Page 12 of Anchored To You

Talon stares at me when I finally put him down on the floor. "You're welcome," he clears his throat as he backs away. "I have to get next door, though. I guess I'll see you later?" He asks, as if we don't live together.

Why is he looking at me funny? Fuck, do I have something on my face? I not so subtly dab my face, then wipe my tongue across my teeth. Do I have something stuck in my teeth? I don't feel anything. He tilts his head quizzically, and I copy the motion.

"Yeah, I'll see you later. Have fun at work."

Talon takes off out of the bar like his ass is on fire, and I can't help but chuckle. He is one strange dude. Hot as fuck, but strange as hell. Glancing at my clock, I realize I'm almost late for conditioning, so I hightail it out of the bar, making my way back to CU.

"What the hell was that last night?" Wyatt asks once we're able to take a break from lifting weights.

We're both sitting on the floor, drenched in sweat as we chug from our water bottles. Classes start tomorrow, and Coach is using it as an excuse to work our asses hard. My arms are jelly and my legs are no better, and I know Wyatt is feeling the same way as me, so I'm not sure why he's trying to have a conversation right now.

"What?" I huff, not able to get any other words out of my mouth.

My body gives way and I slowly fall to the right, letting gravity take over. God, yes. The floor is dirty as hell, and probably has layers of dry sweat, but right now it's more comfortable than a fluffy bed. I curl up on my side, closing my eyes as Wyatt keeps talking.

"Last night at the bonfire. I wasn't aware you knew Talon. But apparently, you two know each other pretty well. I've never seen him that closed off to someone before. Usually he's happy-go-lucky, always has a smile on his face, and is friendly to everyone he meets."

"Yeah, we met last year. Started off on the right foot, but then something happened." That’s all I’m wanting to say about it. What happened between Talon and me should stay between the two of us. Besides, knowing that they’re friends, I don’t want to say anything and have it make its way back to him. I don’t want him thinking I’m going around campus talking about him, when I’m clearly trying to not talk about him at all.

“What? You're being so damn cryptic. Tell me what happened,” Wyatt begs, scooting closer on the floor toward me. “You know I’m not going to say anything.”

"He fucked and ran," King says, coming up and taking a spot beside Wyatt on the ground. "My man ghosted him."

"Holy shit. You're that guy?" Wyatt asks wide-eyed. He sits up straight and stares at me dead on. "You're an asshole."

I huff, breathing a deep sigh. Thanks, King. "I know. But to be fair, I wasn't planning on ghosting him. But I got too overwhelmed with baseball and school, and I didn't have time to talk to anyone. Much less to hook up with somebody."

"But didn't you have his number?" King says, smirking at me. "I didn't realize texting someone took so much time out of your day."

“First, fuck you,” I say to King, “you know how much I was dealing with last year.”

"What he said." Wyatt adds on, hiking his thumb in King's direction. "A three second text wouldn't have hurt. I remember Talon and Hannah talked shit about you a lot. Well, mostly Hannah, but Talon would add things here and there. Fuck, you fucked up."

Scrubbing my hands down my face, I sigh again, feeling like shit all over again. " I know," I groan, closing my eyes. "I fucked up. But I had more important things going on. Should I have reached out to him? Duh. But I didn't. Which was why he was cold as ice last night. Speaking of which, something else happened last night that shocked me."

"Tell us," Wyatt and King reply in unison.

"Fuck, that was creepy that you replied together," I laugh, "but when I got home last night, I met my roommate for the first time."

"Okay?" King says, lifting one eyebrow.

"Are we supposed to know who your roommate is?" Wyatt asks, taking another sip of his water bottle.

"It's Talon."

Wyatt spits out the drink, rushing to wipe his mouth while King's jaw drops.

"Damnnn," King drags out, shaking his head. "Karma is a bitch."

Wyatt seems as flabbergasted as I felt last night. "So you and Talon are roommates? Damn, this just got interesting. Did he throw something at your head? Cuss you out? Yell and scream? Kick you out of the room?"

“No, he was a bit quiet at first. But he's still the same nice guy I met a year ago. Hell, he took me with him this morning and helped get me a job.”

Wyatt smiles, nodding his head. "Yeah, Talon is one of the best guys I know. Even when he hates your guts, you'll never know it."

I swallow thickly, realizing that Talon probably does hate me. "You think he hates my guts?"

"Well, I don't think you're on his good side."