The Pledge (13 page)

Chapter Twelve

ALEC

As Taren walked away, irritation raked along my nerves. She acted like our last interaction had never happened, and it pissed me off. She’d almost ended up as some dude’s hood ornament, for Christ’s sake. A simple thank you wasn’t too much to ask.

I fisted my hands at my sides. Taren had claws. She’d finally learned how to fight back, and I didn’t like it one bit. The Taren who had just insulted me and my friends wasn’t the Taren I knew. She’d never been outright cruel to anyone before. Even if she still hated me, I couldn’t believe she would act that way.

Amanda came to stand next to me as I watched Taren and her friends enter Denton hall. “Who was that?”

I turned away, shrugging. “Just someone who went to my high school.” Confessing her name would only make things worse. Amanda would make the connection. She wouldn’t have forgotten what I moaned the other night.

Amanda didn’t press the matter, and as our impromptu gathering broke up and people started leaving, I shoved away my thoughts about Taren.

“I’m gonna head out.” Maureen stood up from the curb and brushed her pants off.

Amanda bent over to pick up her jacket before slipping her arms into the sleeves. “Since you’re my ride, I guess I’m going, too.”

“See you girls at practice,” Caz called out to them, not breaking his rhythm as he and Jon tossed juggling clubs back and forth.

“Come on.” I shoved my hands in my pockets. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

“That’s so nice of you, Alec.” Amanda pressed close to me, grabbing my hand and pulling my arm over her shoulder.

Maureen rolled her eyes at Amanda. “You really don’t have to, Alec. It’s not that far.”

“Yes he does!” Caz hollered. “Hart has a hero complex. Let him protect your virtue, Maureen.”

“What about mine?” Amanda yelled in mock anger.

Caz laughed, flicking the pin behind his back in a difficult move before tossing it to Jon. “That’s just a lost cause, sweetheart.”

“You’re a prick, Caz.”

“I love when you talk dirty, Amanda.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, and they were still calling insults out to each other as we walked to the overflow parking lot.

“Your handstand is getting so much better.” Amanda leaned her head on my shoulder and looked up at me. “I knew you’d win. You’re a natural.”

When we reached the car, she turned to face me. Her fingers traced along the muscles of my chest. “You want to come back to my place for a bit?”

I cleared my throat and reached up to scratch my chin.
I should say yes. Why didn’t I want to say yes?

“I can’t. Coach called an early lacrosse practice tomorrow.” I offered Amanda a small shrug and then reached behind her to open the passenger side door. She took the opportunity to lean in and press her lips against mine. She slipped a hand behind my neck and tried to deepen the kiss. I ran my tongue across the seam of her lips and kissed her back.

Nothing.
Not even a twitch in my pants. What the hell was wrong with me? Amanda was hot. She was a sure thing, even she admitted that. I should be jumping at the chance to...jump that.

I pulled away, giving her an apologetic smile as I opened the car door wider. “Maureen’s waiting.”

Amanda pouted, but then slid into the seat. Her eyebrows pulled into confusion as she stared at me. I was confused, too. Lacrosse practice was a shit excuse, but it was better than giving her an even worse one—that I didn’t want to go back with her.

“I’ll see you guys at practice.” I waved and then tucked my hands in my pockets, backing away as Maureen turned the car on and pulled out of the space.

Why did I turn Amanda down?

Jon and Caz were gone by the time I made it back to Denton. Fine by me. I was exhausted and bed sounded pretty damn good. Walking past the shuttle stop, I tripped over something on the ground. I bent over to see a small wallet attached to a lanyard.

That sucks. Whoever lost this wouldn’t be able to do shit on campus without their ID. I opened up the wallet and groaned.
Fucking hell.
Why couldn’t I catch a break? The smiling face on the card belonged to none other than Taren Richards.

***

I paused, my hand in a fist, before knocking on her dorm room door. If I hung the wallet on the doorknob, I could save myself the aggravation of having to talk to her. I looped the lanyard over the handle just as I realized her room key was attached.

Fuck.
Leaving her ID and key outside her room was like a personal invitation to any drunk, horny, loser to waltz on in. She and her roommate would end up being a statistic on some university police report. I took a deep breath and then released it, shaking my head. Might as well do the right thing and face the shrew like a man. Besides, it was time to call a truce.

My fist rapped on the door twice, and the sound echoed down the hall.

“No, Jules. I already told you I don’t want to watch that gross porn with you again. Once was enough.” The door swung open, and Taren stood in front of me wearing nothing but a smile and a towel.

And just like that I had a fucking woody.

“Tell her I don’t want her using her vibrator as a flashlight either!” A voice called out from behind Taren.

My gaze took all of two nanoseconds to scan every inch of Taren’s wet, naked skin. She was wrapped in a small white towel that barely covered her ass and her hair was hanging down her back, wet and dripping. Motherfucking dripping down her body.

Iron. Clad. Wood.

“Uhhhh…”
Jesus.
My voice sounded like I was having sex with her. Which come to think of it...

“Alec!” Taren screamed and slammed the door in my face.

Christ.
Get it together, fuckface. So what if she was naked and wet and…naked?

“What are you doing here?” Taren barked from behind the door.

I huffed out a breath and looked at the ceiling. Of course this wouldn’t be easy. “Open the door, Taren.”

“No. Why won’t you just leave me alone?”

I fisted my hands. Why did she have to make this so difficult?

“I want to talk to you.” My voice was low and demanding, which probably wasn’t the best way to get her to cooperate.

“No. I have nothing to say to you, Alec. At least nothing that’s nice. Go away.”

I closed my eyes and rubbed the back of my neck.
Pain in my ass
. “You could say thank you since I found your wallet.”

The door slowly opened, and Taren peered out from around the edge. She looked down and saw her wallet in my hand. “Oh.”

As she reached for it, I pulled my hand behind my back. “Can we talk?”

She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. After a few seconds she held up her index finger, and I was glad she chose that digit instead of the one she probably wanted to use. She shut the door, and I heard muffled voices from behind it.

A moment later, a pretty blonde opened the door, glaring at me. “Come in.” She motioned me in with her hand. She turned to Taren. “I’m gonna shower, but if you need anything, just scream.” Her roommate gave me a pointed look and then grabbed a towel before leaving the room.

Taren stood next to her bed, hands clasped together. She’d gotten rid of the towel and was wearing shorts and a tank top. A very tiny, very thin tank top.

I swallowed loudly. “Look, I don’t want to keep having these uncomfortable run-ins on campus.” I watched her as she stared at the wall across the room.

Her eyes met mine. “Why can’t we just pretend we don’t know each other?” She crossed her arms over her chest, and her breasts rose high under her tank.

Never. Ending. Woody.

“Pretending we don’t know each other is awkward as shit.” I crossed my arms and tried to avoid staring at her chest.

“Yeah, well so is getting humiliated in front of the entire school. Get used to it.” Her hip was cocked to the side and her eyes blazed with confidence.

I held her gaze and neither one of us blinked as we glared at each other. “Look, I feel like an ass for what I did at the bonfire. But it’s not like you’re completely innocent either.”

She tilted her head, and her forehead wrinkled. “I know you wanted to win the scholarship. So did I. We both worked hard on that project and deserved to win. You can’t blame me for a decision someone else made.” She stood up straighter, hands now planted on her hips, eyes flaring. With her chest jutted out in defiance, it was clear she wasn’t wearing a bra.

Even my frustration couldn’t subdue the way my dick twitched at the sight of her nipples poking through the thin fabric. Which only pissed me off more. Those tits belonged to a self-righteous harpy. My dick was a goddamn idiot.

I took a step toward Taren and narrowed my eyes. “I’m not talking about the scholarship.” The hard edge of my voice made her flinch. “How about when you ratted out the hotel party? My father made my senior year a living hell for that.”

“Are you serious?” She placed both her hands on my chest and pushed hard. I didn’t move an inch, but a burn started to build inside me. Realizing she couldn’t move me, she raised herself on her tiptoes and got in my face. “I never turned you in, Alec. The party was so loud the other hotel guests probably called security. I might have been a geek or a nerd or a goody-two-shoes, or whatever else you and your asshole friends called me, but I was never a snitch. I’m disgusted that you thought I was even capable of that.”

She grabbed her wallet out of my hand and tossed it on the desk before stalking over to her bed. She yanked clothes from the laundry basket, folding them with vicious motions. “Thanks for bringing my wallet back. Hopefully we won’t have any more awkward run-ins. If you see me, just turn the other way, and I’ll do the same.” She folded her shirt into something that resembled a wadded up napkin and slammed it down on the top of her bed.

I watched her attempt to fold a few more things. “You didn’t turn me in?” My voice was rough. Regret was like a fucking boulder on my chest. All this time I hated her for a mistake I had made.

Her laugh was bitter as she turned around to glare at me. “Oh my god. Why are you still here?” When I didn’t answer, she shook her head. “And why do I keep letting you hurt me?” she said under her breath.

“I never wanted to hurt you.” I held my hands uselessly out to my sides.

“But you did.” She looked like she was going to cry, and she crossed her arms again, her fingers gripping her biceps. “I thought we were friends.”

“We were.” My voice was firm and sincere.

Her laugh was full of scorn. “Yeah. As long as no one knew about it.”

“I’m so fucking sorry.” I walked toward her and placed both hands on her shoulders. I expected her to pull away and was grateful when she didn’t. I bent my knees to meet her gaze, and I wondered if I sounded as guilty as I felt. “For everything.”

She shuddered and took a deep ragged breath.

I gripped her shoulders tighter. “I wish I could take it all back.”

Taren blinked quickly and then uncrossed her arms, her hands fidgeting together. “Me too.”

“So what do I have to do to get off your shit list?” I grinned, forcing my hands to let go of her.

She sighed and then shrugged, a timid smile finding its way onto her lips. “Well, you
did
save my life.”

“Twice,” I reminded her, nodding toward the wallet she’d tossed on the desk. “One look at your picture and some douche would have been letting himself into your room later tonight.”

Taren’s eyes widened as the reality of the situation finally hit her.

“Oh…wow,” she whispered, wringing her fingers together and looking between me and the wallet. “I didn’t even think…Alexis could have been hurt.” She stepped close to me and wrapped her tiny arms around my back, resting the side of her face against my chest. “Thank you for returning my wallet even though I was a total bitch outside.” She squeezed tightly, pressing every part of her body against mine. My arms fell around her, accepting the impromptu hug.

Fuck.
She’d know what she was doing to me in three, two…

“Oh.” She gasped and pulled back.

I reached up and ran my hand through my hair. She was hot. Couldn’t be helped. Besides, she started it.

Taren cleared her throat and extended her hand. “Friends?” She tucked some hair behind her ear, trying not to laugh.

I nodded and shook her hand. “Sounds good,” came out of my mouth, but the words in my head were
for now
.

***

“Dude!” Caz yelled as I threw another perfect barani. “That was awesome. Now you have to do a full.”

I laughed. “I just learned this. I’m not ready for a full twist.”

“It’s easy.” Caz thought everything was easy. His judgment could rarely be trusted.

“The landing is blind,” I said, stepping off the mat. “I don’t like that.”

“Come on,” Caz said. “You’re ready for the full. Do it.” He grinned and I could see the wheels of mayhem turning in his head. “Or else.”