Spiked by Love(17)

I roll my eyes. “No clue. His real name is Trey, which doesn’t even rhyme with Taco. So, really, I don’t know.”

She snickers. “He sounds like a winner.”

“Yeah, winning at sucking at life. He tells her he’s changed, but I don’t believe that for a second. She’ll figure it out. She always does.”

“It hurts my heart. She’s such a good girl and has such a great example of love in her family. Why would she settle for someone who doesn’t love her completely? Harper is distraught about it.”

“I don’t know,” I say slowly. “I wish I did, but it is what it is. Ally does what Ally wants, and the world can adjust.”

“I love that girl.”

“Me too,” I agree as I turn onto the highway. I almost expect her to ask if there can be more between Ally and me. Apparently, that’s the theme lately. But she doesn’t mention it. “Hey, I’m moving in to Aiden’s condo.”

“Man, you didn’t even make it a week.”

I laugh. “Sorry. I don’t know how you do it.”

“They’re not that bad.”

“Mom, they’re crazy,” I retort. “I feel you and Dad might be in danger from the cross fire.”

She laughs ruefully. “You’re insane. If they didn’t love each other, then I would worry. But they love each other more than they love any of us.”

Huh. I didn’t think of it that way, but still, I need out. “Whatever you say. So, I’ll be moving out this weekend.”

“At least I got a week. Though, Aiden gave me longer.”

I scoff. “Because he’s a titty baby.”

That makes her snort with laughter. “Will you be home tonight?”

“I don’t know. I might go get my key from Shelli and stay at the condo if it’s late. I’m going to a party.”

“A party?”

“On campus. A date, if you will.”

“Look at you go. Condo, jobs, potential companionship. And you were worried?”

I grin. “Yeah, I sometimes forget I can do anything I put my mind to.”

“This is true. So, who’s the lucky lady?”

“Angie Paxton.”

I’m met with silence. “Oh Jesus, Asher. No. Not Angie.”

“What? Why?”

“She’s a baby!”

“She’s eighteen.”

“A baby! Lucy is going to flip.”

I laugh. “We’re not dating, dating. I haven’t even kissed her yet.”

“Benji might too, and all those Sinclairs will come after you. Lord help you.”

“Stop being so dramatic.”

“This is almost as bad as Aiden getting with Shelli. I saw his death. I saw Shea and the twins coming to murder him. That was only three of them. I feel like there are a hundred Sinclairs.”

I chuckle loudly. “I don’t see it going anywhere, Mom. I’m just having fun.”

“Can’t you have fun with Ally?”

I can’t exactly admit that’s why I am going to the party. It’s not to hang with Angie but to keep an eye on Ally. Taco loves parties, so I know he’ll be there. “I will. She is going too.”

“Don’t call me when people find out about this. I want to be completely oblivious. You know what? This conversation didn’t happen.”

“Now I know where your daughters get their dramatics from.”

“Okay, smartass. My marketing team just showed up. Let me let you go.”

“All right. Love you, Mom.”

“Love you, and I’m very proud of you, minus the Angie thing. I have no clue about that.”

She hangs up on the sound of my laughter. I have a grocery list, and I promised I would pick everything up. I may only be staying a week, but at least I do chores. When I pull up to Aldi, I put the car in park and then grab my phone to text Ally.

Me: Guess what?

Ally T: What?

Me: I got the job at Bellevue.

Ally T: !!!!! WELL, DUH! That’s super awesome! CONGRATULATIONS!

I beam.

Me: Thanks. I’m pretty excited about it.

Ally T: You should be. You’re basically a badass.

Me: This is true.

Ally T: Okay, your head is big enough, and I’m in the middle of class. Leave me alone.

Me: Fine, asshole.

She sends me a kissy face, and I laugh as I click off her name and go to Angie’s.

Me: Hey, if you still want a date for the party, I’m your dude.

Angie: Really? What changed your mind?

I can’t exactly tell her the whole truth, so I go with part of it.

Me: I want to get to know you more, and I don’t want to wait until tomorrow.

Angie: Well, that’s good to hear. Wanna meet at my dorm at nine?

Me: Yeah, I’ll see you in a bit.

Angie: I can’t wait.

Me: Can’t either.

I sort of feel bad. I don’t want to lead her on, but then again, I’ve been totally honest about what I want. Maybe tonight, she’ll decide she wants more. Though, that’ll just put me in more trouble.

’Cause I don’t want anything with her.

Shit. I’m acting like a before-Shelli Aiden.

Not a good look, but he’d be so proud.





* * *



I get to Angie and Ally’s dorm right at nine. I’m one of those punctual dudes, which is why my supervisors and professors speak so highly of me. The rest of my family? Always late. It drove me insane growing up. It didn’t matter what time we had to be somewhere; we were always thirty minutes late. It was so bad that Aiden would have to put his hockey gear on in the car just to make it to practice on time. The smell was horrendous. When he started driving, it was a godsend. He actually cared about getting to practice or games on time; everything else, though, he was late. Come to think about it, he’ll probably be late to his wedding.

When I reach Ally and Angie’s room, I admire the picture of them hugging tightly that’s stuck to the door with their names on either side of the photo. It’s cute, plus, they both look really pretty. I never lived in the dorms. I got an apartment right off the bat because sharing a space with a person I’m not sleeping with makes me itch. Ally loves it. Though, she does have an issue with sharing a washing machine—for good reason. College kids are disgusting.

I rap my knuckles on the door three times, and Ally yells, “Come in!”

I push the door open, and the first thing I see is Ally. She’s lying halfway on her bed, her knees on the floor, with a book open in front of her. She’s wearing a very tight leopard-print dress and has on black Jordan sneakers. Her hair is down, wild with curls, and her makeup is done like she is about to walk the runway. I swallow hard at the sight of her.

She looks up at me and grins. “Hey, Jumbotron-job guy.”

I grin, shaking my head out of the haze her beauty has caused. “Hey yourself. Tight dress.”

She scoffs as she nods. “I know. We’re all wearing these dresses we got at Walmart.”

I raise my brows as I shut the door. “Walmart?”

With wide eyes, she says, “Um, Walmart stepped up their game. Plus, can’t beat eleven bucks for a bitchin’ dress.”

I snort. “Bitchin’?”

“What? It’s a fun word.”

“Yeah, in the eighties,” I tease as I sit on her bed. “Where is Angie?”

“Over in Nicolette’s room. She’s doing her makeup. She did mine.”

No wonder. Ally usually doesn’t get done up like this. “What are you doing?”

“This fucking insanely hard math. I don’t know why I need math to help people with mental problems. I promise, I will not quiz anyone.”

I laugh as I fall to my knees beside her, her shoulders pressing into my arm as I lean over to see what she is doing. “Oh, this is easy.”

She narrows her eyes. “Okay, smarty-pants. Just tell me what to do.”

I lean in, grinning as I do exactly what she asks. This isn’t the first time we’ve worked together. I helped her a lot as we were growing up when it came to math. It isn’t her strong suit. She catches on quickly now, though, and just as we finish, Angie comes into the room. I look up, a grin on my face as I take her in. She looks unbelievable in a bright neon-yellow dress that is way shorter than Ally’s and a size too small. Pretty sure she isn’t wearing panties. Her hair is up in a high ponytail, and her makeup is bright and whimsical. She’s fucking hot. But then she makes a face as she looks between us.

Before she can ask or even accuse, I get up and go to her. “Damn, you look incredible.”

Her face relaxes as I lean in, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. She smells good too, but still, I pull away. “You ready?”

“Yup,” she says, walking away from me to slide her feet into really high pink pumps. I look back to see Ally stacking up her books before fixing the hem of her skirt. “When is Taco getting here?”

“I’m meeting him. He’s already there. He met up with some friends.”

“Oh, why didn’t you head over early?” Angie asks, and Ally glances over at her.

“I had homework.”

“You’re such a nerd. No wonder you two are besties.”

Ally meets my gaze, and we shrug. Could be worse things, I guess. With that, we leave and head to the lacrosse team’s house. Bellevue likes to put their teams together in houses. It’s kind of a cool idea and promotes a strong team bond, I guess. The walk to the house is short, and when Angie grabs my hand, I feel a little bit weird. I smile down at her, and she beams up at me. I find myself looking over at Ally, but she’s engaged in her phone.