ASHER
ECHO BAR IS CRAWLING WITH TAFT'S STUDENT BODY.
I spot a few familiar faces parting through the crowd. Like West Bradford, wide receiver from the football team and his group of friends. Our football team sucks but they're not exactly raging assholes on campus, most of them respect others but they're mad because they haven't won a single game yet.
I would tell them to have faith but that gets nothing done. What's needed is hard work and dedication. The members of Taft's football team lack spirit and a zombie attack would occur faster than West Bradford making it to the end zone.
My finger traces the rim of the shot glass. This is the second one.
"Dude, look to the left some chick is checking you out." Cole remarks.
At the end of the counter, a pretty blonde winks at me. Oh, damn. Cole's right.
I should be attracted to her. Don't get me wrong, I like a girl who's gorgeous but I love a personality. Blondie's got big blue eyes, pouty lips and what I can see from here—big boobs. Like massive. Her white top is so thin and tight, her breasts appear as if they'd spill out of the top any minute. She catches me looking because she's also watching me with an intense stare. If her eyes could strip me naked, I'd be in my birthday suit no kidding.
A manicured finger lifts and beckons me over.
I down my shot and get up from my claimed stool. The alcohol burns my throat.
"Attaboy." Cole gives my shoulder a faint pat like he's gearing me up for something.
The closer I get to blondie, I take notice of what she's wearing. Pink thigh heel boots, blue jeans and her long legs are crossed as she angles her body in a range where her knees are pointing towards me when she sees me coming her way.
"Hi. I'm Gemma." Blondie greets loudly, sitting up straight I almost assume her back snaps. Her voice is high pitched and it nearly rings my ears.
I can be nice, so I try to ignore the fact that her voice is semi-annoying. Maybe she's just super excited. "Asher."
Staring at me through long lashes, Gemma assures, "Oh, I know who you are handsome." Nope. This is just her normal voice.
"Yeah? Is that why you called me over out of all the guys?" I'm the captain of Taft's hockey team. I know my face isn't forgettable. Might sound cocky but it's the truth.
Blondie—Gemma— twirls a strand of her hair around her index finger. "You're hot. So hot." She says it like it's obvious and giggles like a schoolgirl.
"Do you come from around here?" I've never seen her before. Not saying I know the entire Warren population, but if Gemma is a regular here then I would know.
"Pendleton." She confesses with twinkling eyes.
"Shit. The university?" The name of my rival university gets me every time. Why would anyone name a school something like that? Pendleton—Penis. Penis-a-ton. That's not funny? I don't know, it's funny to me. I'm sure they've been teased about that before. My teammates and I say all sorts of things on the ice when we're skating with the puck and it gets our rivals enraged.
"I'm not exactly a fan of hockey to be honest so don't worry I'm not mad we lost. I watch for the hot guys. You included." She isn't holding back at all. She's bold as hell. "And that bruise on your face? Makes you look even hotter."
My mind flashes back to what Riley said earlier about my cheek. Yeah, girls were interested in that kinda stuff. Why? Beats me.
The bruise was a result of being shoved by Pendleton's defense man. They played dirty tonight. "What about it do you find hot?" I'm curious to hear what she will say.
"It just is." She shrugs a shoulder with no specifics. Well, that's a disappointment. I was hoping for something. "You held your own out there. I'm guessing you're celebrating your win?" She flaunts a perfectly manicured hand on my biceps.
"Yeah, before things get harder." We're advancing so nothing will slow down from here and out. Frozen Four is the goal.
Gemma takes my words out of context because she looks down at my crotch, her cheeks blazing red before her blue eyes trail up my body slowly and seductively. Then her lashes batter rapidly like butterfly wings. "When do you leave here? I'm ready when you are. Actually I'm ready right now."
Hold the breaks. "We're not hooking up."
Disappointment laces her voice. "We're not?" Then she actually pouts.
"No." Fuck. I'm not a saint or anything, hell I'm far from being a virgin I have a kid. But when it comes to hookups, I'm very selective in who I sleep with. A hookup is a rare occurrence for me, I'm not saying it doesn't happen because it does but I have to trust whoever I'm fucking and that's tough.
Though I love my son more than anything in the world. Even more than hockey obviously. He wasn't planned. And Gemma, I don't know her and I definitely don't trust her.
Not sure what I thought would happen here. A conversation maybe? I'm turned on by that. I mean, shit, stimulate me. But perhaps a bar was the wrong place for that. Everyone comes here to lose themselves in drinks and forgettable sex that they'd regret in the morning.
I'm expected to fuck any girl that breathes I know but that's not me. Not every girl on campus or off should know what my dick looks like. It's a dangerous game. Sex is a gamble. Not only that, while I can fuck with no feelings involved, it's not the same for girls. I don't care what they say, they fuck with emotions and feelings. If a girl is fucking, she likes who she's fucking plain and simple. There's no such thing as friends with benefits, it's an excuse to see if something more will develop overtime. Mostly on the girl's part. Guys don't give a fuck.
Even if I was considering getting freaky tonight, Gemma blew it. At least do appetizers before we get to the dessert. She already wants to fuck and she didn't even warm me up. Plus I can tell she'd be super clingy after a hookup.
It's my cue to bounce.
"Excuse me." I walk over to my friends leaving her in my wake. I can feel Gemma's stare at the back of my head but I don't turn around. I don't blame her though. No one comes to the bar to listen to the music and drinks for fun. They come to find someone to take home when the night ends. I'm not in a competition to see how many soul ties I can have by the end of the year so I'll probably sit this one out.
"How'd it go?" Rhett asks, then he peeps over my shoulder. "Why does she look like you told her that your dog died?"
"More like I told her that we're not fucking."
"What?" Cole's head snaps up. Of course that's what he hears. "Why? You need to get laid. You've been yelling at us unnecessarily."
"Maybe you deserve it." I quip.
"Who turns down a hot girl at the bar." Rhett shakes his head like he doesn't believe the words that are coming out of my mouth.
"This guy." Tyler pops my collar and slaps me on the back.
"When was the last time you got laid?" Eric, who is sitting down beside Cole asks.
I give my honesty. "Two months ago."
"No wonder you're cranky. That's too long ago." Cole says.
"Let's find you—
I cut him off knowing where he's going with this. "No thanks."The last thing I want is for them to set me up.
Two months means two years to my teammates. People were right about this young dad thing. With college classes, hockey and seeing my son when I can, there's barely time for hooking up as much as Cole even if that was something I wanted to indulge in.
"Call that girl... What's her name again? Samantha?" Cole tilts his head and the way he's interested makes me wonder if I really have been cranky lately. "You can pull a quickie in the restrooms."
He reminds me of the fact that his sister is home with my son. So, instead of considering what the fuck he's talking about I ask, "What's your sister's number?"
"Riley? You want to fuck my sister? No fucking way dude!" Cole exclaims like I just asked him for the moon and the goddamn stars.
He really thinks I want to fuck his—
"Dude. She's babysitting my son." I roll my eyes.
That gets him to voice the number and I type as fast as I can.
"Your sister's hot though." Tyler comments shamelessly. "She'd chew me up and spit me out and I'd let her."
Cole shoots Tyler a deadly glare which makes me chuckle. "Shut up Ty. I don't want to hear about how hot my sister is. Keep it to yourself. And damn right she'd spit you out."
I want to ask what's the deal with Riley. I've known Cole since freshman year and Riley barely spoke to us. But I swallow the curiosity creeping up my throat and avert to the screen of my lit phone. It's been an hour and there's no calls from her. I can't help but wonder what's going on back at the house.
"What are you doing?" Cole leans over and questions when I click the call option.
"Calling your sister." My face appears in the background of the screen. I could use a shave. My stubble has been in sight for a whole two weeks.
Loud music blasts and I squeeze through the tight space, passing sweaty drunk people until I end up outside the bar. The red sign hanging above the bar illuminates my face and I watch the phone ring and ring. I'm this close to hanging up when Riley finally answers.
"How's it going? Should I hop home?" I ask immediately, waiting to hear the worst.
But there's no reply.
I stare at the screen and I notice what I'm looking at. "Why am I seeing just your eyelids and forehead?"
"Hold on." Riley mumbles through the screen.
She adjusts the camera so I can see her properly. And man is her aura completely different from Gemma's. One is light and the other is dark. Riley's the latter. She's no longer wearing the black leather jacket and turtleneck. Now her slender shoulders and collarbones are exposed in a tiny dark crop top. She has so many beauty marks I'm sure they can easily be connected with a pen. Dark curls tucked behind her ears, the rest cascades down her back like a curtain.
The way her gaze captures mine is dangerous. There's something about Riley's eyes that I can't pinpoint. Maybe it's the eyeliner. Her eyes are gorgeous and I'm not just talking about the fact that they are green. It's the shape of them. Fox eyes I think. And damn, when I look at her it's the first thing I see. Like she demands attention and eye contact. Respect. Boundaries.
Like she'd suck you in too, just like Tyler said, and spit you out.
"Aren't I the one who should've called you? If I need anything? Are you that eager to see me?"
"And you didn't." I counter.
"Because I don't need you." She amends.
Ouch. I'm glad she's doing a good job as she claims but the way she voiced those words kinda hurt. "How's my boy?"
"Watching TV." She answers, looking at someone I can't see in the range of the camera but I'm assuming it's a mischievous three year old.
"He should be sleeping. Why isn't he sleeping?" My eyes search the screen for the time. It's way past Tommy's bedtime.
"He wanted to watch TV so I put on a cartoon." Riley doesn't seem like the type to be bossed around. But it's either letting him watch cartoon or hearing a screaming toddler. Was that her predicament?
Guilt bites at my chest. "I'm coming home."
"Stay where you are," She objects, shaking her head at me. "You're already out. He's fine."
She flips the camera and shows me what Tommy's currently doing. He's leaned back on the couch, eyes glued to the TV and he has that look, the one where his body is slowly falling asleep.
A sigh of relief. "Alright."
"Aren't you supposed to be, you know, having fun? Calling me isn't suppose to be on that list."
"Well, I had to make sure Tommy didn't kill you."
"He's the sweetest."She says. "Just look at him."Then she flips the camera again for about two seconds.
"Oh, really? You're the first to say that." I'm not sure I believe her.
It's one of the reasons why the babysitter didn't show up tonight. Bria claimed that Tommy doesn't know how to express his feelings and whatnot. Which is fucking bullshit because he's three, of course he doesn't know how to communicate his feelings sometimes, he's a toddler and he's learning. She also claimed he was bratty and what kid isn't? Though I have my parents to blame for that.
"We started off on the wrong foot but I think I won him over." Riley admits, her green eyes holding eye contact.
What can I say? I'm a proud dad. "That's my boy, stealing hearts."
There's a moment when something switches. "Wait, how did you get my number?" She questions. But then it hits her and we both utter in unison. "Cole."
"I don't answer numbers that I don't know so you got lucky. Especially with Scam Likely calling my phone every single day."
My eyebrows knit. "Scam Likely?"
"That stupid spammer that calls phones. You don't get them? I thought everybody did."
"Nope. Don't get them."
"Well, you're one of the lucky ones." She huffs out a breath. "They can't video call anyway so. I'm going to try and get your son to sleep now so you can get off my phone."
Damn. She isn't playing. "Rushing me so soon?"
"Wait. Which one is your room?"
Oh that's right. She doesn't know which one of the rooms belong to me.
My finger hovers the screen. "I thought you wanted me to go. I'm hanging up now. I'm not needed, remember?"
"Don't you dare hang up Asher!" She orders loudly.
"Yes Riley?" We're on first name basics.
"Your room... please." I can tell it pains her to say the word please.
I'm enjoying this more than I should. "Did you just beg? Do it again."
"Fuck you." She tells me.
I try to shush her. "Quiet down. I know you want to fuck me."
Her eyes twitch at my conclusion. "Ew! Not even in my nightmares."
"Does this mean you dream about me?"
"I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you?"
She's completely sick of me but I like it. The way her face scrunchies up at the thought like it's the worst thing she's ever heard. I'm not offended at all, just amused. Very amused.
I grin. "Very much so."
Riley shakes her head. "Ugh. You're something else."
"I'm aware."
She looks at me like she didn't expect me to come back that quickly. "And you're aware that you're annoying too?"
"Self awareness is key." I answer.
Riley grinds her teeth.
"You're a Scorpio woman. I should keep you on your toes." I reason.
This catches her attention, then she says, "Exactly. You'd fail. You can't keep up with me."
"Is that a challenge?" I quirk an eyebrow at her. "I do love challenges."
"Of course you do. You're an egotistical hockey player who always gets what he wants who also thinks he knows what an IUD is." She says which is oddly specific.
"First of all ouch. Bold of you to assume I don't know what an IUD is. I'm aware of birth control." I respond.
She's quick to reply. "Which clearly you failed."
Okay she's roasting me. Not bad.
I bite back a laugh. "You got me there."
Not that I failed, there's more to the story but I have to admit that this is amusing to me and I'm still not offended. I know not to take anything she utters personally. Riley has this wall up. She might be Cole's twin but she's nothing like him. While Cole's guards are down, he's disgusting, yes but so are all of us and he's also hilarious and stupid. Riley's got an electric fence as a form of protection and if anyone touches or goes too far, a jolt of electricity kills them.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hey! Happy Friday! And thank you for the support! We're almost at 10K