Score: A Stepbrother Sports Romance (20 page)

H
ailey shuts
herself away in her room for the rest of the afternoon. After that, I don’t see her around the house for the next few days.

Damnit
.

I know I pushed harder than I probably should have, but I can’t fucking help it. Because something about Hailey Garrison
makes
me want to push things further than they should go.

Something about me wants to
keep
pushing things.

Which is why I find myself prowling around the doorway to her room at Mom’s house, and poking my head inside even though I know she’s back at campus.

It smells like her in here. Hell, it
looks
like her in here. There’s a
Lord of the Rings
poster tacked up on one wall, alongside a framed picture of the moon shot in high definition.

Jesus she’s a nerd.

Every girl I’ve ever gone after has been the giggly, vapid, and boring kind. The kind that just says yes, not the kind that banters back. I’ve gone for women who have zero opinions of their own, who choose to mimic those of whoever they’re with instead of thinking for themselves.

Because it was easy.

Hailey’s not those things in the slightest bit. She’s sure as hell not
easy
, she sure doesn’t always say yes, and
opinions
she’s got in fucking spades.

She also might have more brains than any of the other girls I’ve been with stacked together.

And so, I don’t actually care that she’s this big nerd who reads sci-fi books and plays magical fantasy video games. Hell, I fucking like that she
is
a nerd - I like exactly who she is, because it’s refreshing, and different, and challenging.

It challenges me, and that’s something I need.

I turn to leave her room then, but my eyes stop on the box from earlier - the one the lingerie came in - sitting on her bed.

With the lid ajar.

I raise a brow.

But it’s not until I peek inside that my amused, intrigued grin turns downright
hungry.

Because it’s empty. Which means she
took
the hot little set of lingerie with the pearls running across the seam of the panties.

…It might mean she’s
wearing
said panties, too.

I growl as the mental image saunters through my brain of Hailey, laying back on my bed wearing the black lace and pearls.

I linger about a quarter second longer in her room before I’m striding out the door and heading right for my car.

* * *

I
’m raising
my fist to pound on Hailey’s dorm room door, when I hear Roxie’s voice behind me.

“She’s out.”

I turn to see Hailey’s neighbor standing there with a laundry basket in her hands. “Need something?”

I shrug. “Nah, my mom wanted me to drop something off for her,” I lie.

“Uh-huh.” Roxie eyes me, a half-hidden smirk on her face that says she doesn’t really believe any of my bullshit.

I frown, “What?”

Roxie shrugs, still half-hiding that little grin. “So, QB, what exactly did your mom want you to drop off at Hailey’s dorm at eleven o’clock at night?” She says, eyeing my empty hands and smirking.

“Uh, yeah, it’s just this…thing.”

“Oh, yeah, totally.” Roxie arches a brow. “Can you hold this for a sec?” She pushes the laundry basket into my hands as she fishes in her back pocket for her room key.

“She’s on a date.”

Her words hit me like slug to the gut, the red rage clouding my eyes. I almost drop the damn laundry basket before I grit my teeth and force myself to breathe.

Play it cool, play it cool.

“Oh yeah?” I say as passively uninterested as I can sound. I grin. “With Paul?”

“Who?”

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Roxie takes her laundry back out of my hands. “Anyways, if it’s important, you could always swing by that dumb frat party and give it to her.”

The rage comes roaring back, pulsing through my body and making my jaw tighten. “Hailey’s at a
frat?
”

“Yeah, she’s with some guy at a party at one of those gamma delta alpha pie whiskey tango…” Roxie trails off as she shrugs and rolls her eyes. “I don’t speak frat, sorry. But one of those douchebag places with the Greek letters.”

I run my hands through my hair. “Seriously?”

“Dude, I know, but she was pretty adamant about getting all dolled up and going out.” Roxie shakes her head, pushing her door open with her foot. “But hey, it honestly might be good for her.”

I scowl. “How, exactly?”

“Cause that girl
needs
to get laid, I’m telling you.”

The floor seems to drop out beneath me, and I can feel every single muscle in my body tightening as the roaring jealousy burns through me like fire.

And that’s exactly what it is -
jealousy.

It’s blind, burning, neon-fucking-green jealousy that comes welling up inside of me at the thought of Hailey with any other guy.

“Seriously, a month of being her next-door neighbor, and I haven’t been kept up
once
by her getting her groove on. It’s tragic really when you-”

“Which frat,” I say icily.

Roxie raises a brow, and that little smirk teases her lips again. “The green house, on Willow Street.”

Fury blazes inside of me and I want to put my fist through a fucking wall. The thought of her with some other guy has my skin crawling. The thought of
anyone
else in the world putting their fucking hands on her has me seeing red.

Because she’s
mine
.

The feeling is primal, and raw, and totally caveman-sounding, but I don’t give a fuck. It’s not even
jealousy
I feel either, it’s rage that some other guy would try and
take
something that’s
mine
.

Roxie furrows her brow, and it looks like she’s about to open her mouth to say something else, but I’m storming down the hallway, heedless of whatever she’s about to say to me.

* * *

I
spot
her the second I walk in the door, and if I was pissed at the
thought
of her with another guy before,
seeing
her with one has me downright fucking furious.

They’re sitting on a grungy-looking couch towards the back of the place. Hailey looks like Goddamn original sin in this skimpy top and a breezy little skirt that would get me hard as a rock, except I know she’s put it on to get someone
else’s
attention.

And it’s fucking working.

That someone else is this serious douche-bag-looking motherfucker - a total frat dickhead complete with backwards baseball hat and
pink
fucking polo shirt with the collar popped up.

The guy has “predator” written all over him, and he’s grinning this smarmy grin at her, leaning into her as she talks. I’m gritting my teeth and seeing red, but when I see his hand on hers, I want to throw him through the fucking wall.

“Hey, Cole!”

I’m just making my way towards her when my presence at the party is suddenly recognized.

“Duuuude!” Some other douchebag comes over to give me some sort of stupid “bro-hug,” slopping beer on me as he grins at me like we’re best fucking friends. A whole gaggle of girls comes rushing over to giggle all over me, fawning over me, batting their eyes, pushing their tits out, trying to take selfies with me.

I hate this shit.

And I don’t have time for it either, because all I can think about is the pink polo-shirt asshole putting his fucking hands on Hailey.

“Here man, have a beer-”

“Maybe later,” I mutter, pushing the girls and the guy offering me a beer out of the way. Obnoxiously loud rap music thunders in the darkened room as I shove my way through the crowd.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

Hailey jerks her head up at the sound of my voice, her face paling before she narrows her eyes at me.

I smile at her before I turn my wolf-like grin at the shitbag she’s siting with. “Well don’t we look cozy back here!” I shove a bunch of empty cans and bottles and magazines from the dirty coffee table in front of the couch and plop down right in front of them.

Douchebag’s eyes suddenly go wide as he realizes who I am. “Oh
shit!
Motha-fuckin
Dalton Cole
is in the
house!
” He pumps his fist in the air in a way that makes me want to pump
mine
through his fucking teeth.

Hailey glares daggers at me.

“Hey, thanks for comin’ by the party, bro!” Frat douche holds a fist out. “Man, it’s so awesome that you-”

“Has she told you yet?” I say loudly, utterly cutting him off as I nod at Hailey.

He frowns, his eyes darting to her for a second. “Uh, told me what?”

“
Nothing
,” Hailey mutters. “I think Dalton was just
leaving
,” she says icily.

Not fucking likely
.

I sigh and shake my head dramatically at the douchebag. “Afraid she’s a lesbian, bro.”

He arches a brow for second before he starts to grin as he turns to look at Hailey with an even more predatory look. “Shit, girl, I am
very
open to that.”

Jesus, what a fucking moron.

I clap my hand down
hard
on his shoulder and shake my head. “Naw man, not like that. She’s got a wife and everything back home.” I whistle lowly. “
Big
scary looking chick - pro-wrestler, actually.”

The guy frowns.

“Actually, they’re looking to start a
family
, if you know what I mean.”

Frat-douche looks confused.

“They want to have kids.”

His eyes suddenly go wide as he looks up at me, the pieces coming together.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Hailey mutters, looking away and taking a big swig of the beer in her hand.

I ignore her and shake my head at the guy, like I’m sympathizing with him. “Yeah, bro - holes in the condom and all that shit.”

He shudders as he scowls and glances back at Hailey with a look of horror. “Okay, that is
fucked up
, babe.” He stands abruptly. “That is
so
fucked up.” He’s shaking his head and muttering as he grabs his beer and turns back to me. “Thanks for looking out for a bro, bro.”

“Hey, anytime,
bro
,” I say with sarcasm that’s clearly lost on this fuck-wit. I ignore his outstretched hand and pat him on the back instead. “Happy to help.”

I turn back to Hailey after he walks away, snatching the beer out of her hand and taking a swig. “
Great
guy, really. I think I miss him already.”

She shakes her head at me, her face livid and her mouth open a little. “Are you
actually
insane?”

I grin over the lip of her beer. “You’re welcome, by the way. That guy was like the poster child for date rape. You should thank me for getting him out of here.”

“Fuck you.”

I blow her a kiss. “Only if you ask nicely.”

Hailey narrows her eyes at me before she reaches over and snatches the beer back from me. “Why are you
here
, Dalton?”

I shrug, “Felt like a beer.”

“And so you came to the
exact
party I was at?”

“I
know!
What are the odds, right?” I grin at her as she narrows her eyes at me, knowing full well she doesn’t buy it.

She smiles thinly, “Aww, are you still
frustrated
from the other day then?
Poor baby,
” she coos dramatically.

My cock twitches at the thought of her bare pink nipples from the other morning begging for a suck and that hot little pussy of hers soaking wet through her panties and yoga pants.

The thought suddenly makes me think of something, and I raise a brow at her. “I noticed you opened my present.”

Her face goes dark red in the dim light of the frat-house living room, and I grin wickedly, knowing I have my answer. I lean closer, my eyes flashing into hers. “Could one
assume
you’re wearing said present right now?”

She swallows quickly, her eyes meeting mine defiantly. “
Maybe
.”

“Just maybe, huh?” I can feel my cock throbbing a little at the thought of Hailey wearing the lace and pearl lingerie
right now
under that little skirt.