Chase: A Devil & his Birdie: Havenwood University Book Two

Chapter 30

I MADE it my goddamn mission to find out everything I could about William fucking Harris after the shit he pulled with my girl. I didn’t go home. There was no fucking way I was leaving yet. Not when this fucker’s promise to get Sloane alone ran wild in my head. I wasn’t taking any chances. I just manned up and got her, I’d cut my fucking heart out if anything happened to her now.

I sat under our tree and dug deep into this preppy shit prick. I looked around his socials and seeing his smug face had me wanting to commit fucking murder.

I looked around at things he liked, what he commented on, and who he hangs around with. He doesn’t stray far from his Omega Fraternity.

He’s got this vibe that rubs me the wrong fucking way. He’s like a crooked politician in the making or a future white collar criminal. In all of his photos he looks like he’s posing for his next takeover or conquest.

Even in the pics of him at Omega volunteer events or charity functions, he looks like the kinda guy who’d stuff donation envelopes into his designer suit pockets. He’s got a slimy smile that’ll be perfect for future campaigns and backroom deals.

We have zero crossover when it comes to friends and the only mutual connections we have are girls who like to party on Jock Row and Greek Lane. He seems to have a thing for blonde sorority girls which there is no shortage of here. It looks like Willy boy’s got a type. So why the fuck is his coming around Sloane? His sudden interest in her seems suspect and I don’t fucking like it.

I was so goddamn pissed when my phone ran out of battery. I had no choice but to go home and didn’t stop running until I was at the front door.

The chaos at the football houses and next door seemed to be winding down from the bearable noise levels and scattered cars on the street. I could give two shits about drinking or partying even with the extra hours to sleep in tomorrow with morning skate being moved to early afternoon. I wasn’t interested in wasting my brain cells when they were hyper focused on Mr. Douche Canoe.

I ignore my brother and Jake. They’re sitting on the couch playing what I’m assuming is CoD. I don’t look to check. I need to make a list of all the times I’ve caught him near her. I’ve got a ticker tape going through my head of shit to write down so I don’t forget. Maybe I should order some cameras to put up in the trees.

“Where the hell have you been?” A, shouts while I unlock my bedroom door. I hear him coming up the stairs, but I don’t slow down. I storm toward my desk and open up my laptop.

“Out,” I tell him and stay focused on typing out what”s in my head. I don’t want him to distract me.

“The fuck? Are you telling me you were out or that you want me to get out?” He’s frowning when I look over the edge of my screen.

“Both.”

“Where’d you go?”

“I went to see, Sloane.” The screen blocks my smile when I say her name, but I know he can tell.

“How is Red?” He’s so annoying and won’t stop smirking at me.

“She’s good.”

“How good?” He says and pushes my screen down. It snaps on my fingers and he pulls it away.

“What the hell?!” Not fucking cool.

“What happened tonight?” He asks and gently places my laptop on the bed. He pushes off a pile of dirty clothes onto the floor to sit. My room isn’t a total mess after B cleaned it for me but I have started to make piles again. Fuck, if Sloane is going to be in here, I need to really clean up.

I start picking up the clothes he dropped and throw them into a laundry basket that is miraculously empty. He surprisingly starts helping me gather up some trash that’s accumulated since B’s overhaul and then sits on the bed again. He leans forward on his elbows, giving me his undivided attention, “Now tell me.”

And I do. I tell him all about Will and what led to me getting banned from her building for a goddamn month. Then I give him a gentleman’s version of what happened with Sloane. He may be my brother, teammate, best friend, and roommate but even he isn’t getting any details about my girl. No one is.

“Kinda a coincidence that you happened to be there right when this asshole showed up.” I’m not ashamed or embarrassed about following her, and I sure as hell don’t think it’s weird that I watch her. I don’t give two shits if he doesn’t understand. I have to be near her and I need her to be safe. “Or was it?” he asks and raises his eyebrow.

“It wasn’t,” I don’t need his permission or approval to do what I do. She wasn’t bothered by it and that’s all that matters. Plus, our sister is in that building and if I ever have the opportunity to keep B safe again, I sure as fuck am taking it and I know he would too. I lift my chin to him and he extends his fist for me to bump.

“Good for you, bro, you deserve a shot at being happy,” I nudge his fist and then lean back in my desk chair and try to ignore the swell in my damn throat that”s there. I swallow it down and can feel it hit the bottom of my gut. It feels heavy like a brick and sends waves of self-doubt crashing into the sides of my stomach.

“I’m not good enough for her,” I tell him and shake my head looking at my feet. I kicked off my sneakers when I walked in the house and my thin black cotton socks are frozen to my damn feet.

I grab a discarded semi-clean sweatshirt that’s laying on top of the now full laundry basket, and pull it on over my two layers. I’m cold for the first time in fucking hours. It’s like all my adrenaline and the fucking serotonin hit she had given me is leveling off.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t be,” A says and picks up my laptop and hands it back to me. He’s thinking what I’m thinking.

“What I can do is make sure this asshole stays away from her.” Will Harris is a goddamn threat and there’s no fucking way he’s getting near her.

We stayed up going over everything I found on Will until we both passed out on my bed. My alarm went off three hours later and I felt like I had slept for eight. I was energized knowing I was about to see her. I needed to be near her again. I couldn’t fucking wait.

I fucking made sure to swipe Monroe’s portable battery charger and shove it in my fleece pocket along with some foot warmers I found in his room. He was out all night with that rookie cop he’s been fucking around with.

I check to make sure I have my phone and some protein bars before I’m ready to go.

Now that the sun’s out, I need to find my damn hat. It went flying off my head last night when I tried to knock Will on his ass. I love Max and Drew for having my back. but I’m fucking pissed that they intervened like that.

He ran his mouth and I don’t fucking like that one bit. First at the Showcase and then last night. That’s twice now and two times too many. Fucking bastard.

I text her I’m here but to take her time and not even five minutes later she walks out of those glass doors. My heart bounces around my rib cage like a rogue puck hitting the crossbar to the goal when I see her. Fuck, she’s perfect.

I get sucked into those golden eyes that no doubt make the sun jealous. She looks like a shooting star when she runs into my open arms. I squeeze her into me and can’t get her close enough.

My cock perks up when I smell her sweet skin, kiss her addictive lips, and hold her as close as I can without being arrested for public indecency. It would be fucking worth it.

Some guy walks out of the building and loudly whistles. It’s enough to take her by surprise and she jumps outta my arms before taking a few steps back. Her cheeks are as red as her hair and she smooths out her jacket.

I start counting backwards to give her a few seconds to breathe. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.Fuck this, she’s too far away. I hook my arm around her waist and bring her back into me. Right where she belongs.

“What’s wrong, gorgeous?” I skim her soft cheek with the back of my knuckles and search her beautiful face. She glances down at my lips and she lets me kiss her again. I love this pretty pink mouth.

I need to taste her and try to get her to open up for me but she’s not having it.

“Chase, we’re causin’ a scene out here in broad daylight,” she says against my lips and I smile at my prim and proper girl.

“That sounds fun, let’s do that,” I try to kiss her again but she places her hands on my chest and I know she’s not messing around. I immediately pull back. I never want her to feel like what she wants isn’t important and if she wants me to stop then I will. It might fucking kill me, but I’ll do it.

“You’re terrible, now come on, I don’t want to be late.” She lets me kiss the tip of her little nose, before stepping away from me. I don’t move and she turns back around.

“Come here, Birdie,” I tell her with an undertone to my voice that only seems to surface for her. I hold out my right hand and she doesn’t hesitate to come to me. That’s my good girl.

“Now we can go,” I say to her while sliding my palm against hers and entwining our fingers together. Even with a few bandaids on her hand, it’s still smooth and soft. “I like holding your hand like this,” I tell her and rub my thumb over her flesh to make sure she’s really here with me.

“I like it too.” We’re quiet while we walk down the paths into the heart of campus. It’s not a weird quiet or one of those moments that makes you feel like you have to fill the air to remind the other person that you’re there. I get like that. I try to be so many damn things to the people I care about and I’ve ended up fucking failing anyway.

But right now, I don’t feel like I have to be anything else than hers. And I fucking love that.