“Are you…mad I let Hayden in?” she asks hesitantly. “Is that what this is about?”
“No, Monroe needs a friend right now.”
“Yeah, I got that. I just…I should have asked first. This is your place, and even though he’s your teammate, I shouldn’t have assumed?—”
“It’s your place too; as long as you stay here, you can invite whoever you want over. Well, maybe not Hailee; she hates me.”
Bea laughs, her small body shaking against mine.
“Understandable, really. You make her life a lot harder than it needs to be.”
Finally, she pulls her face from my chest and looks up at me.
Her kind eyes stare into mine, and I have to fight to keep myself under control.
I don’t know what I want more—to tell her all my secrets and give her the darkest parts of me, or to kiss her.
She slides her hand up my chest before cupping my cheek.
“When you came in just now,” she starts, “were you feeling a little jealous, maybe?”
Goddamn it.
“What? No, of course not. Of you and Monroe?”Of him learning something about you before me?
Never.
“Okay, good, because you know I’m not interested in anyone else, right? My life is complicated enough right now.” I think it’s meant to be a joke, but it falls a little flat as all those feelings come flooding back at the thought of her being with someone else.
“You deserve someone like him. Monroe is good people. He’s caring and loyal, and he doesn’t take life too seriously. He doesn’t go through women like they’re going out of fashion. He says he wants to, but I’ve yet to see him with anyone. I think he wants a real relationship, not a fleeting encounter. He’d be good for you.”
“That’s good to know. But the only man I need right now is you, Everett.”
I scoff, but she doesn’t let me argue. Instead, she presses her fingers to my lips, trapping the words inside my mouth.
“Go shower, then we’ll eat pizza, and I’ll kick your ass on CoD.”
My brows shoot up. “Oh, will you now?”
“Monroe said you’re not very good. So yes, I think I will.”
“He’s just a kid; what does he know?” I tease.
“Exactly,” she says, smiling as she steps away, taking her warmth with her.
The urge to pull her back to me is strong, but I resist.
For now, at least.
52
EVERETT
“Rett, when the fuck did you get this good?” Killer shouts through my headset as I sit beside Bea and watch her kick ass on screen. She’s playing as me—her idea—as we play with Killer, Linc, and Handsy.
“Fuck you, I’ve always been good.”
Beside me, Bea’s body shakes with laughter. She’s also wearing a headset, but we turned her mic off to stop from giving us away.
