Chapter Four Sienna
Chapter Four
Sienna
Junior year
I arrive at my brother’s house armed with a case of High Noons because Coop and his friends always forget to stock the good stuff at their place. I don’t bother knocking on the door either. I just barge right in to find the living room already filled with a variety of men, most of them tall, hulking beasts who play for the Santa Mira Dolphins.
Ignoring all of them, I shut the door with my foot, scanning the area in search of my brother. He’s not hard to spot. Over the last few years, he’s somehow bulked up even more, and both his arms are covered in tattoos. He’s intimidating as fuck and never lets anyone forget who he is or what he might do to them if they ever wrong me.
In other words, he’s a menace to society and destroys my dating game all the time. Hence me having to keep any interactions with men a secret.
“Hey. There you are.” Coop appears out of nowhere, taking the case of High Noons from me like the gentleman he is. Yes, my feelings for my brother are contradictory, and no, I can’t help it. He truly is a teddy bear once you get to know him, and our parents raised him right, but his overprotectiveness will be the death of my social life.
Scratch that—it already is. Mostly.
“Hi.” I follow him into the kitchen, noting how clean it is. Hmm. That is suspicious. Did they hire someone to clean this place up? I know they’ve only lived here a few days, but they’re self-proclaimed slobs. “I can’t believe you guys are having a party already.”
They don’t do it often. More when they were younger, but now that they’re seniors, whenever they invite a bunch of people over, it turns into chaos. They’re just too popular, too revered on campus. Everyone wants a piece of the football team, a chance at being able to say, I know that guy or We’re friends or I gave so-and-so a blow job in his bathroom last night.
Trust me. We’ve witnessed it all. Heard it all.
“We’re keeping it low key tonight. Nothing big.” Coop shrugs his massive shoulders, glancing toward the living room when a loud bang sounds. “What the hell was that?”
“Your low-key, nothing-big party kicking into high gear.” I reach for the case of High Noons and tear it open, pulling out one that’s watermelon flavored. My favorite. I don’t hesitate cracking that baby open and taking a long pull. “Want me to check?”
“Nah. I’ll do it.” He mutters a string of curse words as he strides out of the kitchen, and I’m amused for all of about two-point-five seconds when I hear what I think is a familiar deep voice ring out in greeting.
But I realize quickly that isn’t who I think it is, and relieved, I take another long drink from the can, savoring it. Enjoying the languid sensation of the alcohol flowing through my veins. I can always feel it course through my body, and people call bullshit when I say that, but it’s true.
And tonight, I need lots of alcohol if I’m going to get through this party.
My brother reenters the kitchen wearing a grim expression, reaching for the beer he left behind and taking a big swig.
“What happened?”
“Someone was fucking with the PlayStation.” He shakes his head. “I told Nico not to invite the freshmen.”
Nico is my brother’s roommate and the star wide receiver on the team. He’s become even more handsome to the point of distraction, and he’s still a complete player. The worst out of all their friend group, and with reason. His smile dissolves panties campus-wide. I found myself falling under his sway more than once but always knew it would be dangerous. Besides ...
I already tried something once with my brother’s teammate, and it bombed big time. I’m not going there again.
“You can’t discriminate against the freshmen,” I remind my brother. “Maybe you guys should’ve put away the PlayStation.”
“Good call. We’ll do that next time.” Coop turns so he’s facing me fully, blocking my view from the living room completely. “There’s something I want to tell you.”
The grave tone of his voice has me immediately filled with concern. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. We have a new roommate.” He pauses. “Her name is Everleigh.”
“ Her? ” I’m stunned. “What happened to your other roommate? Sampson?”
“That asshole bailed out on us. Said rent was too expensive. We were talking about it at the café earlier over breakfast, and this girl—Everleigh—overheard us and said she was looking for a roommate, and well ... now she’s moved in,” Coop explains.
“Where is she?” I start to head for the living room, but Coop grabs my wrist, stopping me. “I want to meet her.”
“I’ll introduce you if I get the chance. But don’t be afraid to approach her if you see her. She’s about yay high.” He holds his hand up to the middle of his chest, indicating she’s short. “And she looks nervous all the time.”
“Aw, Coop. That’s so mean.” I laugh, though not at his new roomie. “You guys probably make her nervous.”
“You’re right. I think we do.” He rubs a hand across his cheek. “She doesn’t know we’re football players. Well, she knows, but I don’t think she realizes just how ...”
His voice drifts, and I fill in the rest of the sentence for him. “What a big deal that you guys are?”
“I didn’t want to say it.” He shrugs. “I sound like an asshole.”
“You’re an asshole who speaks the truth.” I pat him on the shoulder. Extra hard, like a sister should. “I’ll let her know what she’s dealing with. Give her a warning.”
Coop’s brows shoot up. “What do you mean by that?”
“I have to warn her about all of you. Dollar.” Coop and Nico’s other roommate and teammate is Frank Dollar, and while he’s a sweet guy, he can also be a little pushy. As in, if he zeroes in on a woman who he believes he has a chance with, he won’t let up. He’s rather determined.
Hmm, sounds awfully familiar, but I push that nagging little thought out of my brain.
“Yeah, about Dollar.” Coop grimaces. “He’s already started in with Everleigh.”
“Oh, the poor girl.” I rest my hand against my chest.
“He means well.”
“But he always takes it too far. I wish he could find someone who’s completely into him.” Frank is really a decent guy. He just needs to find someone who loves as hard as he does. Who’ll shower him with all the attention that he deserves. “I’ll talk to her. I’m going to warn her about Nico too.”
“Yeah, you better,” Coop mutters, shaking his head. “They’re sharing a bathroom, by the way. Nico and Everleigh.”
“Seriously? Well, that ought to be interesting.”
We hear the front door open, and a bunch of female voices fill the space, their excitement obvious. I lean back and see who’s entered the house—a group of women that I know, some better than others. All of them are hot for a football player. Any football player. They don’t discriminate.
“I’ll go talk to them,” I tell my brother, who practically sags with relief. I polish off one High Noon and grab another, this one pineapple flavored. Within seconds I’m standing with the girls, listening to them all talk animatedly about their class schedule, who the hottest guy is in the house, on the team, blah, blah, blah. I nod and smile, taking a sip. One after the other. Fortifying myself to get through this conversation, yet never really adding to it.
Here’s my issue: I don’t have a lot of close girlfriends in Santa Mira, and so much of that is because I don’t trust people when they try to get to know me. I’ve been burned multiple times by other women who were friendly merely because they wanted an in with the football team. And my roommate? We’re not close at all. I still live with Destiny—we just moved into a two-bedroom apartment, and we each get our own bedroom and bathroom—but we don’t really hang out. She’s a private person and a little grumpy—okay, fine, she’s a lot grumpy. It’s like she merely tolerates me, and I know sometimes I annoy her. Which is fine because she annoys me too.
But we’re good together as roommates. We leave each other alone and stay out of each other’s business. Better to tolerate someone you know versus finding a new roommate who might not work out is my philosophy. After seeming into them at first, now Destiny has zero interest in getting to know the football team, which works for me. Though I do wish we were closer ...
We may go to a big school with a huge campus, but the social circles are small. The ones around the football team? Impossibly tight. I’m rather protective of my brother and his bonehead friends and teammates. They’re like family to me.
Knowing there is a potential new member of the family—and another female—is exciting. But I don’t want to get my hopes up. What if she doesn’t like me? What if she’s weird or rude or downright cruel? I mean, who knows what she’s like? Right now she’ll be on her best behavior.
Eventually Nico ambles over, that charming smile plastered on his face, his dark eyes flashing. He is sinfully handsome, and worse? He knows it—and uses it to his advantage whenever possible.
“How’s it goin’, ladies?” His voice is a smooth, low drawl, and they all giggle while I roll my eyes.
“Nico! I’ve missed you.” One of them pulls away from the others, launching herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck while she clings to him like a lifeline. He has to push her away from himself to detach her, his expression slightly panicked.
“Yeah. Missed you too.” I can tell by his casual tone that he most likely has no idea who she is or what her name might be. He even sends me a helpless look, like I might offer assistance, and I smile at him, wagging my fingers in a tiny wave.
“See you later!” I take off, and not a single one of the women cares, though I can feel Nico’s gaze on me as I make my escape. Poor dude. I bet he wishes he was leaving with me.
Oh well. He deserves this.
I’m opening my third High Noon when I’m approached by Dollar, who is currently holding a nervous-looking woman’s hand. She must be the new roomie, and already he’s territorial.
“Hey, Sienna, have you met our new roommate, Everleigh?” Frank asks.
I’m smiling as I study this poor woman, who is now removing her hand from Frank’s. “Not yet, but I’ve heard all about her from Coop. Hiiiii.” I pull her in for a big hug, clinging to her for a moment, and I love that she doesn’t try to pull away. I’m the one to do it first, keeping my grip on her upper arms so I can examine her. “I’m so glad you moved in with them. Now I have a friend to hang out with here beyond my brother and his annoying roommates.”
“Hey,” Frank protests, but I laugh, slipping my arm around her shoulders and keeping her next to me.
“Don’t be so sensitive, Frankie. Now go hang out with your bros and let me and Everleigh get to know each other. Alone.” I shoo him away with a flick of my fingers.
“Nico is right behind you,” Frank points out.
“Oh, please.” I shake my head. “He’s flirting with the blondes. He’s not paying attention to us.”
Frank reluctantly walks away, that hangdog expression on his face that tells me he’s feeling left out. Once he’s gone and I’m positive he won’t hear me, I lean in closer to Everleigh, lowering my voice. “Is he flirting with you?”
“Who?” Everleigh looks confused.
“Frank. He’s a sweetheart and he means well, but he’s desperate to find a girlfriend. All the guys give him endless shit about it too. Poor dude.” My gaze shifts to Frank, who is currently sitting on the couch next to my brother. Watching us, though he looks away quickly when I catch him. “I saw the way he was holding your hand.”
“It was nothing.” Everleigh smiles and shrugs. I feel the need to warn her.
“Not to him it wasn’t. That’s his problem. If he could learn how to play it cool for once, he’d have women chasing after him instead of the other way around. I mean, look at Nico.” I make a halfhearted gesture in his direction.
“Right,” Everleigh says, her voice weak, her gaze stuck on him.
Hmmm. “He’s hot, isn’t he. And I hear you two are sharing a bathroom?”
The concern on her face is obvious. “Who told you that?”
“Cooper. He tells me everything. Well, mostly everything.” She appears a tad horrified by that revelation. “By the way, if you catch Nico coming out of his bathroom naked, please, for the love of God, take a pic and send it to me. I hear his dick is ginormous.”
I burst out laughing at her shocked expression, and I feel a little guilty for trying to shock her, but it’s like I can’t help myself. Am I testing her to see if she’s cool? Definitely. And I can’t help the way I talk—I sound like all the guys, but I do spend a lot of time with them. They’re rubbing off on me, and probably not in the best way.
“Oh my God.” Everleigh’s face is bright pink with embarrassment. “I really hope I never see his—dick.”
Why do I not believe her? I know I wouldn’t mind catching a glimpse, though I’m not interested in him like that. A girl’s allowed to be curious.
We keep chatting, and I get her to share bits of information with me. She’s a nutrition major and agreed to cook the guys meals in order to save money on rent. I made sure they weren’t taking advantage of her because I don’t necessarily trust these guys, even my own brother. And then I proceed to warn her off Nico again and even Gavin.
I’ve got my own selfish motives to keep her away from Gavin. Like the fact that we’ve been doing this delicate dance with each other over the last couple of years where we pretend that moment in my dorm room never happened. I’ve never discussed it with anyone. Not a single soul. The only person who’s aware of that interaction is Destiny, and luckily she’s kept her mouth shut.
At the moment Nico is giving me grief about my red hair, which he hasn’t done for years, but really, I think he’s trying to catch Everleigh’s attention when the front door swings open and in walks my own personal nightmare.
Or absolute dream of a man. Take your pick.
Shouts of “QB!” fill the room, and Gavin stands there, looking pleased with himself. A proper reception for the king of the team, no doubt.
“There’s Gavin,” I whisper to Everleigh, who’s openly staring at him. I can’t fault her for it. He’s stupidly handsome.
One of the blondes Nico was chatting with earlier runs over to Gavin, then throws her arms around his neck and kisses his cheek. I burn with jealousy, wishing I could do the same, but he would never allow it. He’s afraid of my brother, the rest of the team, and whoever else and what they might think of the two of us together.
The coward.
He sets the blonde away from him, his gaze going to mine, and I see the apology in his blue eyes. Or what I think might be an apology. Who knows? I can’t read this guy, and I’ve avoided him more than talked to him ever since our incident. But being the polite person that I am, I offer him a wan smile and wish I could disappear.
Instead, I just stand here and take it. Fighting my feelings for a man who struggles with knowing what he wants. Even though I’m standing in front of him, willing and able.
Seriously. Men are the worst.