Sensing the trouble brewing, I gave Tory a smile. “That’s a nice offer, but I’ve been out here for a while. I could use a warm-up and maybe another beer.”
I breathed a sigh of relief when Tory and her girls slid sideways to let Chessly and me pass, but I should have known her stand-down from the impending catfight was only a ruse.
Following so closely behind me she almost gave me a flat tire, Tory said, “Since you’re going back inside, you can tell your bouncer guy yourself that you invited us.”
Ahead of me Chessly gave a snort and kept walking through the door and into the foyer past Johnny, who nodded at her before facing me, his eyebrows pulled together. Sucking in air, I turned and used my size with my forearms on the frame to stop Tory in the doorway.
“Here’s the thing, ladies. I’m not the only one who lives here. The other guys insisted on no one under twenty-one.” Lifting my hands in a “what can I do?” gesture, I willed them to understand and not push.
Tory’s narrow-eyed glare gave me the sense Bax and Callahan knew what they were talking about when it came to the girls who had a thing for football players. “It’s not cool to go back on your invite, Finn.”
“Like I said, my roommates didn’t give me a choice. We’re all on scholarship, so we have to follow the rules.” I ran my hand over my head and tossed some frat buddies under the bus. “I heard there’s a pretty good party going over at the ADRs tonight. Those guys never have bouncers.” I winked.
A couple of the girls stepped back, whispering to each other. Tory stayed right where she was.
“We want to party here. With you.”
“I’m sorry, but that’s not gonna happen. Not tonight.” Tossing a glance over my shoulder, I saw Chessly had disappeared to somewhere else in the house. I couldn’t do triage in two places at once, so I decided to cut my losses. “See you around, Tory. Ladies.” With a salute, I stepped back and shut the door, turning the lock on the handle.
Outside, Tory started screeching again. “Finn McCabe! You can’t be serious. You unlock this door right this minute!” She followed that with pounding and maybe some temper-tantrum foot-stomping.
“Under no circumstances do those girls come back inside. Got it?” I said to Johnny.
“Oh, yeah.” He shot me wide eyes. “Glad they aren’t wrestling groupies. Sheesh, what a nightmare.”
Yeah, I was starting to figure that out too.
“Thanks, man.”
Touring the living room, I didn’t catch sight of Chessly’s golden-blonde head, so I headed into the kitchen. Fitz was still manning the keg and still had Chessly’s friend’s attention, but other than the two of them and a couple of people waiting in line for beer, no one else was there.
“Have you seen Chessly?” I asked Fitz and Saylor.
“She was here a few minutes ago. Said something about needing a ride home.” Tilting her head, Saylor said, “I thought maybe you had that covered.”
“I do, if I can find her.”
“Maybe she’s in the bathroom,” she suggested.
Spinning on my heel, I headed through the living room and down the hallway behind the stairs. Knocking on the bathroom door, I called, “Chessly? You in there?”
A thump against the door, followed by a feminine giggle and low male laughter answered me. Still, I knocked again. “Chessly?”
“No Chessly in here, man,” the male voice said.
Shit. Where could she have gone?
Making my way back through the party in full swing in the living room, I slipped into the dining room. Chessly didn’t come across as someone who participated in flip-cup, but then again, I didn’t know her all that well—yet.
When I didn’t find her in the dining room either, I headed back out to the foyer as a bad feeling snaked through my insides. Johnny confirmed it.
Chessly had left the party.
Chapter Seven
Chessly
“What happened toyou last night? You left the kitchen with Finn, then a long time later, he showed back up there desperate to find you, but none of us knew where you were.” Saylor eyed me over her latte.
