25. Wren
WREN
Well, studying was a bust.
I slam the front door, and Archer grunts a moment later.
He walks inside and pouts. “Come on, Wrenny. Don’t be mad at me. I was just doing the guys a favor.”
I cross my arms over my huffing chest after dropping my backpack to the floor. “And where are the guys?”
“We’re right here, baby.” Stone’s arms wrap around me.
I’m on edge.
I crane my neck and stare up at his jawline, wondering why he is being so… nice . My brows furrow, and I glance around at the rest of my housemates.
Evan won’t meet my eye, and that’s how I know he’s up to something.
Stone’s arms fall away when I arch my back and shove my butt into him. He wheezes, and my housemates laugh.
“What did you do?”
He can’t talk. He’s too busy gasping for air and cupping his balls. Evan is staring at the ceiling again with his hands in his pockets.
“Evan…”
“Oh, no you don’t.” He shakes his head. “You two are not putting me in the middle of this.”
“So you didn’t approve?” Stone asks through sharp breaths.
Evan half shrugs.
I zero in on Stone’s hands, which are still cupping his balls.
“Why are your knuckles red?”
“I hit some jackass.”
I rush forward and grab his hand, rubbing my fingers over the swelling. “You have a game later! Why would you do th—”
There isn’t a noise to be heard when my phone starts vibrating in my bag. Everyone’s attention is on it.
Before I step forward, I press on Stone’s red knuckles. “Stay put.”
His mouth twitches.
When I pull my phone out, I’m confused. But only for a moment.
“You hit Brad, didn’t you?”
“Is that him calling?” Stone’s eyes widen.
I put my hand up. “Don’t you dare, Stone Foster!”
There is no use in trying to find some privacy in this house, not after the guys decided that I needed a bodyguard at all times, so I put the phone up to my ear and say, “Hello?”
“What the fuck, Wren?”
“Speaker, now,” Stone whisper-snaps.
I give him the finger, and Evan snickers.
Brad’s voice disgusts me.
“Did you seriously sic your psycho boyfriend on me for calling you one fucking time?”
Why did I ever like him again?
“He better watch the way he fucking talks to you.”
I shuffle backward so Stone can stop using his supersonic hearing and listening to the conversation.
“One time?” I ask. “I have multiple calls a day from Unknown , Brad.”
“Well, it isn’t me!” he argues.
“And you want me to believe you? You cheated on me for months and lied right to my face. How could I ever believe a thing you say?”
“Fucking bastard.”
“Maybe we should all take turns punching him?”
“Fuck yeah.”
I glare at the guys, who are all staring at me with their arms crossed. They’re each sharing a scowl, and I scoff. I don’t need them to fight my battles for me. I was doing just fine fending Brad off myself.
“Well, believe what you want. I called one time, and the only reason I blocked my number was because I didn’t think you’d answer if you knew it was me.”
“Well, you thought right. Don’t call me again.”
“Don’t even think about her again,” Stone says.
I push Stone back, and he goes willingly, smirking the whole time.
Brad curses in my ear. “Tell your psychotic little hockey player boyfriend that if he ever touches me again, he’ll be done for.”
I hang up and stare at Stone from across the hall. “You are unbelievable!”
Stone’s hand stretches forward, and I think he’s going to pull me in to try and put a damper on my frustrations, but instead, he grabs my phone. Everyone is leaning over his shoulder as he flips through my missed calls.
“You’re changing your number,” he mutters.
His finger continues to scroll.
“Sure are,” Evan says.
“If it isn’t Brad calling, who is it?” Grant asks.
I try to laugh, but it dies on the edge of my lips when I see that they are all sincere. “You can’t be serious. You want me to change my number? I can’t do that.”
“Why can’t you?” Stone flicks his head to the guys.
They head upstairs. I wait until they’re out of sight before ripping my phone out of his hand.
“Because…” The word lingers in between us. “I can’t afford to just get a new number. I’ve already been there, done that. I can’t keep changing my number.”
His eye roll is more of a dismissal. “I’ll take care of it.”
I stomp like a toddler. “No.”
“Wren.” His tone is borderline angry.
My lip pops out. I’m crushed to his body next, and he tilts my chin to meet his face.
“I know you’re used to being independent, but you’re going to have to get used to me taking care of you.”
I say nothing and let him press his lips to mine. It soothes me for a second before he lets go of me and heads up the stairs.
“Oh.” He glances over the banister, and I’m leery of his smile. “I put a tracker on your phone, so if you decide to try and pay me back for hitting your ex, and not show up to my game, I’ll be able to find you.”
My mouth drops as I stare at the device in my hand. “You are unbe—”
“ Unbelievable ,” he finishes for me. “I know. I’ll show you later how unbelievable I really am.”
I ignore how my belly drops with his sexual innuendo.
I am more than happy to show up to his game, but I’m still going to pay him back and show him that he can’t just come into my life and control everything.
* * *
“Wow, so this is what it looks like to live with a bunch of hunky hockey players.”
I shut the front door behind Ally but not before glancing to the left and right, making sure there aren’t any suspicious cars hiding out in plain sight. The moon is peeking out, and I really wanted to get to the arena before sunset.
I refuse to say anything to the guys, but I’m a little uneasy after figuring out that Brad isn’t the one calling me multiple times a day. I know who’s behind it, but if I don’t say it aloud, then I don’t have to face it.
“Hunky hockey players?” I bristle at her compliment. “Don’t say that in front of them. They’ll try to get into your pants.”
She laughs. “Except Stone. I heard he likes to get into only one person’s pants…in the employee bathroom.”
I trip up the stairs. Ally busts out a laugh before grabbing onto my arm and saving me from face-planting, which wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world because then I could blame my red face on the floor instead of embarrassment.
“Oh my God. Who told you that?”
We walk into my room, and she glances around. The covers are messy, and Stone’s school stuff is sitting beside mine on the desk. My clothes are on the floor, and right beside my t-shirt lays Stones.
“Wait, you’re rooming with him too? Wow, you two are the real deal.”
“Who told you about the employee bathroom?” I pray it wasn’t my boss. The last thing I need is to be fired from my job.
“Relax.” She waves her hand into the air. “I saw you guys leaving. No one else knows, and your secret is safe with me.”
I shake my fingers out. “Whew. Thanks.”
She nods and takes her hair down, running her fingers through the golden strands. “But just a warning, that man is obsessed with you.”
“He is not,” I argue before working on my own hair. My brown strands weave in between my fingers as I pull them into a high pony, fluffing the ends of it for a little volume. I think about Stone and how he put a tracker on my phone. Okay, fine. “He’s possessive. Not obsessed.”
Ally stops putting on her lipstick. “I don’t see the difference.”
My lips twitch because she’s kind of right.
Then we both laugh, and I have to admit, it feels nice to have a girlfriend again.
I’ve had a few acquaintances here and there, most of them girlfriends of Brad’s friends, so none that amounted to anything.
I still talk to Jasmin at least once a week, but she doesn’t attend Shadow Valley, so it isn’t very often that we get together.
“Want to be naughty with me?” I ask Ally.
I smile to myself as I head for the bedroom door.
“Does this involve pissing Stone off? Because after watching his reaction after you dumped beer on his lap the other night, I am totally down.”
“Mmm-hmm.” I skip over to Archer’s room.
I nod to Evan’s door. “Go in there and grab Evan’s away jersey. You’re gonna wear it tonight.”
Ally pauses. “And you’re wearing…not Stone’s? I’m assuming with the way you’re smiling.”
I snap. “Correct. I’m going to teach him a little lesson.”
We meet out in the hall with the jerseys in our hands and laugh like little schoolgirls. I start to strip, but Ally puts her hand on my arm.
“Wait, why is there a camera in the corner?”
I’m standing in nothing but my jeans and bra when the blood drains from my face. “What?” I look in the direction she’s pointing and pull the jersey on before grabbing her by the hand and disappearing into my room.
We both look in the corners and come up empty-handed. I rush for my phone but pause when I see a text on the screen. Ally is looking over my shoulder, and the rumble of her silent laugher vibrates against my back.
Stone
That better be my jersey you’re wearing.
“Oh my God!” My jaw flies open. Did he put cameras up?
“See.” Ally is clearly amused. “Obsessed.”
My fingers fly over the screen with anger.
Are you kidding me? You’re spying on me now? That is totally uncalled for and inappropriate!
I rip open the door to our room and let it slam against the wall. My back is to the camera in the corner, and I peek over my shoulder and wink before walking back into my room.
Ally rolls her lips. “This is so entertaining.”
“He is unbelievable. I swear to God.”
Stone
Take it off. Now.
You’re not the boss of me.
You’ll regret saying that.
I shove my phone in my back pocket, and Ally follows me around the house as I hunt for the rest of the cameras.
I snag us both a beer out of the fridge, and we drink them without saying a word.
Part of me wants to take the cameras down and crush them with a baseball bat, but the other part of me feels a little better knowing that if someone else were to break in, we’d have it on camera.
I have no idea if the rest of the guys are in on this, but it doesn’t matter.
What matters is that Stone kept it to himself, and that pisses me off.
He’s treating me like a child, and I don’t like it.
“Are you going to take the jersey off?” Ally throws our beer bottles into the trash.
I meet her eye and smile. “Absolutely not .”