BAD BOY ROMANCE: DIESEL: Contemporary Bad Boy Biker MC Romance (Box Set) (New Adult Sports Romance Short Stories Boxset) (149 page)

“I bet,” Nick said as he raised his eyebrows. “Any plans for the weekend?”

I sighed; when I’d made my resolution to swear off men in grad school, I hadn’t thought that I’d be put to the test so quickly.

“Well?” He prodded me with a grin. “C’mon, now I think you’re up to something
really
fun.”

I blushed. “Nothing, just hanging out with my best friend,” I said. Nick wasn’t listening to me; he was staring at someone running toward us in the distance.

“Hey, Leda!” I heard Megan’s voice and looked up to see her flash of blonde hair barreling towards me and Nick. She stopped an inch shy of me and almost crashed into Nick, grinning up at him with her trademark crooked smile.

“Hello,” Nick greeted her in a low voice. I could hear the amusement dripping from his voice, and part of me wanted to sink into the earth and melt forever. 

“Hi!” Megan chirped. She looked at me expectantly, then turned her head from me to Nick. “I’m Megan,” she offered. He introduced each other and they shook, and I watched as he pulled a pack of clove cigarettes out of his back pocket. He offered one to both of us; I declined but Megan accepted and then I had to stand there watching for what felt like an eternity as they both fussed over his malfunctioning lighter. Their heads were so close together that their hair was touching. I felt a keen sense of disappointment. Even though I had promised to swear off men, it didn’t seem quite fair that Megan was going to steal him right from under my nose. Flirting with him every now and then could have been fun.

“Are we going?” I asked after a beat. Megan looked up at me and nodded furiously, as if she’d completely forgotten. “Bye!” I called to Nick as I started walking away. A few moments later, I heard Megan’s light footfall behind me.

“What’s with you?” She demanded, catching up to me and taking a deep drag off her cigarette. I watched as she coughed, filling the air with a perfumed smoke.

“Nothing,” I said with a shrug. “How’s Tyler?”

Megan blushed. “He’s fine,” she said. “He’s still acting weird though.”

“And no proposal?” I asked as we made our way across campus and into the parking lot.

Megan shot me a withering look. “Obviously,” she said. “Can you stop at the store on the way home? I want to get some junk food.”

“He must really be acting weird,” I commented. Megan’s face fell and I immediately felt a wave of guilt. “Sorry,” I added in a quiet voice. “What’s been going on?”

Megan stayed silent during most of the drive home. She stared out the window and picked at her cuticles. In the grocery store, we grabbed a couple of bags of candy, some frozen jalapeno poppers, and chocolate covered pretzels. Megan rushed off when I was at the register and came back with two bottles of cotton candy flavored vodka. I wrinkled my nose at her but paid for everything anyway.

When we got home, we loaded everything into our arms and went inside. I started the oven for some of the frozen snacks and Megan opened one of the bottles of vodka. She poured herself a drink that was about ¾ vodka and ¼ lime soda before waltzing into my room and flopping right in the middle of the bed. I scooted down on the floor and sat with my back against the wall. Thankfully, there was no sign of Stratton anywhere.

“Okay, tell me,” I said, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around my legs. The house was chilly in the winter; it always was, but that was one of the reasons I liked it so much.

Megan yawned and downed half of her drink in one motion. “He’s just been strange,” she offered. “The other night, we were supposed to go to the movies and then to dinner and then back to his place. I thought for sure it was going to be then. It was the anniversary of the first date we ever went on,” she paused and rolled her eyes up to look at the ceiling. I recognized the look very well; it was one I’d affected many times when I’d been trying not to cry.

“This doesn’t bode well,” I commented.

“And everything was just a disaster,” Megan continued. “From the moment we got together he just seemed really distracted and off. He didn’t want dessert at the restaurant and then told me he was too tired for me to come over. So I just went home and watched another movie by myself. I kept thinking he’d call and tell me that he changed his mind, but I never heard back from him. I even texted him and told him that I couldn’t sleep, but he never got back to me.”

I frowned. “Do you think he’s cheating on you?” I asked, biting at my thumbnail. “It does seem really odd.”

There was a knock at the door and my heart fell through my stomach. “Come in,” I called after a beat.

Stratton opened the door and walked in. He was shirtless again, and clad in only blue silk soccer shorts. He was holding a bottle of wine and some glasses, and he grinned at me before turning his gaze to Megan. I watched as she blushed and sat up on the bed quickly,  combing her hand through her blonde hair.

“Hey,” Stratton greeted us. “You girls want some wine?”

Chapter Three

Stratton

“Hi girls,” I said, stepping into Leda’s room. A flash of annoyance crossed her face and I grinned. “Who is your friend?”

“I’m Megan,” the blonde girl said. She offered her hand for me to shake and I picked it up and lightly kissed her fingers. Megan giggled, but Leda rolled her eyes and turned away.

“We were talking,” she informed me. I watched her eyes dart from side to side. “What did you want?”

I tapped my chin with my finger. “Well, girls, I was just thinking you might want some company. This is good wine,” I added, gesturing to the bottle in my hand.

“I’ll take some!” Megan chirped at me. She hopped off the bed and held out a tumbler.

“Don’t you want a wine glass?” I asked, holding up a goblet. “It tastes better like this.”

“She doesn’t, actually,” Leda said, getting up and standing in front of me. “Sorry, Stratton, we don’t really feel like company right now.”

I cleared my throat. “Leda,” I replied. “There’s something we should talk about, actually.”

I watched with satisfaction as a blush spread over her face.

“Yeah, Leda, don’t be a bitch,” Megan teased. She sat back down on the bed and scooted into a corner, patting an area with her hand and gesturing to me. “Sit down, Stratton,” she said casually. “We want to hang out with you.”

“This is so lame,” Leda muttered under her breath. “What’s up?”

I settled into my spot on the bed, taking the time to pour a large glass of white wine for myself. I poured a smaller amount in the other two glasses and handed them to Leda and Megan. “You ladies probably have a lower tolerance than I do,” I joked. “I wouldn’t want to be trapped in here with two inebriated women.”

Leda glared at me. “C’mon,” she said. “Just tell us. Or leave, that works too,” she suggested.

Ignoring her, I turned to Megan. “Megan, do you know of our other housemates?”

She laughed. “I don’t think so,” she said slowly.

Leda cut in: “Ethan, Sean, and Scott.” She looked at me with her eyes narrowed. “What’s this about, anyway?”

Enjoying her irritation, I took a long sip of wine. “This is good,” I commented to the girls. Leda’s gray eyes glared at me. “Okay, sorry,” I held up my hands. “I’ll tell you. There’s a rumor that Scott is dealing a drug, Leda.”

Her mouth formed a small ‘o’ of surprise. “Oh, shit,” she replied. “I heard that, too.”

Megan frowned. “Wait, Scott DeBaun? Yeah, he’s a cokehead. Everyone knows that, Stratton.”

I shrugged. “I did not know that,” I said innocently. “Do you think I would have wanted to move in this house? With a felon?”

“It’s not a big deal,” Megan said finally. “A lot of people at UVA do that.”

“That’s not true,” Leda protested. “It’s a really big deal. We could all get arrested if the police raid this house. We could go to jail, Megan.”

Megan shook her head. “That’s totally not going to happen,” she replied. “No one cares enough to report him.”

Leda and I looked at each other. I was surprised not to see the usual venom in her gray eyes. Instead, she looked concerned. Her forehead was creased, and I could see her knuckles turning white as she clutched at a lock of her dark hair. “Thanks for telling us, Stratton,” she said quietly. “I don’t know if we should tell the landlord or what.”

“I do not know either,” I told her. “When I sent my deposit, he said that he was planning to travel all year. It would be difficult to locate him right now.”

“I’ll be right back,” Megan said. She got up and left the room. Leda barely looked after her. Instead, we locked eyes.

“We have to do something,” she said in a low voice. “You’re the only one who’s going to take this seriously.”

“That is why I told you,” I said in a sharp voice. Leda looked away.

“You’re right,” she admitted. “I’m sorry. Thanks for speaking up. We’ll think of something. Is he home right now?”

“I don’t think so,” I said finally. “I was home all day and I was alone until you and Megan arrived.”

Leda got to her feet and brushed her hands off on the thighs of her jeans. She stepped closer, and I could smell her perfume. It was some kind of spicy, musky vanilla-based scent and I closed my eyes. When Leda wasn’t glaring at me, it was hard not to notice how beautiful she really was. Her long dark hair contrasted with her pale skin and made her look ethereal. Her gray eyes were fringed with long, dark lashes. For the first time, I noticed some light freckles dusting her cheekbones. I thought about what it would be like to make love with her; she was so biting that it wasn’t the most natural of thoughts. But seeing her with her guard down was something else. She almost seemed vulnerable, in need of protection. I wondered what had happened that had made her so prickly in the first place. 

“Let’s go check his room,” she said urgently. “Come on.”

I followed Leda down the hallway as she pushed open Scott’s door. “Scott?” I heard her call after we’d entered the room. There was no answer, and she turned to me. “Check the closet,” she said. “I’ll go through his desk.”

I watched as Leda systematically went through the desk drawers, lifting up piles of papers and making disgusted noises as she searched. “Go on,” she encouraged me. “We have to hurry!”

Opening the closet, I parted his clothes and shoved them to the side. “I don’t see anything,” I called over my shoulder. “It just smells like dirty laundry.”

“Ew,” Leda responded. She turned to me. “If you were Scott, where would you hide something?”

I laughed. “Leda,” I said gently. “That sounds ridiculous.” She shook her head and closed her eyes, clearly thinking. I watched as she opened her eyes and then walked over to the nightstand, yanking the drawer open. A look of horror crossed her face and she pulled out a gallon bag full of smaller bags full of white powder.

“Holy shit,” she breathed. “Look at this.”

“Guys!” Megan called from the hallway. “Where did you go?!”

“I’ll be right there!” Leda called. She turned to me and crumpled up the bag in her hands. “Hide this,” she said. “We’ll talk about it when Megan goes home.”

“Okay.” I took the bag from her and stuffed it in the front pocket of my hoodie. A feeling of paranoia washed over me; if anyone found this with my stuff, I’d be on a plane tomorrow. “Leda,” I said slowly, staring her in the eye. She blushed. “Please don’t tell anyone about this right now,” I whispered. “Just figure out something to do. It’s making me nervous.”

Her eyes were big and serious. “I won’t,” she said under her breath. “I promise.”

As I walked back to my room, I realized it was possible that I’d misjudged Leda.