hair, so much like Tyra’s, was dripping water along with the rest of her.
“Sorry!” Selena yelled when she spotted me. “As you can see, I was in the shower.” She smiled, but I couldn’t find it in me to return the favor. She’d left me standing out here for over five minutes—plenty of time for her to have put on clothes. I glanced up at the bathroom window overlooking the front lawn, my gut twisting and tightening. “Tyra went to the store for groceries, but she should be back any minute. You can come in and wait if you like.” Selena opened the door wider in invitation.
I stood there, contemplating whether it was wise, before deciding I was being paranoid. Even if by some chance Selena was up to no good, I had almost a hundred pounds on her. Sighing deeply, I climbed the stairs and crossed the porch. I had to angle my body so that I didn’t touch Selena as I stepped into my former coach’s house. When she closed the door, I nearly jumped out of my skin and heard Selena giggle as she followed me into the living room. I needed to get a fucking grip.
“Are you okay?” she asked as she sat next to me on the couch rather than heading upstairs to find some clothes. It wasn’t like the sight bothered me, and that was the number one problem. Having a half-naked girl sitting so close next to me wreaked havoc on my baser instincts. My hands were just itching to peel away that towel.
“Fine.”
“So did you and my sister have a fight? She seemed upset when she came home last night.”
“You could say that.”
“Well, what did you do?” Offering a sensual smile, she inched closer to me on the couch. “Or rather, what didn’t she do?”
Shooting to my feet, I started for the stairs. “I have to piss.”
It was the only explanation I gave before I hightailed it out of there. If I hadn’t, I might have slapped Selena for coming on to me. If she hadn’t been Tyra’s sister, I might have even bent her over the goddamn couch.
Slipping inside Tyra’s room, I took the time to lock the door—because I wasn’t a fool—before throwing myself on her bed. The ridiculous number of frilly pillows smothered me while the stuffed animals seemed to stare accusingly. Needing a distraction, I dug my brand-new phone out of my pocket. I thought about what I would say to get Tyra home as fast as possible before shooting off a text.
Be home in ten minutes or say goodbye to Mr. Bear.
Taking a picture of him kissing my junk, I sent it to her for good measure. Unlike a couple of hours ago, when I texted her, she responded immediately. So her phone does work.
PIP: Get out of my room and get out of my house.
Grinning, I stroked the soft fur on her favorite stuffed animal as I texted back. Last night, Tyra had claimed she was done with me, and I was determined to make her see how that could never be possible.
It’s your father’s house, and I think I’ll stay.
PIP: I’m on my way, and so are the cops.
I snorted. All those book smarts, and she was still so naïve. Even if she had been telling the truth, the police would take one look at me and apologize for the disturbance. My mother’s family owned this town, and though they wanted nothing to do with me because of my father, everyone knew the Blackwood blood ran through my veins. They wouldn’t allow the embarrassment of me getting arrested.
It had been years since I’d been in the same room with the Blackwoods. Whenever they saw me, they looked the other way.
Head throbbing, I tossed my phone aside, not bothering to respond, and closed my eyes. Five minutes later, I heard the front door slam below and footsteps pound up the stairs. The knob turned, and then Tyra released a frustrated growl when she realized her bedroom door was locked.
“Vaughn, open this door!” she yelled while banging on the wood.
“What’s the magic word?”
“Are you mental? I’m not begging you!”
I started to think I got off on her being pissed because I added, “Ask me nicely as a good girl would do.” I definitely preferred her anger over indifference any day. The latter meant she no longer cared, and I couldn’t have that. There were too many people in my life already who had it covered.
“Fine,” she huffed.