Rounding Third - Michelle Lynn Page 0,59

need a place to live,” Jen argues back.

Ella’s nostrils flare. “Find another place. Why would I want to live here? Do you ever think about anyone else but yourself?” Those small hands find her hips, and she leans forward in case Jen can’t hear her.

“I tried, okay? But everyone beat me to the other places. It’s temporary. We’ll be here for maybe a few days,” Jen says.

Ella’s eyes narrow to slits. “It’s two weeks, Jen. They said we would be out for two weeks.”

Jen’s head wiggles around, like a dangling worm. “Two weeks is nothing. It will fly by.”

“Yeah, for you. You’re going to fuck Saucey until your vagina is raw. And I’ll be stuck on a couch.”

“We moved your stuff into Crosby’s room.” Jen smiles, as though that should appease Ella.

Truthfully, I’m appeased. I’m surprised Saucey would go for that with the bet and all. It’s like a sealed win for me.

Ella throws her arms in the air. “Great. Thanks, Jen.” She sounds condescending.

Jen rolls her eyes. “Where’s the appreciation? Sorry, Princess Cinderella not everyone is perfect,” she says.

Ella’s patience hits its boiling point where she loses control of her mouth, no matter how hard she tries to resist.

“Ergh.” Her hands fist into balls in the air. “You are impossible.” Her whole body tenses, and she catches me in the doorway. “Ergh!” She walks into my room and slams the door.

“You can thank me later,” Jen says. Then, she and Saucey step into his room.

I knock softly on my door, but Ella doesn’t answer.

Realizing it’s my room, I turn the knob and peek my head in. “Can I come in?”

“It’s your room.” She’s staring out the window.

Her books, suitcases of clothes, and her laptop are sitting in the corner.

“What happened?”

I slide onto my desk, placing my feet on the chair, waiting for her to answer me.

“The people above us flooded our apartment. The landlord wants us out for two weeks to fix the plumbing,” she says to the curtains. “Jen thought it would be a good idea to move in here. For obvious reasons. You know that her vagina and Saucey’s dick can’t seem to be apart from one another.”

I chuckle, and she turns around, her hands behind her back that is pressed to the wall.

“Crosby, we can’t.” She shakes her head, figuring there’s no way this situation will work.

“You take my bed. I’ll take the couch.”

“I can’t let you.”

“You can.” I nod, but her shoulders slump.

“Thank you,” she says.

And those two words are enough for me.

“No problem.”

“I don’t understand. She only cares about herself. You’d think she’d have used her Dean’s List brain.” She puts her finger to her cheek. “Oh, that would leave Ella with Crosby and all their drama. That’s probably not a good idea.” Her hand falls. “No. All she cares about is, Ella and Crosby should fuck, so it’s okay. We’ll force them together.”

I chuckle again, watching her in her classic fully animated self. This is the Ella I fell in love with.

“Well, if you want to fuck me, you know I’m open to the idea.”

She shakes her head, but the smile emerging speaks volumes. Remembrance of my hands up her shirt the other night surfaces, and I shift slightly to taper down my arousal.

“It won’t be out of the way to take you home after our date,” I say.

Her eyes cast down to her clothes. Her stiff back says there’s more to her trip than she’s telling me, but I’m not going to pry—mostly because I don’t want what’s in that town to affect us here. All there is for me in Beltline are a bunch of torches waiting to ignite me.

From the bathroom door, Brax runs into the room with only a Speedo on, and Ella gasps.

“What’s up, kiddos? We’re going down to the quarry.” He nods his head toward the door.

I look at Ella.

“Have fun,” she says, continuing to refold all her clothes.

“Oh, Cinderella, come on. As the prince of Ridgemont, I demand your presence. Plus, your ugly stepsisters were kicked out of the house this morning,” Brax says.

I laugh where Ella doesn’t.

“I’ll stick around here.”

Brax stretches his arms up in the air. “Boring. Come on. You can even invite that mermaid sister of yours, Ariel.”

“Go cover yourself up,” I say.

Instead, he does a circular grind with his hips, and Ella puts her finger in her throat, pretending to throw up.

“Come on,” he whines. “Like old times. Oliver has grabbed every last raft in this town, and two have your names