“They…they’re different.”
“Again, so are you guys.” I smiled at his flustering but stopped when Tanner walked into the kitchen wearing nothing but those goddamn loose workout shorts. My mouth literally watered seeing all his muscles move with each step.No. We’re mad at him.
“You guys get any extra food?” he asked, his voice all sleepy and sexy.Ugh.
“Yeah, in the bag. Now, Kenz, back to this ridiculous notion offootball players, after whats-his-face? You want to mess with that whole thing again?”
“Aaron.” I rubbed my temples. “Sean was lame and it had nothing to do with the sport he played. Also, I’m just giving you shit. I’m not— I don’t plan on dating anyone. With work, balancing classes and trying to figure out what to do with my life, I don’t have time.”
Did Tanner’s back tense or no?
“Good. Good. Take some time and, uh, make good choices.”
Zade and I snorted at his stupid answer. I gave myself a mental high-five when I hadn’t looked at Tanner’s face the entire time, even when he sat in the chair next to me. His body heat overwhelmed me and while my pulse skyrocketed at his nearness, my face remained a stone-cold bitch.
“Why the burritos?” Tanner asked. He took a bite—fitting half of one into his talented mouth—and I swallowed hard.
“We all get shitty housemate points.Aaronforgot to tell her we were heading back and we scared the shit out of her last night. Did you see her with the bat? Like, what were you gunna do with those little arms?” Zade reached over and picked up my right arm, laughing harder. “Can’t do damage with these.”
“Fuck off, and yes. I could. Want to test it out?” I fired back.
“Woah, woah. Simmer down, Ken.” Zade held both hands in the air but kept the grin on his face. “I’m sorry we scared you.”
“I survived.” I pushed off the chair and threw the wrapper into the bin before sneaking a glance at Tanner.Shit.I shouldn’t have. He was staring straight at me with his bedroom eyes. My entire body warmed at his perusal, but I shut that shit down. Without another look, I left them in the kitchen and made my way down to the basement. It was a sticky summer morning and nothing sounded better than aRiverdalemarathon. I got the show up and loaded, perfectly content in my pajama shorts covered in cacti, and an old t-shirt that was frayed on the collar.
Relaxing was a new concept and I didn’t like it. I’d gone from having my minutes planned for twenty hours at a time to nothing. No obligations besides working at the Lion and some homework. It had taken three weeks to get used to the idea and it was just starting to take root.Let my brain not think.
That was my intention watching the show and I got an episode in before someoneheaded downstairs with grunts and loud stomps. The tingles on the back of my neck warned me it was Tanner and I had two seconds to figure out what to say. A part of me wanted to reach out and call last night a fluke. He’d been rude, but if he was injured and hurting—well, everyone got grumpy sometimes. But he spoke first, derailing my plans.
“I’m going to need the basement today.” He sucked in a breath when he walked toward the other shitty couch facing the TV. He plopped down, not covering his muscles at all, and faced me with the same intensity he did upstairs. I had gotten used to seeing a softness there, and this time, there wasn’t one.
“Okay, what for?” I paused the show.
“For the TV.”
“I’ve already gotten this set up for the next couple hours. You can use the one upstairs?”
“I’m injured.”
Oh, right. That makes sense.My temper reared its ugly head and my voice rose. “Yeah, being hurtanda dick doesn’t give you a right to demand an entire room. You walked down here. You can very well walk your grumpy ass back up and use that TV.”
I hit Play and blasted the volume to drown him out, but it lasted about thirty seconds before I faced him again. He looked furious, an extreme emotion for a completely normal situation. Mycrazysmile came out. One that looked like joy, but was fueled with anger, and I’d been told it was terrifying. I swore he mumbled something, so I asked, “What did you say?”
He had the gall to look ashamed for a second, but he shoved that guilt away and fired back, “Sleeping with me doesn’t give you special privileges.”
“Well, fuck, that was theonlyreason I did it.” I hated how my stomach knotted at his words and I thought of a million comebacks that would hurt him. But a flash of the night he’d shattered something in his room came back.He lashes out when he’s pissed.
I sighed, waited for him to meet my gaze and said,“Look, Tanner. I’m sorry you’re injured. I would ask about it, but you shut that shit down last night. Maybe you were tired and cranky. I would be too if I had to travel on a bus with an injury. But that doesn’t give you the right to be a dick toanyone. It shouldn’t matter we slept together. I don’t expect anything from you besides respect and the truth. Something’s bothering you, but I’m not gunna be your verbal punching bag.”
Screw my original plans.I didn’t wait for a response before marching my ass upstairs to my temporary room. I made sure to lock both doors—our shared bathroom and my bedroom door— and hang up signs ensuringno onewould bother me in the house.
ON PERIOD—LEAVE ME ALONE.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tanner
Aaron drove me to the stadium where I was expected to meet Nicole—our trainer and Callie’s pseudo-boss—to get around noon the damage report on my leg. Eating and breathing were hard when my future was at stake and while part of me knew how I’d dealt with Kenzie was awful, I couldn’t think about it. Not yet.
