The Return
Page 72

Josie had also noticed.
Every time she picked herself up off the mat, she checked out the group huddled at the door, and her eyes always strayed to Thea. It was hard not to, since the girl was basically fucking me with her eyes.
I was going to have to do something about that.
“You got this,” Luke said, standing in front of Josie. “You almost had it right last time. We’ll do this again, and then you’ve got to run.”
Josie shifted her gaze to mine. “Running sucks.”
“I’ll run with you,” I told her.
Luke patted her shoulder. “So will I.”
“Yay. Can we all hold hands while we run?” she asked.
I snorted. “Let’s pass on that.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Deacon chimed in. “I’d even run with you guys if we all hold hands.”
Luke shot him a look before he stepped back from Josie, and I moved a few feet behind her, mentally bracing myself to watch Josie turn herself into a living, breathing bruise.
She shook out her shoulders. “Ready.”
The half shot forward, hitting her in the shoulders, and she took the jarring knock like a champ. Her hips were in the right position, but her neck and shoulders weren’t, and I knew, when she hit the floor, it was going to sting like a bitch.
I didn’t stop to think.
Springing forward, I caught her at the waist before she slammed into the unforgiving mat for literally what had to be the hundredth time that day.
A slight grunt came out of her and her eyes popped wide. “Seth,” she gasped, gripping my arms as I righted her.
My gaze met Luke’s questioning stare, and I quickly looked away. “She wasn’t going to land right. No point in letting her break her back.”
“Good point.” Luke folded his arms as one eyebrow climbed up. “I guess we call it a day and run.”
“Sounds good to me.”
A half-smile appeared on his face. “I think you need to let her go first, though.”
Frowning, I looked down. Josie was staring up at me, the hollows of her cheeks pink. My arms were around her like I was a rubber band. I let go of her so fast that she stumbled and I had to catch her again. This time I didn’t hold on.
Deacon chuckled.
I sent him a look that said I was more than willing to light his ass up, and all he did was grin at me. I was losing my touch.
We started toward the door to take our run outside. The group scattered like cockroaches. All except a few—one of them being Thea.
She sauntered right between Luke and me, causing me to draw up short. A body—Josie—bounced into my back and there was a muffled curse from her.
I sighed.
Thea was beautiful. There was no way around that. Stunning face and a body that could grace a Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. And she was a nice girl. She liked to have fun, especially my kind of fun, but the perfect face and body weren’t doing anything for me.
She smiled, flashing straight ultra-white teeth. “Hey.”
Josie bumped into me as she stepped around, eyeing Thea. I fought the urge to smile or outright laugh. “Hi, Thea.”
Catching the end of her braid with long fingers, she tilted her hips to the side. “I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight.”
If doing something meant sitting out in the cold like a jackass, then yes. “Yeah, I’m kind of busy tonight.”
She pouted, but the light in her jewel-green eyes didn’t dim. “Maybe another time.”
I forced a smile, but didn’t respond as I edged around her. Josie was staring at the floor, the skin white around her lush lips. I started toward her, to do what, I didn’t know, but I stopped myself before I looked like a complete fucker.
Deacon arched a brow, murmured something about getting food, and bounced away.
The running didn’t suck as bad as the training did, but by the time we had circled the campus once, which was pushing two and a half miles, I was sure Josie was going to keel over and die, and I let Luke drag her off to fuel up. The chicken-salad sandwich she’d eaten for lunch must have completely burned off by this point.
I headed over to the med building, grabbed what I needed, and came back out just as the sky was darkening to dusk. I’d taken maybe two steps when I felt a nerve-grating intensity aimed my direction.
Turning around, my eyes searched the thickening shadows. I immediately found the source.
Alexander was several feet back, eyes on me. Nothing about his expression was friendly. My fingers curled around the jar I’d picked up in the med building. I waited for him to approach me, to do whatever it was that he wanted to do, which probably was a lot.
A full minute passed, and then Alexander pivoted on his heel and disappeared into the shadows. I stood there for a moment, feeling oddly hollow. It wasn’t like I wanted a confrontation with the man, but in a weird, twisted kind of way, I wanted him to do whatever it was that he felt he had to do. Hit me? Try to kick my ass? I wouldn’t stop him.
The jar suddenly felt heavy in my hand, and I lifted it, thinking of its purpose. Standing here all emo-like wasn’t going to get anything accomplished.
Back in my dorm, I took a quick shower, changed into whatever was nearby, and then grabbed the jar. Maybe a half-hour had passed by the time I exited the room, took a step, and was in front of another door.
I rapped my knuckles on the door, and then waited.
A few moments passed before the door swung open and there she was, freshly showered. Damp hair stuck to her cheeks and shoulders. She still sucked at drying off, and I still wasn’t complaining, because the shirt she wore clung in the best possible places, like across her belly and between the swell of her breasts. And what lovely breasts they were.