“Luke is the ringleader, I guess. What he says goes.”

“But what about your brother?” Zara asked. “Doesn’t he stick up for you?”

I sighed. “No…That’s its own story entirely.”

Definitely didn’t want to get into that right now. Or ever. I was still hoping Derek would come to his senses and end things with Jillian. As it was, I couldn’t look either of them in the eye.

“Anyway,” I said, “if you know anyone who needs a roommate, let me know. I would legitimately consider it. It’s pretty brutal at home.”

Noelle grinned. “Good thing you’ve got Chase to distract you.”

Now it was my turn to blush. “We’re just friends.”

I think.

19. anything you want

CHAPTER 19

ANYTHING YOU WANT

Bailey

The volleyball game ended with Callingwood winning three-two. In theory, a close score like that should have made for an exciting match. In reality, I had no idea what happened. I took notes, but I’d done it in some kind of bizarre autopilot mode. The conscious, thinking part of my brain was stuck on the fact that Chase was picking me up. I was trapped in an emotional loop that cycled through excitement, fear, uncertainty, and lust, changing as often as the colors on a string of blinking Christmas lights. Torn between wanting to throw myself at Chase and wanting to run the other way. Half-tempted to kiss him to see what happened, but also fairly convinced that was a terrible idea. Worse still, not sure whether I cared if it was.

In other words, I was a mess.

Chase was already waiting in the loading zone as I navigated the crowd of spectators exiting through the glass arena doors. I climbed into his truck and buckled my seat belt. The kiss idea jumped up a few notches in my mind the second I got a good look at him. But if he wanted to kiss me again, wouldn’t he have done it already? He’d had ample opportunity.

My attention fell to his phone. It was lying in the center console, notifications going wild. The ringer was on silent, but the screen lit up with messages every few seconds.

Right.

I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Chase glanced down as he put his hand on the gearshift but paused and pulled it away before putting the truck in drive. “For fuck’s sake.” He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Do you mind if I respond to Ward so he leaves me the fuck alone about this fantasy hockey trade? He sent me an offer that expires in an hour, and now he’s texting me with a countdown every three minutes. Dick.”

A tiny stab of guilt pricked at me for assuming the worst about him.

“Sure,” I said. “Go ahead.”

“Pretty sure he’s already a little drunk,” Chase added. “He’s not normally this high maintenance.”