Derrick looked at me before he glanced at Gray and then back at me. “Yeah, I spoke to you for like fifteen minutes and then left. Wasn’t reallythere,you know.”
He did?I thought hard about it, and I had a dim recollection of him talking to me about the game the next morning. “Huh, that’s right, you were talking about routes again.” I shook my head slightly in mock despair as I rolled my eyes at the others and Gray, who laughed on cue.
Derrick flushed but joined in the laughter. He played corner and was always yammering about plays and routes, which I didn’t mind; he just got on my fucking nerves at the best of times.
“Where’d you go after?” Gray asked him casually as he sliced the sandwiches.
“Met up with some guys from class, played some pool. I was wired; there was no way I was sleeping.” He crossed to the cupboard and took out some plates. “You know I’m too worked up the night before a game, but don’t worry,” he said with a pointed look at Jamie, “I didn’t drink, and Jett was nursing his beer, he said he was going to leave and go home.”
“Well, he wasn’t alone,” Jamie muttered dryly as he watched Gray make the food.
“Thought you weren’t at the party?” I asked him shrewdly.
“Wasn’t,” Jamie huffed as he eyed the steady pile of sandwiches Gray was preparing. “The whole fucking house could hear you getting laid.”
Gray’s hands paused slightly before he continued to slice the sandwiches. “You got laid?” he asked me with fake humor.
“Course he got laid,” Jamie snorted as he looked over at me. I could see his distaste for me clearly, and I had to remind myself that Coach would not appreciate me giving the lead defensive end a minor concussion. “Heard the bitch screaming for more even with my headphones on.”
“What can I say,” I replied coolly as I stood and accepted the plate from Gray. “I aim to please.”
“Yeah, well can youaim to pleasewhen it’s not the night before a game? You set the rules when you came into the house. No drinking before a game, no parties before a game, no fucking in the house before a game.” Jamie pulled himself up to his full height, and with the weight of him, other guys would be intimidated.
But I wasn’t other guys.
“Yeah.” I took a hearty bite of my sandwich. My brother made the best chicken sandwiches. “You got something to say to me?” I asked Jamie around my mouthful.
“How come you get to breakallthe rules?” Jamie asked as he leaned forward, resting his meaty forearms on the counter.
“Because he’s a Devil.” Gray stacked the sandwiches onto two other plates, leaving some on the chopping board. “Now eat your fucking sandwich before he shoves it so far down your throat, you’ll finally know what fucking deepthroating feels like.”
Grinning at my brother, I took my water and my sandwich out of the kitchen, Gray on my heels.
When we were in my bedroom, the two of us ate in silence before Gray sat back on my couch, his head against the wall.
“No one saw you with your screamer.”
“Not one person?” I asked in disbelief as I sat forward, my head falling into my hands.
“Nope.” Gray popped thepas his hand ran over his face. “If I didn’t know better, I would say you imagined her. But she was still here in the morning, Ash saw her ass, and Jamie just confirmed that you wereheardat least, if not seen.”
“Why can’t I remember any of it?” I turned my head to look back at Gray, and in the quiet of my room, he looked worried.
“You know what it sounds like, don’t you?” he asked me quietly.
“Yeah, I knowexactlywhat it sounds like.” Shaking my head, I stared at the bed.
“Yo,” Ash said as he walked into the room, closing the door behind him. “Tell me that’s for me.” He pointed at the two sandwiches sitting on the plate.
“Like I would leave you out,” Gray scoffed as Ash flopped backward onto my bed. “Thought you’d be longer. Find anything?”
“Nothing,” Ash groaned as he sat back up. “She’s a fucking ghost.”
“How?” I demanded as I shot to my feet. “Do you know howoftenpeople arewatchingus?” I looked between the two of them. “Every fucking moment. How the fuck did no one see me with her?”
“Because you’re aDevil,” Gray answered as he held the plate out to Ash. “No salt, no mayo, no butter, just chicken, lettuce, tomatoes.”
“My man,” Ash said gratefully as he accepted the plate. “Thanks.”
