And why the hell is that?
Don’t country boys only like country music? George Brooks or whatever.
Dipshit
You mean Garth Brooks? Cause I’m from the south we all like country music? Way to stereotype.
Don’t be a pissy little princess. I’m sure you made assumptions about me.
Dipshit
No, I didn’t. Now tell me your new shit and leave me alone so I can get ready for school.
I swallowed against the sudden dryness in my throat. Cal wasn’t ready? Images of him half-naked, damp from his shower, eyes heavy-lidded and sleepy, had me adjusting my instant stiffy.
Something new? Uh …
Mind an utter blank, I stood frozen until Ty called from downstairs, and I jumped. Uh, what could I text in response? Not a single thing came to mind that didn’t involve thenewthings I wanted to do to Cal’s wet body.
I chewed my lips until they hurt, then huffed and ran out of my room.
“What’s something about me I can tell Cal?” I asked Ty on our way to school.
“Huh?”
“You know, the thing we have to share on days we meet with Trent.”
Ty snickered. “Right, your couples therapy. Hmm, I dunno. You hate beans, like a weirdo. That’s a good one.”
And better than anything I could come up with. I hastily typed it out and shoved my phone into my pocket, not caring about Cal’s reply. It was done. I did my part.
“Thanks,” I mumbled to Ty.
As it turned out, I did care. Cal’s response made me grin and scowl in the same breath.
Dipshit
Beans? Really? So high maintenance, Princess.
“Youremindmeofmy little brother.”
I twisted in my chair and glared at Asher, my chem lab partner. He was shorter and smaller than me, but I reminded him of hislittlebrother? “How so?” I asked. I didn’t normally engage, even though we’d been civil toward each other, but this guy hung around Cal, so maybe worth the effort.
“He glares at our sisters the same way you’re glarin’ at Cal.”
I choked on a breath and coughed into my fist a few times before I straightened and said, “Doubt that.” No way his brother would be looking at his sisters with the same ideas I had for Cal.
In my mind, I’d licked a trail of shower water from his neck, never stopping, just over and over, because for some reason, it never stopped dripping from his hair. Which then led to shower fantasies and even cleaning the sweat off him after practice. All with my tongue, of course.
Yeah, today’s chemistry lesson was a loss. I couldn’t shake myself from daydreams so real I could practically smell them.
Asher wasn’t put out in the least by my attitude. He smiled and shrugged. “Yeah, okay, he’s usually mad at them for hoggin’ the bathroom. I’m not really sure why you’re mad at Cal.”
I shrugged, not responding to the question in his words, but instead asked, “You know Winters?”
I wasn’t mad at Cal. Not anymore. For whatever reason, I’d stopped scowling. I didn’t narrow my eyes at him or sneer. I just watched and waited, but he did the same. Like some eerie unspoken truce on either side of a battlefield with fog and shadows hiding our intentions.
My crush sat fully intact, not letting up, like a knee on my neck. It wasn’t giving me an inch to get over him, which was more to fuel the rage at myself since this would go nowhere. Cal had a girlfriend who might be a bitch, but even if we didn’t fight, he would never be mine.
