Chapter 4
Bennett
I’m woken up from one of the best sleeps I’ve had in a very long time to the sound of my phone ringing. Groaning, I roll over and bury my face in my pillow. Whoever it is can leave a voice message, and I’ll call them back in the morning.
When the ringing stops, I sigh, relaxing into the mattress as sleep starts to take hold again.
Just as I’m about to drift back to sleep, my phone starts to ring again. “Fucking hell,” I shout, rolling over and angrily patting for my phone on the bedside table.
I bring my phone to my face and squint at the bright light blinding me. Not able to see who’s calling, I answer anyway.
“I swear to god, someone better be dying,” I growl.
“Bennett.” Aria’s frantic voice has me jolting upright.
“Aria, what's wrong?”
“It’s the football house,” she sobs. “It’s on fire.”
“What!” I scramble out of bed. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Tyler and I managed to get out, but it’s bad, Bennett.”
“Where are you?” My heart is racing as I grab for my sweatpants and hoodie.
“We’re outside. The fire department just got here.”
“Is everyone out?” I ask as Easton pops into my head.
“I don’t know.”
“Fuck.” My stomach drops. “I’m on my way, okay?”
“Okay.” She sniffs.
Hanging up my phone, I don’t bother trying to find socks before slipping on my sneakers.
I’m out of the house and running down the street in seconds. A wave of horror hits me as I see massive flames in the distance.
I can’t believe this is really happening. I was just there a few hours ago. It was a good night for the most part. I had fun with Roland. He’s a good guy. I could see myself dating someone like him.
Then why was I thinking about Easton when my cock was down Roland’s throat?
What was he doing there? Why was he watching?
Doesn’t matter. What matters is that he made it out safe.
I’m out of breath, heart pounding against my chest, lungs screaming in pain by the time I reach the crowd of people, across the street from the football house.
“Holy shit,” I whisper, eyes widening in horror as I stare up at the burning building. This is bad. So bad.
“Bennett!” My head snaps to the side to see Aria running to me.
“Ari,” I breathe in relief, wrapping my arms around her in a bone-crushing hug. “I’m so damn glad you’re okay.”
“We were sleeping when the alarm went off. Tyler told me to get out, and he stayed in to wake up as many of his teammates as possible. Most of them were still passed out, he said.”
My eyes frantically search the crowd, looking for a familiar set of hazel-green eyes.
“He made it out,” Tyler says, coming over to join us. I sigh in relief as Tyler nods his head. I follow his direction when I see Roland standing off to the side with a few of his buddies.
He’s not the one I’m looking for. I give Tyler a fake smile, but keep looking.
“Bennett,” Liam’s voice sounds behind me. I turn around to find my ex. He throws himself at me, practically shoving Aria out of the way. “Thank god you’re here.”
I stand there stunned, not sure what to do. The man just lost his house, so I give him a hug before stepping away.
Liam starts to talk, but I’m not paying attention. I need to know he’s okay.
I feel a soft, warm hand in mine, giving it a squeeze. I look down at Aria, who’s giving me a subtle, sad smile. She nods her head to my right, and my head snaps to the side. Further down the street, I see Easton. He’s leaning against the hood of a car, watching the inferno before him.
The look on his face is pure devastation, and my heart breaks for him.
But he’s okay. He’s safe. He’s out.
I want to go over there to check on him, but I won’t. It’s not any of my business. We’re not friends. He made sure of that.
Turning my attention back to my actual friend, I make sure she’s okay.
“Can I stay with you tonight?” Liam asks, catching me by surprise.
“Ah.” I blink. “I mean, you’re welcome to sleep on the couch.”
Liam looks disappointed, but nods. I’m sure the guys on my team wouldn’t mind sparing some room for the night.
After the police take everyone’s statement, and the fire department manages to get the fire out, we’re all advised to go somewhere for the night.
As we walk to my place, I look at the rubble that's left. Roughly fifty people just lost their home and all their personal belongings. It’s awful.
I look for Easton as we pass, but he’s not where he was before. I hope wherever he is, he’s staying somewhere safe.
The next morning, Aria texts me, letting me know she and Tyler are heading down to the dean's office to figure out what is going to happen with the football team. Tyler ended up spending the night in her dorm room, and Liam slept on the couch as well as a few other members of the football team.
I texted Roland when we got back to check in, and he told me he was crashing with some friends. Part of me wished I had Easton’s number to check in on him, too.
He’d probably tell me to get fucked or something.
Wanting to know more about what's going on, I give my dad a call. “Hey, bud. How are you?”
“Me? How are you?”
He lets out a deep, heavy sigh. “Not so good. We’re heading down to the school now to figure out the housing situation. That’s the most important thing right now.”
“I’ll meet you there.”
“Sounds good.”
Hanging up, I shower and change before heading out of the house.
“Wait up.” Liam jogs down the path after me. “You going to the meeting about the housing situation?”
“Yeah.” I shove my hands in my pockets. “How are you doing?”
He shrugs. “Could be worse. My dad was on it as soon as I let him know. He just texted me this morning that he found me and a few of my friends a new apartment to stay in.”
“Oh.” I blink in surprise. “That’s nice.”
“I’m one of the lucky ones. As for most of the people on the team, not too sure what's going to happen with them.”
That's what I’m afraid of.
“So. About last night...”
My brows furrow. “What do you mean?”
“I saw you. With Roland,” Liam grumbles.
I pause, praying like hell he doesn’t mean Roland sucking me off. I already had one unexpected bystander, I don’t need more.
“You two looked awfully close.”
“Mmmhhmm.” Just what I want, an awkward as hell conversation with my ex about a guy I’m hooking up with. Just what everyone wants on a Saturday morning.
“So, are you two together now?”
I give him an odd look. “I don’t see how that's any of your business.”
“He’s my teammate,” he huffs.
“So? What, I’m not allowed to date your teammates now? It’s not like you two are friends.”
“So you are dating,” he says, like he just cracked a code.
“No.” I give him a blank look. “We hooked up once. That's it.”
“Would you want more?”
“Liam, I’m sorry about what happened to your house, I really am. But we’re not having this conversation. We’re not friends. You are my ex. You cheated on me. You have no right to know anything about my dating life. About my life, period.”
“Bennett,” he growls. “Please. I miss you. I want you–”
“Nope.” I hold a hand up. “Not happening. Never going to happen. So get that idea out of your head. I don’t know why you chose to do this, but it’s a waste of your time.”
He glares at me, nostrils flaring. “You think you’re better than me, huh? Because your daddies run the school? Well, you're not.”
He takes off, rushing ahead of me. What the fuck is that about?
Just because my dads play important roles in this school doesn’t mean I get any special treatment. That's something my mother made sure of. What I make sure of. I earned my spot on the hockey team. I applied and got in just like everyone else.
The only privilege I have is that my dad pays my tuition. Just like the parents of a good chunk of people who attend here.
Trying not to let whatever that was get to me, I continue my walk toward Theo’s office.
When I arrive, it’s packed, and people are lining the hallways.
I spot Tyler and Aria and make my way to them. “Any news?”
Aria shakes her head. “No. Your dads are in a meeting with some school board members right now.”
Nodding, I lean against the wall, waiting and talking with them.
After what feels like hours, my dad, Brody, steps out. “My team, follow me downstairs. We have some things to talk about.”
Theo steps out and looks around. When he spots me, he smiles, waving me over.
“I’ll see you later, okay?” I tell Aria, then head over to Theo.
“What’s going on?” I ask, following him into his office.
“Your dad is about to tell his team the news. But I thought that since it’s going to affect you, I’d let you know.”
“How does it affect me?” I ask, brows furrowing.
“I know you all call it the hockey house and the football house, but it still works roughly the same as a regular dorm. Most of the team pays to live there. They will be receiving that money back, plus a monthly rental allowance to find other accommodations. Such as an apartment on or off campus. However, we will be doing something else for the scholarship students. We will be splitting them up between the hockey and the rugby dorms. Anyone who does not already have a roommate will be asked to take one on.”
“Meaning me.” I nod slowly. “Okay, yeah. I’m down to take on a roommate. I mean, there's enough space.”
I know I could offer to move back home and give my space up for two people, but, honestly, I don’t want to. I love my family, I do. But this is my last year of college, and I want to enjoy it.
I am willing to room with someone. Who knows, it could be fun. Most of the guys on the football team are pretty chill.
“Thank you. I’m glad you’re okay with this.”
We talk for a little while longer before I leave. Theo says that the housing department is currently assigning people to rooms, and I should hear by tomorrow morning who my new roommate is.
I meet up with Aria, and we decide to go down to the beach for the day to distract ourselves.
Tyler hangs back with some of his friends. They’re talking about renting an apartment together, so we leave them to do their thing.
By the time night falls, I’m tired and need some sleep.
I wake up early the next morning to work out. This is pretty much going to be what my weekends look like from now on: practice, working out, and school. As much as I love hockey, I wish I had more time to hang out with my friends. At least I’ll have Sundays.
I’m a sweaty mess as I walk home from the gym. A nice nap before heading over to my parents' place would be nice. I’m still pretty tired, I didn't sleep the best last night.
My dreams were plagued with images of burning bodies. Pretty fucking disturbing if you ask me. I’m not sure why I’m feeling so affected by the fire, it wasn’t even my house that burned down.
Maybe it’s the knowledge that people I knew were inside and could have been seriously hurt.
“What’s going on?” I ask Danny, frowning as I watch guys move what looks like mattresses and other furniture inside the hockey house.
“It's moving day,” Danny grumbles. “Our new bunk buddies are making themselves at home.” He doesn’t sound too happy about that.
“I know this is a big change, but you gotta think about how they feel. It’s the start of the school year, we are not even a few weeks in, and they’ve lost their home.
Some of them probably lost all of their personal possessions.
They’re on scholarship, meaning they might not have enough money to replace everything.
The least we can do is share our space with them. ”
“I know,” he sighs heavily. “But I got put with Travis! He’s so... him.”
I snort a laugh. “What the hell does that mean?”
“He’s all tall and scary. Have you seen him when he’s pissed off? He looks like he’d eat you for breakfast.”
“I mean, I wouldn’t mind being eaten by him.” I wiggle my eyebrows.
Danny frowns. “How would he eat you? You got a dick.”
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, trying not to laugh. “And I have an ass,” I inform him.
His eyes widen, and I can’t hold back my laughter. “Oh my god, you let someone eat your ass?!”
He says it loud enough to turn heads.
“Would you shut up?” I chuckle. “I mean, I’ve never received, but I’ve given.” I shrug. “It’s not as bad as it sounds. Liam loved it.”
“Did not need to hear that.” He holds his hands over his ears. “I’m going to walk away now.”
Enjoying my friend's discomfort, I head inside, dodging the movers. Taking two steps at a time, I find myself excited to see who my new roomie is. Shit. I hope I made enough space for their stuff.
When I couldn’t sleep last night, I decided to move the room around so that my things were on one side, giving the other side enough space for a bed. I didn’t think about dressers.
My bedroom door is open. Stepping in, I look around in relief. Good, they managed to get everything in. It looks a little cramped, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.
I never had to share my room growing up, so I’m kind of excited to have a roommate.
My new roomie isn’t here, but his stuff sits on an unmade bed. A single black bag.
It’s his football bag. A wave of sympathy hits me. Shit. I didn’t even think about it. He probably lost everything.
If the school doesn’t at least give them some kind of incidentals, I’m going to have a word with Theo. Because this is just messed up.
Knowing I’m in much need of a shower, I grab some clean clothes from my dresser. But when I go for my shower caddy, I frown when I find that it’s not there.
“What the...” I open my closet to look for it, nothing. Check under my bed, nothing. “Where the hell is it?”
“Are you looking for this?”
Spinning around, my eyes land on Easton. A wet, half-naked Easton.
I blink slowly, my gaze following the droplet of water that races down his chest, over his firm pecs, down his abs, and right to the edge of the towel that hangs low over a very defined V.
Why the hell is this man so attractive? Wait, why is this man in my room? And he’s holding my shower caddy.
“That’s mine,” I say, pointing to the caddy in his hand.
“I know.” He grunts, placing it on my dresser. “I borrowed it. I hope you don’t mind.”
Somehow, I seem to have forgotten the fact that Easton is one of the scholarship students. Meaning he would be moving in here.
I expect him to turn around and leave, but when he doesn’t and instead walks over to the bed on the other side of the room, it clicks.
“You?” I ask, dumbfounded. “You’re my new roommate?” I shake my head. “Fuck no.”
This can not be happening. Anyone, and I mean anyone, but him.