Reese

 

Running back into the house had been the plan.

Stumbling through the grass in my heeled ankle boots was the reality.

My mind desperately wanted to sober up, but my body hadn’t gotten the memo.

Vaughn sprinted inside to find the guys, particularly Cam. It was his house, after all, and I’m sure he didn’t want it destroyed in some West Side Story-esque brawl. I found Gemma playing cups with Jesse and some of the guys. Syd stood nearby in a corner talking with Boyd, looking happier and more carefree than I’d seen her in a long time. I walked over to them with a grave expression.

“Some guys from BelV just showed up,” I said to Boyd, trying my best not to slur my words. My head was still spinning.

His face hardened in understanding. “Where’s Cam?”

“I don’t know.”

“What’s going on?” Syd asked, worry filling her eyes.

“Hopefully nothing. Stay here,” he told her. “I’ll be right back.”

Syd grabbed my hands after he took off, gathering Shane and Clark as he passed them. “Reese, explain.”

I couldn’t see Trey or Cam from where we stood. “Guys from BelV being here is not good.”

“Why not?” she asked. “Half of all the parties are mixed with NCU and BelV people. It’s not that big a deal.”

It was true that off-campus parties usually saw a number of students from both schools, since our campuses were so close to each other. It was actually hard to avoid. Most student apartment complexes around the area had occupants from both universities. Even though our schools were rivals, this type of thing usually wasn’t a huge problem.

Usually.

“It is with these guys,” I said, having to lean on her when I suddenly felt dizzy. “The basketball teams hate each other. Cam and the BelV point guard can’t even be in the same room together without fighting, which is why this is a very big deal.”

Her eyes widened in recognition. “Are you talking about the whole Cam versus Trey rivalry I’ve seen all over TV?” I nodded. “I figured that was all made up. Or at least exaggerated for the public. Like wrestling.”

“Oh, no. It’s very real. They’ve got bad history between them. I have no idea why the hell he’s even here.”

Gemma was suddenly at our sides. “Did you hear that Trey Warren is here?”

“Yeah, did you see him?” I asked, searching the room. “Or Cam?”

She shook her head. “No. Boyd just came by to tell Jesse and they ran off together to go find him.”

Great. Both of these guys were MIA. I hoped that didn’t mean they’d already snuck off somewhere to go kill each other.

That was when, at the worst possible time, I realized how full my bladder was. The last thing I wanted was to be in the bathroom when the shit hit the fan. Er—wrong phrasing. But I was not going to be able to hold it.

“I have to pee,” I told them. “Don’t move. I’ll be quick.”

I squeezed my way through the rooms, heading for the hallway where the bathroom was. Of course, the line was a mile long and that wasn’t going to work. I hadn’t gone upstairs at the last party, but there was surely a bathroom up there. I was about to head up the stairs when someone stepped in my way in a flurry of blond hair and overpowering perfume.

Rachel.

Oh, this I can’t handle right now.

“So, you’re screwing Cam now, huh?” she asked knowingly, smacking her gum like a 90s Valley girl.

With every ounce of effort I had, I forced my brain to think clearly. “Excuse me?”

She examined her nails as if I were nothing more than a servant who was late delivering her glass of lemonade. “Please. You don’t have to deny it. I saw him walk out of the training room that one day looking all pleased with himself. You know how I know that look?”

I straightened a little so I was closer to her eye level. The freaking stilettos she had on gave her a slight advantage over me.

“None of this is any of your damn business.”

“I know because he used to give me that look,” she hissed like a venomous snake. “I know what he looks like when he gets done banging a girl because I’ve seen it firsthand. And believe me, honey, you don’t have what it takes to keep him interested for long.”

Some of the drunken fog was beginning to clear. “I guess you’d know that firsthand, too, since he never came crawling back to you, huh?”

Her lips thinned. “Oh, he will. You don’t know him like I do. You think you can keep him happy when he makes it to the NBA? You don’t know this life. I’m much more realistic about what it takes to be with someone like Cam. I’d keep him satisfied, while you’d drive him crazy. You might as well cut your losses now.”

I lied. The fog was back. Which was to blame for my next brilliant comeback.

“You know, if I wrote a musical about you I’d call it “Weeny Twat: The Demon Whore of Hooker Street.”

I mentally patted myself on the back for that one.

She just gave me a blank stare.

I threw my hands up, outraged. “Ugh, this is so frustrating! You don’t even understand my insults. What a waste!”

I teetered on my boots a little, catching myself against the wall. Her eyes raked over me in disgust. “Cam might drop you even sooner than I thought he would. Yay for me.”

That did it.

I threw on my meanest face, but I think all that ended up happening was a lot of squinting. “Listen to me, you little Heidi Montag wannabe. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from Cam. He doesn’t want you and I know he’s told you that more than once. I understand it’s hard for you, but try to show a little class.”

She didn’t look in the least bit perturbed. “And what if I don’t?”

I think my glare came off a little more intimidating this time. “I’ve broken three different noses in three different fights in my life. So, if you don’t want your sniffer there fucked up to hell and back, I suggest never speaking to him again.”

I must have pulled off the threat successfully because she stared at me for maybe two seconds before scampering away like a rat abandoning a sinking ship.

“Bitch.”

Still drunk but feeling better about myself, I turned back for the stairs. I still really had to pee. That’s when my eyes caught on Cam’s hulking figure standing off in the corner of the dining room, surrounded by half his teammates. They looked to be in deep, angry discussion if Cam’s expression was anything to go by. Not sure why, but I decided to sneak around and eavesdrop on their conversation. I was still kind of pissed at him, but I wanted to know what was going on.

“The game is on Monday, man,” I heard Jesse say. “You get in a fight tonight and you’ll be benched, if not suspended from the rest of the damn tournament.”

“Fuck that,” Colt spat. “They showed up in our house, looking for a fight. I say we give them one. We aren’t putting up with this shit. They knew what would happen if they showed up here tonight.”

“I agree,” this from Boyd, “but we can’t go off half-cocked and ruin our chances in the tournament.”

Cam finally spoke. “Look, we’re just going to politely tell them to get the hell out of here. And if they don’t,” he cracked his knuckles, “we stop being polite.”

Shit. This didn’t sound good. It wasn’t just the game they needed to be worried about. They could get seriously hurt and then it wouldn’t even matter if they were benched or not. And what about Cam’s knee? He should be taking it easy right now. Was he even thinking about that?

I could not prolong the bathroom trip any longer. Once again, I made my way for the stairs.

“Reese!” Cam called.

Apparently, I needed to work on my stealth skills.

Dammit. I wasn’t ready to face him yet.

Regardless, I put on a brave face as he approached. “Yes?”

His gaze swept down me, focusing on my eyes. “Are you drunk?”

I used my hand to prop myself up on the banister. “I may have imbibed a teensy little bit.”

He glanced up the stairs. “Where were you going?”

“I need to use the bathroom, and the one down here has, like, an hour wait limit.”

“Come right back down here when you’re finished.”

It was irrational, but my pride reacted a bit at being bossed around. “I wasn’t aware I had to take orders from you.”

“Reese,” he said in warning, backing me up against the railing. This put our bodies very close together, but no one around us was paying any attention. “Shit might be about to go down and I want you close where I can see you. Warren is going to come looking for me at some point. Until then, I don’t want him stumbling upon you.”

There was no arguing with that tone.

I laid my hand on his arm, imploring him to see reason. At least, what sounded reasonable to my alcohol-riddled brain. “You need to be careful. You know he’s wanting you to go after him so you’ll get into trouble.”

“I don’t care,” he said gruffly. “I won’t tolerate this shit anymore. It has to end now.”

That ominous threat escalated my worry.

Our earlier argument was now long forgotten. The situation had changed, and I didn’t give a crap about my hurt feelings anymore. My chief concern was getting him out of there without having to call an ambulance.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” I said softly. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

He looked like he wanted to lean close and kiss me and damn, I would have gladly let him. But he didn’t. He just gazed at my mouth longingly and stepped away.

“Cam!” Jesse called from the corner, crooking his finger in our direction.

Cam tipped his chin and glanced back at me one more time before re-joining his guys.

It was a miracle I made it up those stairs without breaking my neck because I swear the heel on my boots was getting thinner and thinner. The bathroom was the second door on the left at the top of the stairs. I locked it behind me, thanking the universe that it was mostly clean. That didn’t stop me from giving the seat a thorough wipe down before I did my business. Knowing I needed to get back downstairs, I quickly finished up and did a cursory check in the mirror. At least I didn’t look as drunk as I felt.

I unlocked and opened the door…and was blocked by a wall. No, that couldn’t be right. There hadn’t been a wall here when I walked in. I raised my head and found myself trapped in the gaze of two dark eyes. Below those eyes was an evil smirk, one I definitely recognized.

Oh, shit. Trey.

Cam’s warning echoed in my ears. I don’t want him stumbling upon you.

I had to get out of there.

“Hello, Reese,” he rasped.

I didn’t even attempt conversation. I tried to push past him with all my might, but the guy was six and a half feet tall with arms as wide as my neck. I was shoved back into the room with ease. He followed me with a menacing expression and locked the door behind him.

I sobered up in about half a second.

Crazy how scary situations will do that to you.

Fear crawled up my spine as memories of our last encounter at a party assaulted me. He hadn’t taken a hint when I was fifteen, and me pushing him away had infuriated him. Would he try to finish the job he started all those years ago? Was he truly that awful of a person?

Something told me he was certainly capable of it.

“What are you doing, Trey?”

I backed as far away as I could, until the backs of my legs hit the bathtub. Getting past him to the door would not be an easy feat. I wasn’t even sure anyone would hear me scream over the pounding base downstairs.

“Making up for lost time,” he said, taking another step toward me, his gait unsteady.

He was definitely drunk. And judging by his bloodshot eyes, he was probably under the influence of something other than just alcohol. This kept getting worse and worse.

“Whatever you’re thinking you need to stop right now,” I warned.  “Don’t do something you’re going to regret.”

He scowled, his eyes trailing me up and down. “I’m pretty sure I won’t regret this.”

I thrust my arm out when he started to reach for me. “You do this, Trey, and your basketball career is over. No NBA team will want you when a story like this gets out.”

His eyes narrowed. “Which is why you won’t tell anyone. Otherwise, I can make this much worse for you than it needs to be.”

He really was deranged.

He swatted my arm away, and out of panic, I switched tactics.

“Cam told me how you two used to be friends,” I rushed out. “He said you used to be a good person, but your dad was always really hard on you. You don’t have to be this person. You can be better than this.”

He stopped cold and his shoulders tensed. “Did that prick also tell you how his old man abandoned my father when he needed him most? Did he tell you about him leaving my dad high and dry, which caused him to start drinking? Did he tell you about how his parents disowning us broke up my fucking family? No! He wouldn’t tell you that, would he? Because Cam Donovan is a goddamn saint! Mr. Golden Boy who can do no wrong!”

Clearly, it was a bad idea to bring up his family. I saw that now. Gracias, tequila.

If Cam looked at me the way Trey was looking at me now, I would have thought it sexy and probably would have been turned on. Because I knew he would never, ever hurt me. But the lewd way Trey zeroed in on the sliver of skin above my jeans made my skin itch.

“Now, he’s gone after something he knew I wanted.” He tried placing his hands on my hips, but I slapped them away. This only made his hands return with a much tighter grip. That’s going to bruise. “And since he always gets whatever he wants, he got it. Didn’t he, Reese? He got inside this pussy of yours. You refused me, yet you become his whore.”

I don’t even know where it came from. The bottom of all those Solo cups, I guess.

My hand flew out of its own volition and smacked against his cheek with a loud crack. All was silent in the room before I found my wits.

“I’m nobody’s whore, you asshole.”

He slowly swiveled his head back to me, sheer malevolence etched in his features. I swallowed thickly, desperately clinging on to the courage I had just seconds before.

“I see you’re still the same bitch you were when you were fifteen,” he snarled. “It kind of turns me on, though. You always had fight in you, and I never could resist a challenge.”

Before I could react, he grasped me by the arms and yanked me to him, his mouth stamping over mine in a bruising kiss. It had nothing to do with desire or lust. With him, it was only ever about power and control. It all made sense now why he’d been after me these last few months. Somehow, he knew that Cam liked me, and he hated knowing that Cam had yet another thing he’d never have.

But all that was the least of my problems.

I ripped my mouth away but was still trapped against his hard chest. “Get off of me!”

There was no talking to him now. His mouth was at my neck, biting down and making my eyes water. He roughly pulled my head back by my hair, exposing more of my neck to his brutal onslaught. I thrashed in his arms, doing everything I could to scratch or bite him, but he had my arms locked to my sides. I tried kicking his shin, his foot, his balls, anywhere, but it was no use. He had me pinned too tightly.

“Trey, stop! I said get off!

His punishing hold on my arms was almost too painful.

“Shut up and accept that this is going to happen.”

That gave me an idea. When nothing else worked, I did the only thing I could think of that might loosen his hold and offer me escape.

It made me want to vomit, but I relaxed my muscles, going almost limp as I brought my mouth to his neck and slowly kissed his skin. His body stilled as I trailed more kisses up to his jawline. I knew I had him when he released a low groan and eased his hold on me. Just a little more…

I sucked on his earlobe and bit down. Hard.

It shocked him enough that he jolted back, giving me enough room to lift my knee up to his groin. Unfortunately, I missed his junk, but I hit a sensitive enough spot that he doubled over and sucked in sharp breaths.

“Fuck!”

I jumped around him and lunged for the door. Just when I had my hand on the knob, he grabbed the back of my sweater and pulled hard. I heard the distinct sound of the material ripping as I struggled to get free. As I twisted around, my boots slid on the tiled floor, sending me crashing to the ground. I hit my head on the door as my ass landed on the cold tiles, but I didn’t stop moving. Or shouting.

“Let go, you bastard!”

He must have still been in pain because he was on his knees, struggling to move, but his hand kept its hold on my sweater, ripping more of the garment with every move I made. Finally, I was able to angle my body to where I could land a good kick right on his outstretched arm with the heel of my boot.

“Goddammit!”

His arm instantly retracted and I scrambled to my feet. With my heart racing, I quickly turned the lock and bolted out the door, praying he wasn’t right behind me. Drunkenness forgotten, I flew down the stairs, my ears alert for the sound of heavy footsteps following. When I reached the landing, I searched frantically for Cam.

I didn’t have to search long.

He stood in the middle of the living room, arms at his sides, gazing at me in complete shock. His mouth agape, he inspected me from head to toe, his eyes darkening with rage when they saw the bottom of my sweater ripped from back to front. I didn’t think I was crying, but I’m sure my hair was a mess and I probably had the deer-in-headlights look as I realized everyone in the room was staring at me. The guys stood at Cam’s back, looking almost as enraged as he.

Cam’s hands formed fists, his knuckles turning white, as he returned his gaze to my face. He didn’t say a word but his eyes were filled with both raw fury and insurmountable pain. I opened my mouth to speak when I heard those footsteps coming slowly down the stairs.

Trey.

I spotted Gemma and Syd make their way to the front of the crowd near the group of guys, and I went straight for them.

“Oh my God, Reese, what happened?” Syd asked, hugging me to her.

“Are you okay?” This from Gemma.

“I’m all right,” was all I could say.

I met Cam’s eyes again after they tracked me across the room and tried to reassure him that I really was okay. I had a feeling it was no use, though. The damage, so to speak, had been done.

That’s when Trey entered the room.

Dozens of eyes turned to him, then back to me, putting two and two together. The music even cut off at that point, casting a sinister mood over the room. Shit. I really didn’t like everyone seeing me like this. I didn’t need or want the attention or their sympathy. Or God forbid, their pity.

Cam faced off with Trey, looking more threatening than I’d ever seen him. “Oh, you motherfucker. You touched her?”

Trey didn’t back down. He just smirked and licked his lips. “She tastes pretty sweet, doesn’t she?”

Cam exploded.

“You’re fucking dead.”

With a viscous growl, he attacked, landing his first punch right across Trey’s jaw. He threw a second one with his left fist before Trey reacted, tackling him to the floor. They became a blur of cocked elbows and flying fists as they rolled around taking as many swings as they could get in. Trey was holding his own, but Cam had too much ferocity working for him. His rage drove every punch, to the point that even I winced at the sounds.

I rushed over to Jesse, who had been watching the whole thing—along with the other guys—with calm resignation. “You have to stop this! He’s going to seriously hurt himself.”

He didn’t take his eyes off the two fighters. “He needs this, Reese. It’s been a long time coming. Just let it happen. It’ll help him more than you think.”

That was ridiculous. Getting kicked off the team wouldn’t help him a damn bit.

I went to try and intercede when Jesse lightly pulled me back. “You’re likely to get hurt if you try and get in the middle of that. And that’ll only piss him off more.”

He was right, but this was madness! They were going to end up killing each other if this didn’t end soon.

Cam straddled Trey’s chest after he landed a particularly brutal punch. He grabbed the collar of his shirt and jerked him upright.

“You don’t lay a fucking finger on her ever again! Do you hear me, asshole? You don’t talk to her, you don’t even look at her. This right here is nothing compared to what I’ll do to you if you try that shit again. The only reason you’re even still breathing right now is because she’s standing here watching.”

Trey smiled with bloody teeth, his right eye already swollen. “I had her first, Donovan. She wanted me first.”

Cam shook him hard. “She’s mine, you son of a bitch! Mine! She doesn’t want you. She wants me. She only wants me. So, stay the fuck away from her.”

Holy shit. Cam just admitted in front of a house full of people that we were together.

Apparently, he wasn’t done because he started hitting Trey again, roaring expletives and threats. Trey’s head snapped to the side after one hit, sending blood spurting out of his mouth. I was worried a tooth may have come out with it, too. That’s when the guys finally decided to pull Cam off of him.

Jesse and Boyd each held an arm as Cam continued to snarl at his nemesis. Trey rolled over and pushed himself to his feet, wiping blood off his lip. I wondered where the two guys he came here with were. I saw Rachel standing across the room, watching the scene in horror. A microscopic part of me cheered with victory that she’d also heard Cam’s confession.

I was still huddled against Gemma and Syd when Trey turned to face me, stupidly pushing Cam’s fury to the breaking point.

“I knew you were his whore,” he said with a sneer. “Should have known cunts like you have a certain type.”

Cam roared and struggled against Jesse and Boyd’s hold, fighting to free himself. They were too smart to let him go now, though.

To everyone’s surprise, Vaughn came out of nowhere and dealt such a hard blow to Trey’s face it had him stumbling backwards. “Get the fuck out of my house. Now. And don’t ever think about coming back.”

Tension filled the room as everyone waited for his next move. Would he really be foolish enough to go after Cam again? Did he not know when he was bested and outnumbered? Thankfully, it didn’t come to that. With one last glare at Cam, Trey walked out of the house and I could finally breathe again. Half the guys followed to make sure he got in his car and actually left. Cam stayed back with Jesse and Boyd, still breathing hard, not at all calming down.

“You good, man?” I heard Jesse ask Cam.

“No.”

Neither was I. I could barely even process everything that just happened.

He turned to me and I got tunnel vision. Everyone else in the room disappeared as he pulled me into his tractor beam gaze. All I wanted was to forget the scene I just witnessed, run away with him, and ignore the entire world for a few days. I couldn’t look anywhere but at him as he approached the three of us.

“Can I take you home with me?” he asked in a strained voice.

My girls’ hands tightened on my shoulders. “We can take her home.” They were obviously unnerved by the menacing look on his face.

“Please,” he said to them, then looked at me. “Please.”

I squeezed their hands. “It’s okay. I want to go with him.”

After several hugs and promises to call them if I needed them, I joined Cam as we headed for the door. Most of the party-goers had dispersed after the fight ended, so the room had cleared out significantly. We passed Vaughn on our way out and Cam shook his hand. In that way guys had, no words were spoken, just silent understanding. Vaughn shot me a wink as I passed, making me almost grin. Only he could wink at a time like this.

Cam lifted me up into his truck as if I were made of china, making me wince as he grabbed me on the hips right where Trey bruised me. He slammed the door after he got in on his side and peeled out of the driveway. I inspected his face as he drove. He wasn’t without some swelling and blood of his own. There was one particular cut on his cheek that looked like it could get infected if we didn’t clean it up soon.

“Are you okay?”

He gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I just need to get you home. Need you home with me where I can hold you. Where I know you’re safe.”

Emotion made my throat tighten, preventing me from saying anything more.

All I could think about was what this meant for him and his future. Had he just ruined everything, all of his hopes and dreams and everything he’d been working for, for me? Had I made him just throw all of that away?

I couldn’t stand the thought.

I kept my face turned toward the window as the tears slowly fell down my cheeks.

Please let us survive this.