, just Brielle,” she says easily, tracing my jaw.
“Brielle?”
“You know, the one with the really good turns? She’s supposed to swing by soon, actually.”
So much for fun…
