Page 53 of Sweet Temptation
Coach nods in agreement and I clench my jaw. I wasn't fucking hogging it; nobody was ever open. Clenching my teeth, I stay silent through the entire meeting unless I'm spoken to.
"That's enough for today. See you on Thursday for practice," Coach says, leaving us alone in the room.
Jumping to my feet, I head out, leaving my teammates behind me. I'm so sick of avoiding them, but I really would rather not have the Hanna conversation with them.
Stopping beside Ace's car, I blow out a ragged breath, shoving my hands into my pockets. "Hey, Damon. Do you want to join us at Ricky's?" Sam asks when he comes to a stop beside me.
"I'd love the distraction," I reply softly with a fake smile.
The boys nod as we all climb into the car and head to our favourite bar off campus. When the car comes to a stop again, we all make our way inside to our normal booth, awaiting the rest of our team. "I'll have a beer," I reply to the waitress as she stands there biting her lip while she watches Ace.
Women are annoying sometimes and now that I've been off the table for so long, I realise what they were doing the entire time.
"Me as well." Sam winks at her. She practically throws her panties in his direction with that wink. It's dangerous and girls love it. Smirking, I watch Sam—the man knows he's a catch, and he uses it.
I wait until she leaves before I speak. "You know her panties were melting right off, just with your infamous wink." Anything to distract my general mood. I’ll talk about anything that isn't her.
Sam smirks and ruffles his blonde hair, grinning right back at me. "What can I say? I charm the ladies."
As our drinks are set on the table, I remember why I never want to drink. Fuck it. I've been thinking about her way too much lately. Popping off the cap, I take a giant swig, engaging in conversation with my friends after what seems like weeks.
I only avoided them for the past two days though, so it wasn’t that long without their company. I just didn’t know how to speak to them after my screaming match with Hanna.
I'm momentarily distracted when my phone goes off in the middle of Damien's story. Gazing down at the name, I raise my brow. Bailey. Why the fuck is she calling me? She already gave me shit, her and Scarlet both.
The latter, more importantly, threatened to remove my balls and hang me up to bleed with the rest of her circus.
Ace looks at me with a tilt to his chin and a confused expression. An expression that is also pissed off with the fact that this girl is calling my phone. I shove the phone in Damien's direction with a raised brow.
The boys stare at me, bewildered, before they nod at the phone. "Answer her, she doesn't call. It must be important," Sam says.
I nod and slide out of the booth, heading toward the bathrooms before I swipe the answer on the number. "This better be good because I'm seriously sick of your threats lately," I growl into the line.
"It's important, asshole!" she yells into the phone, almost deafening. No wonder my friend likes her. She may be an uptight princess type, but hell, she's got fire in her veins.
"What's going on?" I demand.
The next words that come out of her mouth send me into a spiral. "Hanna… She needs you to get to our new apartment like now. I'm not fucking around, so you better be on your way," she yells.
What? "What do you mean? Just tell me what's going on!"
"It's better Hanna tell you herself. I know the two of you are having issues, but this is too important to ignore."
Important? What is wrong with her? Hanna. Something's wrong. If something wasn’t wrong, she would still be avoiding me.
Pacing back and forth in the bathroom hallways, I tug at my hair in frustration. "Just tell me," I demand.
I hear a huff on the other line as Bailey growls at me. "I can't tell you because she doesn't know I called! So get in your fucking car and drive here now!" The call ends right after she finishes the sentence.
Of course she doesn't know about the call. Which means it's the lie she kept from me.
Shit. Shoving my phone in my pocket, I race back to the booth and stop beside my friends. "I need a ride to Bailey and Hanna's new apartment. I'd go alone, but I wasn't given the address."
But, of course, this is a moment where I'm helpless and have no address and have to ask someone for help. Makes me feel ridiculous.
Ace shoots me a look before he climbs out of the booth and follows me to his car. Slamming into gear, we drive off in the direction of the condo and realisation kicks in. She was so close, yet so far away. We stop in front of a brown-coloured condo and Ace slams his car into park.
"You go, I’ll be fine," I respond before I race from the car to the front door. Pounding my fist against the wood, Scarlet's face lights up the doorway as she wrenches it open. Her face is pale and not she-devil like, which means something is wrong.