“Go to the one on the top floor.”
“I thought it was closed to guests?”
“It is.” I grin. “If anyone asks, tell them Cooper said you could use it. Trust me, the wait lines for the two down here would be hours.”
“Okay.” He nods. “Ah, thanks.”
I watch him go inside the house, disappearing into the sea of people.
I feel a spark of worry for him. This place can get rowdy, and Blake doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who wants to get into a confrontation.
The urge to follow him and make sure he’s okay hits me. Huh.Careful there, Cooper. The last thing you need right now is to crush on the cute, broody man.
It’s so hard, though. I can see how guarded he is. Something tells me he’s not the kind of person who trusts easily, and I don’tblame him. People can be cruel. I’ve seen it firsthand too many times.
The party goes on, people shouting and laughing, the music blasting. Everyone is getting shitfaced in some way. I just hope my teammates are being careful. The last thing we need is a surprise drug test and have half the team fail.
I play on my phone, scrolling on social media as I wait for Blake. But when fifteen minutes go by, I start to worry.
Screw it, I’m going to see if he’s okay.
Abandoning the porch swing, I head inside. Weaving my way through the crowd, I make my way to the stairs. People try to stop me and talk, but I excuse myself and keep going.
When I’m upstairs, I head to the bathroom. The door is closed, so I give it a knock. “Anyone in there?”
No one answers. I try the handle and open it when I find it unlocked. Huh. Empty. Maybe he went back downstairs and ran into one of the girls.
I’m about to head back downstairs when I hear shouting. “I’m going to kick your scrawny, little ass.”
Well, that's my cue to go check it out. No way I’m letting any fights happen on my watch in my house. The last thing I need is Coach chewing us out and making practices hell for the next week if someone gets hurt.
Quickening my pace, I jog down the hall and turn the corner.
“You can kick my ass all you want, doesn’t mean I’m going to do your fucking schoolwork for you. I already told you no, now fuck off.” My asshole teammate, Mickey, has Blake pinned against the wall, his hand is wrapped around his neck. I see fucking red.
“You stupid little–” The hand around Blake’s throat tightens. Blake's eyes widen as he makes a choked sound. Mickey raises his fist like he’s going to punch Blake.
Like fuck he will.
I’m over there before he has a chance to land the punch, tackling Mickey to the ground.
“What the fuck!” he bellows. I sit on his chest, pinning him to the ground. This time, it’s my hand wrapped aroundhisneck.
“You think you can go around hurting people, Mickey?” I snarl, chest heaving with rage. “This is college, grow the fuck up. You can’t bully people into doing your fucking work.”
“Get off me,” he sneers. I don’t listen, instead tightening my grip. My thighs have his arms pinned to his side so he can’t hit me. He tries to struggle, but I haven’t missed a leg day in years, I’ve got a good grip on him.
“Not until you agree to leave Blake alone.”
His lip peels back in a sneer. “Why, is he your boyfriend?” He lets out a choked laugh. “Should have known the guy was a fucking faggot.”
Wrong answer, big guy. I land a punch to his face, sending it cracking to the side. “Watch your fucking mouth.” I grip his jaw as he curses and splutters. “There’s no room on this team for homophobic idiots. You don’t have to like me, but you sure as fuck aren’t going to pull that shit. Also, did you forget our assistant coach is bisexual? Don’t think he would be too happy to know your opinion.”
He says nothing, just continues to sneer. “As much as I want to beat your ass, I’m not going to risk my spot on the team for the likes of you. Just leave Blake the fuck alone, or I will tell Coach what happened here tonight. Understood?”
“Narc,” he growls.
“Better to be a narc than a homophobe,” I sneer right back. “Agree to leave Blake alone. Now.”
