an attempt to avoid the java spray while JT reaches out to slap Grayson between the shoulder blades as he works to clear his throat. Once he has himself under control, he says, “I love how you sit there acting like you’re immune, Nova.”
That has the older people in the room sitting up to take notice.
“Ooo.” Jordan lowers her iPad to the tops of her thighs, bracing her elbows on her knees and leaning in closer. “Do share with the class.”
The back of my neck prickles, and for some reason, my cheeks heat as all the attention turns my way.
Delicate fingers start to trace the black designs inked onto my arm, and I drop a hand over them, stroking across the now bare skin where my ring usually rests. It’s only been a few weeks that I’ve had the honor of being one of the birthstone bands Kay wears to represent those who mean the most to her, but I hate that it’s absent now. Yet another thing I can blame Liam Parker for.
“I feel like there are too many good ones to choose from.” Noah taps the tip of his chin in thought.
Flashes of the playful insults, the digs taken in jest, and, at the very beginning, the blatant dismissal of me dance through my memory. Inside my pants, my dick twitches, and like many times before, I wonder what is wrong with me that that side of my girlfriend gets my engine going.
“Remember how many times he failed at getting her to agree to go on a date with him?” Trav asks the room at large.
It’s true. Kay did her best to try to make it impossible for me to crack her shell. Even after I finally got her to acknowledge my existence and engage in conversation with me, she made me work to get her to say yes to a date. Good thing I’m a determined-as-hell guy who doesn’t know the definition of quitting.
“My favorite was when she called him herpes,” Em says with a shit-eating grin.
“Noooo.” Jordan’s jaw hinges open.
“Yup. Thought the Hawks were going to need to start their second-string quarterback with the way Trav choked on his water when she said it.”
I hate Trav a tiny bit for the way he’s cackling behind me. If I didn’t have to worry it would jostle Kay’s hospital bed, I would swing my arm back and nut-check him to shut him up. That particular urge only grows at his breathy “Good times.”
Instead of risking causing my girl discomfort, I crane my neck to send my best friend a glare promising a painful payback at the first opportunity.
“Alright, Caveman.” Trav snickers around Kay’s nickname for me before composing himself. “Before you get your panties in a twist more than they already are”—he lifts a duffle I didn’t realize he had with him—“I grabbed you a few things from your room.”
That right there, thinking to do that, having my back without question…that’s why I don’t actually beat him up for his constant flirting toward my girl.
“We also swung by to talk to Coach like you asked, which was a good thing—man was losing his shit.”
Looks like one of Jordan’s theories is proving correct. I wonder if her suspicion about Coach Knight trying to reach out to me was right too.
“Hope you’re prepared to run suicides all week, bruh,” Noah cuts in.
Trav nods his agreement and confirms my earlier thought. “He’s pissed you’ve been ignoring his calls.”
I lift my dead phone from the bed and wave the dark screen for them to see. Again, without needing to be asked, Trav hands me his.
“He’s doubtful we’ll be able to keep this fully quiet given that photos of you and Kay in the ambulance are already circulating—”
Kay tenses and I reach for her hand again, lending my support in the only way I know how for now. I wish I could take her in my arms and shield her from everything going on around us, but I can’t. The best I can do is stand beside her and help her weather the storm. There’s not a force on this earth that could keep me from doing exactly that.
“—but he pretty much wants to tell you to answer ‘No comment’ if asked about anything regarding last night.”
Another point for Jordan Donovan. Looks like I have a phone call to make.
#Chapter13
I’m beyond overwhelmed. The number of people scattered throughout my hospital room when I first woke up was staggering to realize, but now? Holy