“Sorry, I set a timer because I didn’t think you’d actually take a few minutes if I came right back . . .” Ellie trails off, her gaze bouncing from me to Alondra. “Al? I thought you were going to be gone until tonight?”
“Macy’s ex called her, begging for forgiveness, and I . . . I’m sorry, what is he doing here?” Alondra asks, and hell, I must have a death wish, but I smile at her.
“I asked Ellie for help with an assignment. Where did you get this blanket?” I ask, holding it up as Alondra scoffs.
“Whydoyou have my blanket?”
Ellie whistles, causing both of us to wince as she captures our full attention. “I’m sorry, I feel like I’m missing something. You guys know each other?”
“Jack hit on me in a bar last night,” Alondra says, tilting her chin up in what feels like a challenge, and my blood instantly heats at the reminder of what it felt like to kiss her. But I can’t forget she’s Coach’s daughter.
Ellie’s head whips to face me, her blonde hair flying around her. “You hit on my roommate? What the hell, Jack? I actually like her, and I don’t need you scaring her away with your dick,” she says, waving her arm at me like this is my fault.
I don’t love the insinuation there, but it’s not my fault her last roommate fell for Coop after they hooked up, and he might be even more emotionally unavailable than I am.
“I didn’t know she was your roommate or my coach’s daughter when I went up to her last night.” I watch Alondra to see if I was right not to confess everything to Coach B or if I should add it to the list of mistakes I’ve made in the last twenty-four hours.
“You’re what?” Ellie asks, and Alondra straightens. I think her eye might even be twitching.
“Okay, look, I’m sorry. I know I wasn’t supposed to be home, but I’m exhausted and my head is killing me. Short version is Jack came up to me at a bar last night and told me his friends would make fun of him if he had to walk away without a kiss, so I took pity on him, but it was awful. I figured out who he was after I ran into him while trying to escape my dad’s office, and yes,he’s the head coach of the hockey team, but it’s not something either of us advertises. Can we be done now with whatever this is?”
“Actually, if it was so awful, you would have given me a one instead of rating our kiss a three,” I point out, unable to resist the grin tugging at my lips.
“A three out of ten isn’t good, Jack,” Alondra says, fixing me with a stare that would probably scare the shit out of me if she were taller, but she barely reached my shoulders earlier. I like how feisty she is. Fuck, what is wrong with me? I shouldn’tlikeanything about her.
“In baseball, it’s a .300 batting average, which is pretty good,” I say, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my sweatpants.
Ellie drags her hands over her face, groaning. “This is a nightmare.”
Actually, this is so much better than finding sources for my paper, which is my definition of a nightmare.
“By academic standards, it’s the equivalent of filling in your name on the ACT.” Alondra presses her hand to her temple, wincing slightly. “Stay, or go, I really don’t have it in me to care right now, but I’m going to lie down,” she says, slipping off her shoes. I raise my eyebrows in surprise when she walks toward me instead of the direction Ellie came from, holding out her hand.
“You gonna ask me to lie down with you? I make a pretty decent pillow,” I tease, and her pink lips twist into a frown.
“Not a chance, but I do want my blanket.”
I hand it to her, chuckling under my breath. “Would you tell me where you got it if I said I want to get my momma one for Christmas?” I ask, catching a whiff of strawberries from her.She’s Coach B’s daughter. Forget it, Jack.
Alondra’s eyebrows knit together as she looks up at me. “Maybe,” she says, taking it and walking away.
“We’ll be quiet,” Ellie promises, her tone sweet, but the glare in my direction after it leaves her mouth tells a different story. “No,” she says, pointing her finger at me.
“What?”
“Don’t what me. You know exactly what I’m telling you no for.”
“I wasn’t doing anything,” I say, and Ellie hits my bicep with the back of her hand.
“No,” she repeats. “I mean it, Jack. Don’t fuck with Alondra.”
I put my hands up in surrender. “Do you think I have a death wish? Al’s my coach’s daughter, and he can make my life a living hell if he wants to.”
Ellie crosses her arms over her chest, skepticism written all over her face. “Maybe I’d believe you if you hadn’t just offered to let her use you as a pillow. I don’t think you know how to not flirt with a girl.”
It stings a little, but I mask it with a smile. “I don’t flirt with you or Sara.” Sara is Ellie’s best friend who loves to cause pure chaos to get her and Ellie in enough trouble to keep all of our blood pressure higher than it should be.
“I’m Coop’s sister. He’d murder you if you did, and Sara’s gay, so she’s immune to your charm,” she points out, and I reach forward to ruffle her hair, trying to stoke a reaction as I wink at her.
