I could feel my face heating. It had been one thing to do what I’d done with Gray at the funeral, both of us needing an outlet, but now it felt like I’d been thrown in the deep end. I needed to learn how to swim with the sharks pretty damn quickly, or Cruz would eat me alive.
As if he could read my mind, he gave me a sharklike grin before he returned his attention to massaging Ava’s legs.
“How do you feel now, princess?” he asked softly. Ava bit down on her lip, a faraway expression in her eyes.
“I can’t stop thinking about it. I know you told me not to claim someone else’s sin as my own, but…” Her lip trembled. “It was supposed to be me.”
Fuck. Cruz and I exchanged glances. Ava was strong, there was no doubt about it, but everyone had their breaking point, and right now, she’d met hers.
“It’s not your fault. Whoever did this is a fucked-up individual, and we won’t let them get away with it.” Cruz’s voice was softer than I’d ever heard it before, despite the threat in his words. The bad boy of Blackwell Lake U had a soft center he kept well-hidden, but it seemed as if Ava had gotten right to the center in a short space of time.
I dipped down to brush a kiss over the top of her head. “He’s right, and we’re not going to leave you to go through this alone. We’re here for you.”
She nodded. As tears filled her eyes, I continued to stroke through her hair. I didn’t give her empty words. I doubted I’d be able to find the right words to say. What I could do was show her I was here for her, as was Cruz.
My phone buzzed, pulling me out of my thoughts.
Grayson:
Stuck in this fucking meeting
Maybe it was my imagination, but I felt as if I could sense his frustration through the phone. Before I had a chance to reply, I received another message.
Grayson:
Sometimes I wish I wasn’t the captain anymore
Shit.
Grayson:
Fuck. Forget I said that
I glanced over at Cruz, who was watching Ava with his brows pulled together as he trailed his fingers up and down her legs, and I made a decision. The two of them would be okay together.Cruz would look after Ava if she needed it, and I had the feeling that she’d be just as fiercely protective of him if it came to it.
Her dad had asked him to check up on her, anyway, and he might have questions if he showed up here to find the three of us hanging out on her bed. Not only that, but Mr. Hayes had specifically asked Cruz to talk to Ava, and there hadn’t been much time for talking. Some things were easier said with less people, so it was probably better if I left them to speak alone.
Returning my attention to Ava, I cupped her cheek, smoothing my thumb over her soft skin. “I’m gonna leave now. I need to see Grayson. Cruz will stay with you, okay?”
She nodded, sitting up, and then pulled me into a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered. When we pulled apart, she kissed my lips, and I couldn’t help deepening the kiss, sliding my tongue into her mouth and losing myself for a few blissful seconds until a throat cleared pointedly.
“Do I get a goodbye kiss, too?” Cruz’s brows were raised.
“I guess so,” I muttered. Fuck it. Why not? I wanted to kiss him. I should probably admit that to myself since I’d recently had his dick in my mouth. Climbing to my feet, I walked around the bed and leaned into him. His hand came up to grip my chin, and he took my lower lip between his teeth, making me shiver.
“So responsive.” His grip tightened, and he angled my head, releasing my lip to kiss me properly.
When he took a step back, my tongue swiped across my lips, tasting them both, and he grinned, tugging Ava into him. As I left the room with a wave, the last thing I saw was him pulling her into a kiss.
6
AVA
For the first time since Halloween, I felt alive.
My heart had yet to calm down, but this time it was from exhilaration rather than the anxiety that had been keeping me company since the beginning of the year.
What had just happened was fun, reckless—hell, it was fucking normal by college students’ standards.
