Page 19 of The P*ssy Next Door
“Xan, that's not... I didn't mean to hurt you or the team.”
“Bullshit,” he spat, shrugging off Willa's restraining hand. “You never even looked back, did you? Too busy bathing in glory and chasing your next headline. Well, guess what, buddy boy? You don't get to have it all. You don't get my sister.”
Willa whirled on him, her expression thunderous. “Excuse me? I'm not a trophy for you two to fight over. I make my own damn choices.”
A muscle ticked in Xander's jaw, but he kept his glare trained on me. “I mean it, Kingman. Stay the hell away from her.”
I opened my mouth to argue, to tell him that I cared about Willa, that I would never hurt her the way I apparently hurt him. But the words lodged in my throat as I caught sight of Willa's face.
Beneath the anger, there was a glimmer of raw pain in her eyes that cut me to the quick. The last thing I wanted was to come between her and Xander, to make her feel like she had to choose sides.
Every cell in my body told me to knock Xander the fuck out, throw Willa over my shoulder, and haul her off to my bed, to claim her as mine and only mine. But I wasn't some wolf man, and Willa deserved better than that.
So I swallowed my protests and took a step back, my hands held up in surrender. “I don't want to fight with you, man. Not about this.”
Xander blinked, clearly taken aback by my easy capitulation. He'd been spoiling for a fight, and I'd just yanked the rug out from under him.
Willa turned to me, her brow furrowed. “Hayes, you don't have to?—”
“It's okay,” I said softly, trying to inject some reassurance into my tone. “I get it. You two need to talk. I'm gonna go, but I will see you later.”
No way I was walking away without letting her know this wasn't over just because her brother was mad.
I hated leaving her to deal with his misplaced anger, but I didn't see any other way to defuse the situation. Pushing back against Xander now would only make things worse.
I held Willa's gaze for a long moment, trying to silently communicate everything I couldn't say. That this wasn't over, that I wasn't going anywhere, that she was worth fighting for.
Something softened in her expression, a hint of understanding mingled with gratitude. She gave me a tiny nod, so subtle, if I hadn't been entirely focused on her, I'd have missed it.
With a final pointed look at Xander, I turned and walked out of the café, my hands shoved deep in my pockets to hide the fists I couldn't help. It took every ounce of willpower not to look back, to stride away with my head held high like the bigger man Willa deserved.
But I needed to answer another question and messaged Gryff and Flynn promising to pay for dinner if they'd meet me. Food was always the best bribe with those two.
An hour later I slid into the booth at Gino's Diner, just across from campus. I nodded gratefully as the waitress set a steaming mug of coffee in front of me. I needed the caffeine boost after the emotional rollercoaster of the day. But one sip and I made a face. This needed a whole hell of a lot more cream and sugar. How the hell had I ever drunk it black?
Across from me, my brothers Flynn and Gryff exchanged a curious look before turning their attention to me.
“So, what's with the cryptic summons, bro?” Flynn asked, snagging a menu from the holder. “Not that we mind an excuse to grab a bite, but you never offer to pay.”
“I never had money before, you twatwaffles.” I wrapped my hands around the mug, letting the warmth seep into my skin. “I need to ask you guys something. About the team, about... Xander.”
Gryff's eyebrows shot up. “Rosemount? Aren't you guys friends? What about him?”
“We used to be. I ran into him today, and he said some things...” I hesitated, trying to find the right words. “He basically accused me of ditching the team, of betraying you guys by going pro early.”
Kingmans were ultra-competitive, but we were raised to adamantly support the hell out of each other. Even though I was ten months younger than they were, they'd never indicated that they'd been anything but happy to have another brother in their classes or on the team with them when I'd skipped a year in school. But maybe I was the one who was a dick, and it hurt them when I jumped ahead of the pack.
Flynn and Gryff stared at me for a long moment before bursting into laughter.
“Is he serious?” Flynn managed between guffaws. “That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.”
Gryff nodded, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. “Bro, no one was mad about you getting drafted. We're stoked for you. Hell, we're still fucking bragging about it.”
A knot of tension unwound in my chest. “Really? You guys weren't... I don't know, resentful?”
“Not even a little,” Flynn assured me, clapping me on the shoulder. “You're living the dream, man. We're proud as hell of you.”
“Even though I'm your little brother?”