Page 26 of The Draft
That felt a lot like he was trying to control who I was dating, but when it came to the hockey team, I got it. That was his team, and last time I messedwith it, their flow was screwed up for the rest of the season. Really, I should have respected that his teammates were a hard boundary for my brother, but I had a hard time with rules, and Henry was persistent. As for Dash, well, he was just too tempting. Brooding, older, and my brother’s best friend. Yeah, he never had a chance when it came to my advances.
Narrowing his eyes, Cade gave me a hooded glare. “I also know for a fact that the football team is even worse when it comes to women. Especially Aiden Matthews. If you go anywhere near him…” He drawled out the warning but didn’t finish his sentence.
“I only spoke to Aiden for a few minutes. I barely got to know the guy.” I raised my hands in defense, and he looked at me in disbelief. “Trust me, I’m just friends with Adam and Devin.”
“You know guys can’t just be friends with girls, right?”
“You know that’s an outdated thought, right?” I said, sassing him right back. I checked my phone, noting that I hadn’t received anything from Dash. He’d been in his room for ten minutes now, and I was still stuck out here talking to my bro, so I needed to do something. “Anyway…I should probably go.” And by go, I meant that I needed to pretend I was leaving so I could sneak into Dash’s room.
“Let me drive you home. I’ve got some things to do, anyway. I can drop you off on the way.”
Well, that didn’t work. “Cade, I’m only a block away. I don’t need to be chauffeur driven home. I’ll be fine.”
He lifted one eyebrow and stared me down.
“No. It’s late.”
“And I’m on campus. There’s security.”
“Hard no.”
“Would you feel better if I called Todd?” Todd was the nearly seven-foot, gentle giant that acted as a security guard for our dorms when he wasn’t in class. He was quiet, and kept himself to himself, and had that kind of looming presence that meant no one would mess with him.
I took my phone out of my sweatshirt pocket, and wrote out a text, showing Cade. “See. I’ll be fine. Todd said he’ll come and pick me up in a minute.” I put my phone back in my pocket, happy that Cade didn’t look close enough at the text that he’d realize I was showing him a conversationfrom a few weeks ago.
“Fine,” he sighed out. “At least let me walk you to the door.”
“You mean the one that’s right there.” I pointed to the exit, which was behind their living room, and held back a laugh. “Relax, there’s no need to worry about me. I’m fine.”
“I’ll always worry about you. You’re my baby sister.”
I stood from my seat, grabbed my bag, scuffed my brother’s short, light brown hair, and pursed my lips. “And you’re my slightly unhinged big brother that I’ll always love.”
“Unhinged?”
I shrugged. “You chose hockey over football because you wanted to break Graham Fischel’s nose and fight without getting in trouble. The wrestling team wouldn’t even have you. That’s unhinged if you ask me.”
He flashed me a wry smile. “Yeah…all right. Well, message me when you get home, MB.”
“Sure thing, C. Night. Night.” I saluted Cade as he got up and headed to his dorm room.
“Night.”
When I was at the elevator, I pressed the call button and subtly watched Cade open his door. As he took a step into his room, the elevator dinged open, and I pretended to take a step in. When Cade’s door was firmly shut, I jumped out of the elevator and snuck behind a column so he couldn’t see me. Even when I heard the click of the lock, it took a few minutes for me to gain enough courage to poke my head around the column because I wasn’t sure who was still out there. Luckily for me, the coast was clear. Everyone was gone, giving me the perfect opportunity to sneak over to Dash’s room.
Chapter 7
I padded across the carpet to the door in the corner, far away from the others. The pizza box was still proudly displayed in the center. Why that hadn’t been fixed yet was beyond me. Didn’t Scotty’s dad pay for this place? Surely a replacement wasn’t that expensive.
Staring at the door, my heart was beating wildly because I knew this conversation was do-or-die for Dash and me. I just wished we lived in an alternate universe where Dash wasn’t Cade’s best friend, and we could be together. Hell, at this point, I’d settle for one night with the guy just to see if it would help get him off my mind.
I raised my fist but hovered it over the door for a few seconds. Where do I even knock with all the cardboard in the way? I chose a spot under the box and bit my bottom lip, trying to suppress a nervous giggle because I’d somehow managed to get to Dash’s dorm undetected.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I rocked on my toes, hoping that would get rid of the anxiety building in my bones. Then I played with my hands, crossing and uncrossing my legs like I needed to pee. I couldn’t stand still, knowing that Dash was just onthe other side, waiting for me.
I was being ridiculous. For all I knew, he just wanted me over so he could tell me he wasn’t interested. It wasn’t like I was coming here to get something from him. That would never happen, and the sooner I got on board with that, the easier my life would be.