Chapter 12
12
Lukas
A month passes, but time does nothing to make the madness fade .
I almost send the call to voicemail, but I swipe the little button across the screen. What if it’s an emergency? I’d hate myself for ignoring it.
“Hey, Torre. What’s up?”
“I just heard you’re throwing a party tonight.”
I shouldn’t have answered it. Fuck. I’m not in the mood for this right now. My nerves are shot from a lack of sleep. Being on edge all the time is wearing me down.
“Where’d you hear that?” I take a deep breath, bracing for the fight. It’s all we ever do anymore. Every time we get together, we end up arguing. The feelings flood in, the tension bottles up, and then inevitably a fight begins. Sometimes, she starts it. Sometimes, I start it. Sometimes, I don’t even know what we’re arguing about.
“Willow told me.”
Of course she did. I should’ve known Brennon’s girlfriend would tell her about the party. The two girls have gotten close over the last month. They met at the first game, and my sister adopted Willow right away. She’s always had a soft spot for the quiet girls. And Willow’s one of the shyest girls I’ve ever met. Though, I know that has to do with her speech impediment. It’s obvious crowds make her nervous, but my sister has managed to break past her nerves, and now the three of them, Sophie included, are always together.
“So, were you not going to invite me?”
No. I wasn’t. The idea of having Torrin being ogled and hit on by my teammates doesn’t sit well. She’s too tempting. Add alcohol into the mix, and that shit makes me nervous. If she were here, I definitely wouldn’t be able to drink. I need my thoughts completely sober when I’m around her.
“It’s for the team and their girlfriends, Torre.” And whoever got wind of it. I just told the guys I’m cutting off capacity at a hundred, so they could invite their friends, roommates, etc... And I know some of the cheerleaders are coming, which means they’ve probably invited some of their sorority sisters.
“That’s not what I heard,” Torre snaps through the line. “Willow said that a bunch of girls were talking about it in class yesterday.”
“Yeah. And? What’s the problem? Some of the guys passed along the invite. Doesn’t change the fact that you’re not twenty-one. Besides, it’s a school night. You should be studying.”
Her grumble has me gripping the phone tighter. I’m seriously not in the mood for this. I have a party to get ready for. And I need to mentally gear up to handle the crowd. I’m trying to cheer the guys up and build up the team’s spirit, but how the fuck do I do that when my spirit feels like it’s breaking? These feelings are bleeding into everything. My thoughts. My mood. My game. I had the worst practice in history the other day, and it’s all attributed to the thoughts that were chasing me down the field.
“More than half of the team isn’t twenty-one, Lukas. And everyone has classes tomorrow. So how come it’s okay for them to be there, but your own sister isn’t allowed to come?”
Because I don’t want to fuck any of them .
“I’m not babysitting your ass tonight, Torre. The answer is still no.”
“I’m not twelve, Lukas. I don’t need you to babysit me.”
She is definitely not twelve. Though, I wish she were. Things would be a hell of a lot easier if she were that scrawny little rugrat I grew up with. Now, she’s all woman. And all I can think about is how much I want to run my hands down her curves and explore every inch. Fuck.
“My answer isn’t changing, Torre.”
“Ugh. You’re a jerk, Lukas.”
“Fine. I’m a jerk. Are we done now? I have to go get ready for tonight.” That word has practically become my nickname over the last few weeks. Jerk, asshole—I’m starting to get used to them all. And every time she calls me one in my dreams, I punish her for it.
“You’re such a hypocrite. You know that? You used to party all the time when you were my age. You were doing keg stands and going crazy. All I want to do is experience what a college party is like. I don’t even want to drink.”
“Nothing you say is going to change my mind, Torre. Now, I really have to go. I’ll talk to you later.”
The line goes dead, and the headache sinks in deeper.
“Are you and Torre fighting again?” Travis comes into the kitchen, taking the seat across from me.
“She’s mad I didn’t invite her to our party.”
“You didn’t?”
“I don’t want to have to babysit her all night. Everyone’s going to be drinking, and the last thing I need is to get into it with one of the guys when they try to fuck her.”
The first time Torre came to a practice, they all nearly lost their minds. Asking me if she was single, wanting me to set them up on a date. I told them she’s off-limits, but with alcohol in their systems, I don’t know if they’ll remember my threat.
“Yeah. I get it. But I bet she’s pissed.”
What’s new? She’s pissed with me about everything these days. She thinks I’m too overprotective. Too overbearing. Too bossy. Too busy. Whatever I do or say is wrong. I can’t win. And I don’t know how to get things back to the way they used to be.
“She hung up on me,” I tell him. Which means tomorrow I’ll have to stop by her place and make amends. Right now, I have a party to get ready for. “So, what’s left to do for tonight?”
“We just need to pick up the kegs and place the order for the food. Then we should be all set. I’ll be back from my office hours at four thirty and then I can go with you to pick up the beer.”
“Sounds good.”
Maybe I should skip classes and take a nap. Yet, knowing what will be waiting for me when I close my eyes, it’s better for me to get to class.