Seven
Phoenix
“Would you just sit down?” I mutter from my spot on the couch where I’m attempting to study, all by my lonesome, thanks to Kason’s last-minute cancellation. “Your pacing is making it hard to focus.”
There’s a long sigh, and I lift my gaze to find Kason linking his hands behind his head, clearly trying not to let nerves and panic get the better of him.
“Where is he?” Kason mutters, more to himself than to me. “He should be here by now.”
I glance from him over to the microwave in our kitchen to check the time.
Seven-fifty-three.
A victorious smirk lifts the corners of my lips as I focus back on the textbook in front of me. There were plenty of times I thought my entire plan would backfire or go awry, yet seeing as Holden is almost a half-hour late to pick up Kason, I’d say it was successful.
“Maybe something came up. Did you try texting him?”
“Ten minutes ago, but no answer.”
I let out a sigh and shrug. “I have no idea, then.”
Except, I do have an idea as to why Holden isn’t here and why he hasn’t texted. Because when I decided to sneak into the football locker room and steal all Holden’s clothes from out of his stall, I made sure to take his phone, wallet, and car keys too.
If I’m getting my hands dirty with sabotage, I’m damn well gonna be thorough.
Leaning back against the couch cushion, I bask in the glory of a hard-earned victory when a knock on the door has my blood freezing in my veins. My attention snaps to the door, where Kason has already spun on a heel and bolted to it.
There’s no way—
Yet, as Kason yanks open the door, I discover there is a way when I’ve underestimated the guile and determination of my enemy.
Tenacious fucking bastard.
Because there on the other side of the threshold is Holden Sykes, naked as the day he was born, save for the baseball glove he’s using to cover his junk and pair of sneakers on his feet.
“What’re you…Uh, Holden…You’re not…” Kason stumbles over his words as he gawks at Holden, blinking rapidly in the way he does when he’s nervous. Hilarious, considering they already spend so much time barely dressed in a locker room together. “Clothes…”
“Yeah, I know,” he says, a bright and shiny smile on his face as he steps into the apartment. His eyes trace over the kitchen and living room, only stopping when they land on me. “And here I thought you said you wouldn’t be here when I came to pick Kason up for our date.”
“Couldn’t resist seeing you off,” I tell him, my tone flat and unyielding of any information. “Now, I can see it was a good choice.”
“Glad to be of entertainment to you, Nixy,” he says, and from the slight bite to his tone—probably imperceptible to Kason—I realize he knows I was behind this little prank.
Then again, with it done, I don’t necessarily care if he knows I did it; I just care if it prevents this date from happening. But from his presence here, sans clothing, I have a feeling the only thing I’ve managed to do is poke the bear.
But as the saying goes: in for a penny, in for a pound.
“You know, The Naked Mile is just a movie, right? Unless…did you join a nudist colony since the last time I saw you? I think they have those back in California.” I sit up, tossing my textbook on the couch.
“Or wait, are you trying to start a new streaking club on campus? Because I doubt the administrators or the NCAA would be okay with it.”
There’s an inferno in Holden’s eyes as he stares at me, wreaking of defiance and revenge.
“Someone stole my clothes,” he says, masking his irritation with a shrug of indifference. “My whole bag, actually. Phone, wallet, keys and all.”
“What?” Kason says, finally gathering himself enough to speak.
“Yeah. Some kind of prank, probably,” Holden replies, eyes locked with mine. “Though it wasn’t all that funny walking across campus like this, seeing as I couldn’t drive. Or call you to come grab me.”
“What the shit,” Kason mutters, and when I tear my gaze away from the naked jackass in my apartment long enough to look at Kason, I see he’s red as a tomato. “I can’t believe someone would pull that crap.”
“Yeah, me neither. But no harm, no foul.” Holden continues, and once my focus shifts back to him, he adds, “I wasn’t about to let it ruin our date. ”
This dickhead.
The only person utterly oblivious to what is happening here is Kason—though I have no clue how he’s blind to the sheer amount of hostility between Holden and me.
But I’m grateful for his obliviousness; he’d no doubt skin me alive if he knew I was the reason Holden showed up naked and thirty minutes late for their first date.
Crossing my arms, I lean back on the couch. “Pretty sure they don’t let you into the movies wearing only a glove there, Sykes.”
Another bright smile is aimed at me before he looks over at Kason. “Oh, it’s okay. I don’t mind ordering in and watching something here instead, as long as that sounds okay to you?”
Absolutely the fuck not.
I cock my head, eyes darting between the two of them. “Doesn’t sound like much of a date to me.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Kason says, cutting into the conversation. His eyes stay locked on Holden’s face as his own finally returns to a normal pigment. “I don’t want to ruin the plans you made. Plus, you already got the movie tickets, right?”
God, this is ridiculous. I can’t explain how much I wish he’d see through Holden’s shit right now and end whatever this weird dynamic is between them.
But of course, he goes playing right into his hand instead.
“Nah, it’s fine. I honestly don’t mind.” Holden’s attention shifts to me. “Phoenix can join us even. The more, the merrier, as the saying goes.”
A smile sits on his lips, and I can hear the unspoken words swirling in his eyes.
So you can witness the entire thing.
Well played, Sykes. Well fucking played.
“He needs to study, and I don’t want you to be out cash by us not going.” Kason glances over at me, then to Holden, before finally ending on me. “Phoe, you’re about the same size. Holden can just borrow—”
“Oh, fuck no,” I say at the same time as Holden says, “Works for me.”
I shoot him a death glare, but he just smiles—bright, shiny, and unbothered.
It’s infuriating.
“C’mon, man,” Kason says, a plea in his eyes. “I know you’re pissed about me canceling on you, but will you just do me this solid?”
At this point, what else can I do? Being petty out of spite only turns this around on me, once again making me the asshole best friend who can’t be supportive. A role playing right into Holden’s favor.
So I reluctantly nod toward my bedroom before speaking through gritted teeth.
“The door on the left.”
“Thanks, Nix,” Holden says, going as far as patting me on the shoulder when he passes by. “You’re really a lifesaver.”
“I’m about to be a life-ender if you touch me again,” I mutter low enough for only his ears.
The threat misses the mark, though, and Holden just keeps on smiling. “I’ll be out in a bit.”
I shove my irritability under lock and key while Kason babbles on about hazing and stupid pranks, not paying attention enough to give away my involvement. Kason figuring out I was the one who did it is sure to only backfire on this entire plan more than it already has.
True to his word, Holden emerges from my room five minutes later.
Wearing… his clothes.
The clothes I had kept in his duffle, stashing the whole raid so far back in my closet, he had to dig and root around to find it.
Blood pools on my tongue, the coppery taste filling my mouth as I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming. Because…fuck! I’ve never met another human being who can fall into a pile of shit and still come out smelling like a damn rose garden.
Kason comes up beside me, and I glance over to find a smile on his face as he looks at Holden.
“Knew you two would be a similar size.” His eyes shift from Holden to me. “Though, I’ve never seen you wear that before. Is it new?”
“Yeah,” I say through gritted teeth. “I was saving it for something special.”
A seemingly innocent grin appears on Holden’s face. “Well, I think a first date is a pretty special occasion.”
“I guess so.”
Keeping calm and composed is nearly impossible as the two of them chat amongst themselves about switching their dinner reservation to after the movie because of the delay.
And though it was my intention to keep this date from even happening, I’m ready for the two of them to get the fuck out so I no longer have to be in Holden’s aggravating presence.
Thankfully, it only takes them a few minutes to head for the door, Kason calling goodnight behind him and saying he’d be quiet coming back tonight.
Well, at least he’s planning on coming back. That’s gotta count for something.
I wave him off, not bothering to respond, while I wait in silence for the telltale click of the door to alert me that I’m finally alone again. Only…the sound doesn’t come.
Instead, I hear the one sound that grates on my nerves more than all others.
“Oh, hey, Nixy?”
My lips roll into a firm, flat line as I slowly turn to look at where Holden lingers in the doorway. An arched brow is all I give him, not trusting myself not to pop off at the fucker.
“I left you something on your bed. You know, as a thank you for the clothes.”
A jolt of dread hits me in the stomach as my mind races through the hundreds of possibilities, each one taking a far worse turn than the last.
“Not necessary,” I tell him, swallowing down the bile in my throat.
“Regardless.” A smirk lifts the corner of his mouth before he adds, “And if you could put my bag back in the locker room before we’re back, it’d be greatly appreciated.”
And with that, he’s out the door and following Kason down to the car.
I’m quick to work up the courage and face the disaster sure to be left in Holden’s wake. Clothes strewn across the floor and every available surface, books ripped to shreds, the whole nine yards as retaliation for stealing his clothes.
Yet, to my surprise, my room is just as pristine as I left it. Not a single thing is out of place except Holden’s gift sitting at the end of my bed.
It’s the glove he used to cover his junk while he trotted across campus.
But it’s only when I get closer and grab it off the comforter that I realize…
It’s my glove.
The one that’s supposed to be in my stall in the baseball team’s locker room instead of on my fucking bed, having just been used…
Ugh.
A Sharpie falls out of it as I go to flip it over, and my blood is set to a boil as my eyes trace over the words written in black ink on the back side.
Holden’s cock cover. Est. 2023.
I throw the damn thing across the room, where it hits the wall with a thwack, and drop to my bed, frustration coursing through my bloodstream like a tidal wave.
Not only did I fail to ruin this date, but now I also have to break in a brand-new glove before the season starts.
That motherfucker.
I should’ve known from that day in class, we’d be evenly matched in this battle. It’s my fault for underestimating him, but never in my life did I think I’d be this severely outplayed.
Still, the score speaks for itself.
Holden: 1, Phoenix: 0.