Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Wymack turned the TV off as his Foxes started filing in. When they were all seated he swept them with a brief look. "Going to make this quick. You've got a well-deserved party to get to. We'll go over the nitty-gritty and ugly details Monday morning as usual. This wasn't the cleanest game you've played but it was by far the most mature. You did what you had to do and you came out on top.
"Also: welcome to the semifinals. It's you, USC, and Edgar Allan. You're toe-to-toe with what's left of the Big Three. No, don't make that face," Wymack said, because Dan blanched a little at that reminder. "Don't be afraid. Be rowdy. Be proud. No one thought you could get this far—no one except the people seated in this room. You've earned this. You've earned this," he stressed, with another look around. "Now get out and get trashed."
"Carefully," Abby said. "Off the road, out of sight, out of trouble. Okay?"
"Yes, Mom," Nicky quipped.
"We won't leave the dorm," Dan promised.
Traffic made the trip back to Fox Tower endless. The dead silence in Andrew's car didn't help. Aaron looked content where he was leaning against the window and Nicky was practically vibrating with excitement, but no one spoke.
Getting out of the car again was almost a relief, and Neil helped his teammates lug what was left of their alcohol down to one of the basement rooms. By the time Matt and Nicky got the tables cleared out of the way the Vixens were starting to show up. Andrew acknowledged their arrival by taking a handle of vodka and leaving again.
"Ahem," Nicky said at his elbow. Neil attempted a neutral look that fooled Nicky not at all. "You realize we're going to be out of the room for a couple hours, right? Get lost."
"I'm fine here," Neil said.
"Goodbye," Dan said, showing up out of nowhere on Neil's other side. "First rule of college dating: never waste an empty dorm room."
Neil wanted to tell her they weren't dating and Andrew could take or leave his presence at any given point. He wanted to stay and celebrate his teammates' brilliant success. He wanted to watch the way Aaron became a completely different person with Katelyn at his side. But half of the Vixen squad was already here, taking up the room with bright laughter and thick perfume, and noise in the hall said more were on the way. Neil had nothing against the cheerleaders, but if he could choose between playing nice with half-strangers for hours or bothering Andrew in private, the latter was the obvious choice.
"You were amazing tonight," Neil said, because they deserved at least that much before he disappeared on them. "All of you."
"None of that," Dan said breezily, but her grin said she appreciated his compliment all the same. "We'll talk about the game Monday, remember? Tonight is for drinking and general craziness. Now get out of here and get some."
"Speaking of getting some," Nicky said in German. He wheeled on Aaron and flailed at him. "How is he suddenly okay with this? What the hell did you do?"
"I returned the favor," Aaron said with a cool look in Neil's direction. "Neil used Katelyn against me, so I used Neil against Andrew. Depending on how you look at it, Neil's as much a violation of our deal as Katelyn was. Andrew could break our deal and let me go or break things off with Neil."
Neil was fluent in German, but Aaron's words were a jumbled mess he couldn't make sense of. Aaron had warned Neil he was ready to fight for Katelyn, but if Neil was the ammunition he'd used Aaron should have lost. This had to be a misunderstanding or Aaron's skewed take on Andrew's intentions.
Nicky found his tongue first. "Wait, he chose Neil over you? That sounds a little serious for a fling, don't you—" Nicky glanced at Neil's blank face and faltered. "News to you too, huh?"
Aaron ignored Nicky and tossed a key to Neil. "You're trading rooms with me tomorrow. I'm allowed to bring Katelyn by the dorm now but I'm not putting her in the same room as Andrew if I can help it. He might've agreed to stand down but I still trust him as far as I can throw him."
"I'll pack in the morning," Neil said.
Aaron turned back to Katelyn. Nicky was still looking at Neil like he was the world's biggest mystery. Neil slipped out before Nicky said anything else and took the stairs up. Andrew's door was locked, but Aaron's key let Neil in. He found Andrew half-buried in a beanbag chair with the open bottle of vodka in his hands. The TV was off, but Andrew studied the screen like he could see something on its dark surface. He didn't ask how Neil got inside. Maybe he and Aaron had already talked about the upcoming switch.
Neil locked the door behind him and crossed the room to Andrew's side. Andrew let him take the vodka away without argument or resistance. Neil screwed its cap on tight and set it where neither of them could knock it over. Andrew was ready when Neil turned back to him, and he caught Neil's collar to pull him down. Neil planted one hand against the rough carpet to keep himself leveraged off Andrew's body. The other he buried in the beanbag near Andrew's head. Andrew dragged a hand down Neil's arm from his shoulder to his wrist.
"Last I checked you hated me," Neil said against Andrew's mouth.
"Everything about you," Andrew said.
Neil pushed himself up a bit. "I'm not as stupid as you think I am."
"And I'm not as smart as I thought I was," Andrew said. "I know better than to do this again. Perhaps it's the self-destructive streak in me?"
If it wasn't for that "again" Neil would think this had to do with Wednesday's terrible conversation. Neil ticked through all the possible explanations as fast as he could, from Roland's rejected advances to Andrew's complicated family issues to the Foxes and Drake. Pressure on his wrist finally turned his thoughts where they needed to go. Neil had once asked Andrew if it would kill him to let something in. He should've known better than to say such a thing after seeing Andrew's scars. Andrew had nearly killed himself trying to hang onto Cass Spear, but he'd still lost her in the end.