Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
THAT KISS IS MINE, DAMMIT
“Self-defense or not, you made a hell of a mess, Zachary.” Lex plunks her hands on her hips as she surveys the disaster zone of our booth.
“Huh?” I mutter, watching a smirking Denny blow that loser a kiss.
“The mess!” She jabs me with her finger when I don’t respond promptly enough.
Swatting at her hand, I offer, “We can help clear it up.”
Her nose wrinkles. “You’ll make it worse. Just leave it to me and use another table. And FYI, I expect a doozy of a tip.”
“I think we can guarantee that,” Gregg purrs, jumping into our conversation.
I miss the server’s scowl. Hell, I miss my teammate’s flirty tone too.
I’m mostly focused on Denny.
When she turns away from the door, that smug smile still in place, I bemoan, “That was mine.”
“What was?”
Her airy question tells me she knows exactly what I’m talking about.
“The kiss!”
She snorts. “That wasn’t a kiss. That was a ‘fuck you.’”
“A what?!”
“Not as in ‘I want to fuck you,’ Zach. Sheesh.” She squints at me. “Okay with that, Mr. Jealous and Possessive?”
I don’t like that she taunted him, mostly because that kind of guy takes pleasure in bringing people down.
I can make him piss blood for a week, but if he targets Denny, that won’t ease her pain if he finds a way to make her pay for humiliating him in public.
When Lex moves past us with a dustpan and broom, Denny switches focus and grabs the server’s arm. “You must hear a ton of gossip working here.”
“Sure.”
“Are they dating?”
“I doubt it. Addison’s more interested in Zach than Dyers from what I’ve heard.” Lex shoots an apologetic glance at me.
I wince when Denny skewers me in place with a gimlet stare. “Oh, I’m well aware of that.”
“Anyway, they were paired up by Pi Beta Epsilon and Rho Epsilon Beta. They’re each other’s house sweethearts.”
Denny gags. “No freakin’ way.”
“How do you know that?” I ask, surprised because the kinds of girls that become Pies don’t wait tables at a diner.
“I used to be a Pi.” Lex’s tone turns wooden. “I need to get moving.”
Denny doesn’t let her go. “Were you close? Would you talk to Addison?”
“I don’t—”
“He’s a sex offender which means Addison, as well as the rest of the female population on campus, is probably at risk.”
My brow furrows at Denny’s whisper.
But Lex’s answer has me stilling. “I know.”
“Oh, Lex!” Denny tries to maneuver them into a hug, but the other woman backs off.
“Not me.”
That was about as believable as a rainbow on a rain-free day.
Lex doesn’t stick around to explain further, so I tug on Denny’s hand and bring her closer to me.
“What was that about him being a sex offender?”
“Not officially.”
My frown darkens. “Explain.”
“Something happened last year to a female student. Dyers and his friend were involved. The friend got shipped to another school, and Dyers got to stay here. Nobody’s talking about what went down. But they were punished for ‘misconduct.’”
The instant surge of my blood pressure can’t be healthy, but the rush of hatred I feel for that dick is all-encompassing.
I might be a real shithead with women. Since messing around in middle school, I let them know from the jump that I was only interested in sex so it was on them if they expected more. But I never, ever dreamed of forcing them into doing shit.
Not only because I didn’t need to, but because hockey culture can be toxic as fuck. If anyone knows that, it’s me after listening to Dad bleat on about how the pros get in over their heads with the stunts they pull.
And as much as I love the game, I hate that side of things. Probably because Denny has never been quiet about how much it sucks to be a woman in this world.
“Zach?”
I take note of her concern and immediately feel guilty. Jesus. If anyone’s concerned, it’s me. Especially after she put a target on her back.
“How sure are you of this? Is it just gossip?”
“You know me well enough to figure out I wouldn’t spread something I didn’t think was true. Callan told me.”
Green’s becoming my favorite color.
I know it’s something I need to get under control. I know it’s something that she’ll grow tired of if I don’t get a handle on it, but fuck, it’s hard.
For every year I wasted on not making her mine, the petty part of me wants to covet.
And Denny’s too independent for that.
It’ll push her away if I’m not careful—
“Zach?!”
I slide my hand around her throat so I can take the weight of her head in my palm and I lower my mouth to capture her lips.
“I’m trying,” I rasp when she moans into the kiss.
I can feel eyes on us, but I ignore them.
Those eyes mean shit to me. Not even Pecan’s.
Denny’s all that matters.
She’s all that’s ever mattered, and my dumbfuck, teenaged brain failed to see that.
Stupid prefrontal cortex.
She blinks. “Huh?”
Ah, shit. I said that out loud?
“If it had developed faster, I’d have been kissing you for years by now.”
The gleam in her eyes makes up for me being a dumbass.
She squeezes the hand she’s holding. “What are you trying to do?”
Ah, yeah. That portion of my verbal diarrhea was before I got waylaid with the desperate need to kiss her.
“Trying not to be a jealous Neanderthal, but it’s tough.”
Her thumb rubs over my knuckles. It’s a soothing gesture but it doesn’t work. “We can figure it out together.”
I grimace. “Not if I piss you off.”
“You piss me off every day,” she deadpans. “And you have almost the whole time I’ve known you. And aren't we still friends? Now, I’m fucking you so you’re clearly not that annoying.”
I snort out a laugh. “Here was me thinking you’d swoon over food-boarding Dyers—”
“Food-boarding?”
“Sure. I wish he’d have choked on that faceful he took.” My lips tighten. “If he comes so much as ten feet toward you, I want to know. He’s not the type to take shit lying down.”
“He does with you.”
“Because he knows I’m not afraid to tear into him. He might not like it, but he’s a bully and they only pick on people they consider weaker than them.” I hold up a hand when she squawks at me. “I’m not saying you are. I’m saying that he’s an idiot and you know idiots never make the best decisions.”
While she doesn’t appreciate my logic… she doesn’t argue. So she knows I’m right.
“You have to go to the library, don’t you?”
“To finish my philosophy essay.” She rubs her temple. “Can this day get any worse?”
“Is Callan meeting you on the way?”
“No—”
“I should come with you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Stay here.” She curls her arms around my waist. “Thank you. I’ll see you later?”
“Of course you will. I’ll text you—tell me if you can meet for coffee.”
“Yo, Denny!” Gregg calls out.
Annoyed, not only by the interruption but that he uses her nickname, I scowl at him, but he just flips me the bird.
“How did you know about that rumor, Denny?”
“The small dick rumor?” She shrugs but that smirk’s back to dancing on her lips. “I made an educated guess.”
I gape at her. And I’m not the only one.
“What if he has a donkey dick?!” Pecan sputters.
“Nah. He’s an overcompensater. I know boys well enough to piece that together.”
Pecan and I jerk back in horror, and she sputters out around a laugh, “Your faces. I should have taken a picture!”
“Fucking hell, D,” Peeks grouses. “Ya don’t use guesswork about a man’s package.”
I huff. “You better be teasing.”
A gleam appears in her eye. “Oh, yes. You have nothing to overcompensate for. Though, with all the time you boys spend in the showers, you knew that already.”
With the team chortling and my ego somewhat stroked, I hesitate as she winks at the group. “Denny?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re sure about this shit with Dyers?”
“As sure as I can be. Callan wouldn’t have said anything if he wasn’t a hundred percent certain he was telling me the truth.”
My lips purse at her faith in him.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because I’m about to ream the team out for even considering playing hockey with that piece of shit.”
A soft gust of air escapes her parted lips. “You were a ten before but now you’re a hundred.”
My brows lift in surprise at the compliment. “Really?” I drag her into me via the hands I plant on her ass. “How are you going to handle being so attracted to me? It must be a complete and total distraction.”
“I’m sure we can come up with a solution for me later.”
“How much later?” I croon.
She licks her lips. “Not too late. Soon. Very soon. Like four o’clock? After you’re done with this lot?”
“Perfect.”
I know I rumbled the word because her pupils dilate.
She leans up to give me a final, breathy kiss then grabs her bag, grimaces as she swipes off some stray remnants of Texas toast onto the pile Lex is sweeping up, shoots a worried look at the server, who doesn’t glance away from her work, then darts out with a final wave to the team at the table.
Until she reaches the door.
She turns back much as Dyers did earlier.
And this time, when she blows me a kiss, I feel the difference.
Not just in my dick, either.
With a grunt, I watch her go for as long as I can then I turn on my heel.
Pecan’s watching me, his expression wary. “You fuck around with him again and the dean will get involved.”
I shrug off the warning. “The shit he called Denny? He’s lucky he could walk out of the diner.”
“Your temper, man. You need to get it under control.”
“I’m not the Hulk,” I snap.
“Not unless someone insults Denny. She’s mouthy. She’s always going to insult someone. You can’t threaten the teeth of everyone she pisses off.”
“Dyers’s different and you know it. He’s a bully, Pecan. I hate bullies.”
Mostly because my father is one.
As a kid, I was luckier than most. When he and Mom did their weird semi-split, his presence in my life was minimal. It meant that he never had the chance to dig his claws into me.
Aside from with the stutter I had.
Looking back, that was the only thing Mom didn’t go head-to-head with him on.
“He’s definitely a bully,” Gregg agrees. “Addison looked terrified.”
“Did she seriously steal your house key?” Joker asks.
“Yup. She’s a full-on bunny boiler.”