Bryce leaned against my headboard, shirtless, with an empty beer beside him.

ESPN was on my flat-screen.

I shut off the lights and shimmied out of my jeans and sweatshirt. I crawled underneath the covers and felt Bryce pull me into his arms. I could smell my mint toothpaste on his breath.

“Who was that girl?” he asked.

“That was Steele’s little sister. She started at our school today and asked to be my friend.” I still felt weird about the whole thing.

“That’s the girl that Corrigan wants to bag?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think he knows how protective Denton is of his little sister.” I turned over and grinned up at Bryce as he looked at me.

“It’s kinda freaky,” he frowned.

“What is?” I slid a leg up and nestled it between his.

“That dude was here before and she showed up tonight. That’s what’s freaky.”

“They’re just…I don’t know. Messed up or something. He cares about his sister and she’s trying to have a life. I can relate.”

“You can?”

“No. Not really, but I think it’s sweet.”

“Because you haven’t had that,” Bryce bit out.

I slid my hand around his neck, but we both swore when his phone rang.

Bryce reached over me to grab it and cursed swiftly before he flipped it open. He sat up and murmured, “Yeah, mom?” He yawned a replied, “No. No. I’m at Corrigan’s house. We were watching the game. It’s still on.”

A second later he closed his phone and placed it on my bedside table.

Since he was up there, I shifted smoothly underneath him and wrapped my legs around his waist.

Startled, Bryce shifted more comfortably, but bent and kissed my chin, then my cheek, lips.

He finished under my ear and I moaned.

CHAPTER SIX

I woke and instantly knew Bryce wasn’t beside me. I knew that without feeling for him or opening my eyes. He rarely was. Whenever he did sleep over, he was the first up and he rarely woke me for a morning round.

It was just something weird about us. We didn’t do the morning quickie.

What he had done, though, was left my bedroom door open.

That was another thing about Bryce. He liked to leave my bedroom open. He told me once that it was because my room got unbearably stuffy, but I didn’t mind.

When I got up to close the door, I was surprised when I saw Bryce walk back in and pull his shirt over his head. I sat back and watched as he tugged it down to cover his chest.

I whistled appreciatively.

Bryce ignored me and shuffled some things underneath my bed until he emerged with a pair of men’s sandals.

“What are those doing under there?” I asked as I fell onto the bed.

Bryce fitted a belt around his waist and replied, distracted, “I dropped them down there awhile ago. It’s going to be seriously hot today.”

“I thought you were home.”

“I’m going, but these are my favorite pair and since I remembered they were down there…” He looked up and raked his eyes up and down my figure.

My sweatshirt had ridden up and a wide amount of skin showed.

I didn’t move to cover up.

“So what are you thinking about Corrigan’s new girl from last night?” Bryce turned away and leaned against the wall.

What’d I say? No morning quickies for us. Someday I might ask why that was, but not today.

I grinned slyly and sat up. I removed my sweatshirt and scooted up in bed, knowing that my pajama bottoms would get caught against my bedcovers. My movement would pull them down further. And they did.

Bryce noticed too.

“I think it’s pathetic,” I said flatly, but I grinned slyly as I watched Bryce watch me.

“She’s cute. What are you pissed about?” His eyes lingered at my hipbone where my thong peeked out.

“I’m not. I’m a little tired of watching Corrigan roll over those girls, though. They let him do anything to them.”

Bryce swallowed slowly. He watched as I wiggled further up and my pants wiggled further down.

“You let me do anything to you,” he said huskily. “And you haven’t even met her.”

“I don’t have to meet her to know she’s just like all the others,” I said evenly.

“And I don’t pant after you and I don’t pin my heart on my sleeve.” Here we go, a conversation about the two of us was now on the table. The game was over.

His eyes whipped to mine and stayed there.

I sighed and stood. I moved to the closet and grabbed some clothes.

“What’s your problem?” Bryce asked as he moved to the doorframe. He watched me strip down and step into the shower.

Over the water, I said, “Nothing. I’m just kinda tired of having to be nice to those girls. They’re around for, like, two minutes and then he’s got another girl over.” If he wasn’t going to say anything about ‘us’, then two could play at that.

“Are you serious? You’re actually mad that Corrigan plays these girls?”

“No,” I said tightly and finished rinsing my hair. I held Bryce’s eyes and knew we thought the same thing. Bryce played the same games, but he played them when I wasn’t around. And I did my own thing.

Bryce sighed and moved from the doorway. When I dressed in my bedroom, I heard the front door slam shut.

I wasn’t planning on going to school, but I’d already gotten dressed so I figured…

Outside, just as I climbed into my car, I braked suddenly. Mena stood on her house’s patio with a blank stare on her face. That was odd. I frowned, but reversed and drove to school. I wasn’t about to put much thought into Mena’s life when I barely thought about my own.

When I walked into school, I saw a group of guys surrounding Bryce at his locker. He was turned with his head bent as he listened to whatever Chet was saying.

Corrigan stood on the outskirts with a girl with dark brown hair that fell to her waist. She was short, but had exotic eyes. They glowed when she looked at Corrigan, but she still looked awkward.

My guess, this was the girl from last night. And I smirked when I saw that Becky Lew stood on his other side, just behind him. Becky chatted with her friends while New Girl glanced self-consciously around. She hugged her books to her chest and averted her eyes when they trailed and met mine.