GRAYSON

As I watched Bren square up to my roommate, everything Nessa had told me about this guy replayed in my head, over and over.

Bren looked about ready to burn this entire place down. He looked about ready for anything, really, as long as it meant making a statement about not fucking with his girlfriend.

Maybe it was the insider information I knew about him that had me more on my toes than Brodie was, but I was inclined to believe my roommate was just a fucking idiot.

After Bren came at him for harassing Madie, Brodie actually tried to punch him.

The guy with a gun. Brodie tried to punch the guy with a Glock tucked in his waistband.

And when I tried to hold him back, Brodie jerked me off, leaving me to decide he was on his goddamn own. Because fuck that. I had a good weekend before this, and I didn't really want to ruin it by getting shot by Nessa's friend. That would definitely complicate our relationship.

Shaking my head, I retreated to stand next to Julian.

"What the fucking hell is going on here?" he hissed as we watched Brodie and Bren exchange heated words.

"You know Quinton's ex, Madie?"

Julian nodded.

"That's her new boyfriend."

"Fuck," Jules breathed, drawing the word out beneath his breath.

And then we heard Brodie mutter the words because your bitch of a girlfriend, and we both stiffened.

"He's going to get himself killed."

Dread swirled in my stomach. As much as I hated how Brodie was acting lately, he'd been my friend since elementary school. And I was a little bit worried that Jules was right.

"I don't know much about this guy," I said after swallowing hard and nodding at Bren. "But I know he has some shit going on. And Brodie is hitting all of his triggers right now."

Julian swore again, taking a step forward. And then he hesitated.

He didn't get a chance to do anything more, though. Breathing down Brodie's neck, Bren took that moment to give one final warning and whirled around. Brodie stumbled back as if Bren had hit him. But he didn't. Unless I somehow missed it.

"Hey, Hadaway?" he called, and his voice was threadbare now. Completely different than before.

Bren turned back, fury misting his eyes still. "Yeah?"

Brodie paused. Shifted on his feet. Shook his head. "Never mind."

Confusion flickered on Bren's face, but he pushed it away. He left with a dramatic exit, knocking both lobby doors open and striding through them.

It was deadly silent for a punishing moment before Julian clapped his hands together.

"Show's over," he called. "Let's get to work."

But while the rest of my teammates huddled around Julian, my feet pushed me toward the front doors. To follow the guy with a gun. Because, you know, apparently I was crazy.

The cool morning air smacked me in the face before I nearly smacked right into Bren's backside. He faced away from me, one hand on the building wall and another resting on his hip. He seemed to be catching a breath or taking a moment. Gathering his fucking wits, probably.

"Hey, man," I called, a little uneasy about startling him.

Which, of course, I did. He spun around. Cutting, brown eyes pinned me with a glare, and I tossed my hands up, palms forward.

I come in peace, dude.

After a few crazy seconds, he seemed to register who I was, and I watched his guard melt away.

"Nessa's friend, right?" he said, slicking a hand through his unruly hair. "Grayson?"

I gritted my teeth at the word friend but nodded anyway, thrusting my hands into my pockets. He cocked his head to the side, and I watched as his eyes darkened again. Just a bit.

"Madie seems to like you."

Well, that wasn't what I was expecting him to say. Did he think—

"But I'm inclined to be hesitant when it comes to OSU football players," he added.

I cleared my throat. "You and Nessa seem to have that in common."

He raised a brow before a smile split onto his surly face. "Giving you a run for your money, is she?"

"You could say that."

Fucking marathon, man. You have no idea.

He laughed. "Atta girl."

Alright. That was a little rude there, Bren, but whatever.

"No offense," he added with a shrug, and I smiled tightly.

Offense definitely taken.

Noticing my expression, Bren leaned in and spoke in a low, conspiratorial voice.

"Hear me out, though. As someone who got in the door right away, I actually think this means she likes you." His face instantly sobered, and before I could even comprehend what the fuck he'd just said, he pierced me with a look. "I swear to God, if you fuck with her, though—"

"Definitely don't need to worry about that," I said, cutting him off with an equally hard glare.

This guy was like whiplash, and I wasn't sure what to think about it. But the last thing I ever wanted was to hurt Nessa. And as her friend, he needed to know that.

Bren held my gaze until I cleared my throat again. "Actually, I came out here to let you know that I'm around to keep an eye out for Madie. And Nessa, of course. We have a class together, and they live just a few doors down from me." I swallowed and wondered why I felt a wave of nervousness surge through me. "I know it must suck being away."

At the mention of his girlfriend, Bren's entire demeanor shifted—from tense to relieved within seconds.

"You have no idea. I could use all the fucking eyes I can get." Pulling out his phone, he sighed. "Mind if I grab your number? Ya know, so I can reach you if you fuck with my girls."

I felt my lip starting to curl before he looked up with a chuckle.

"I was kidding about the last part, man."

I wasn't entirely sure about that. And my brain kept repeating how he said, my girls. Girls.

Not girl. Girls.

Sorry, Bren. Can't have both of them.

"But I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know if something goes down," he said, and I couldn't deny the genuine note in his voice.

Relenting, I gave him my number, and then he shoved his hands back into the pockets of his dress pants. His voice was quieter when he spoke again, and the traces of humor had faded entirely. He squinted against the sun, which had begun to peak over the top of the athletic center.

"I don't trust a lot of people," he said.

I nodded. I figured.

"You can trust me."

He nodded back, and then he was gone.

***

When Brodie ignored me at the gym, I wasn't surprised. Clearly working through some shit, his face was white as a sheet, movements stiff, demeanor off. Hopefully, he realized what a shithead he had been.

But when he continued to blow me off for the next week, I didn't know what to do anymore. I mean, I was worried. Not just for him but also for Madie. For some reason, she'd become his target, and ever since that confrontation with Bren, he'd been acting erratically.

Hushed phone conversations. Swearing at me for every little fucking thing. Disappearing for long stretches at a time and looking exhausted when he finally showed up.

Nessa was the only thing that kept my mind off the shit with Brodie. Always, Nessa. But every time I tried to stop by her room, there was no answer. And when I texted, she always seemed to be working. She did allow me to sit by her in Western Civ, but we barely spoke before she darted off to lunch while I had to run to Theory.

So when I finally saw Madie and Nessa sitting around at a table in the Ackley Hall commons one afternoon, I made a beeline for them. I wanted a chance to talk to Nessa, but I also felt the need to warn Madie about the shit going on with Brodie.

Didn't exactly want Bren up my ass after I made him a promise, after all.

Nessa faced her roommate as they chatted, long waves of dark hair cascading over her shoulders, and even though all I could see was her side profile, I had to discipline myself to focus on the serious shit. Not the memories of our weekend together. Her body pressed against mine. The fluttering of pleasure on her face. The fucking sounds she made on that piano.

Goddamn, focus.

"Okay, hot stuff. Let's get going on this paper," Nessa said, a glint in her eye as she looked at Madie.

"Alright, Wednesday."

"Hey," she shot back with a glare.

Wednesday?

A smug little smile emerged on Madie's face. "If you're going to call me hot stuff, I'm going to call you Wednesday."

Was that what Nessa was short for?

"Is that your real name?" I asked, breaking into the conversation with an easy grin.

"No," Nessa denied while Madie smiled and said, "Yes."

Nessa narrowed her eyes on her roommate. And not wanting to make it worse, I switched topics.

"So, are you working on your paper for Western Civ?"

"No," Nessa denied while Madie smiled and said, "Yes."

Again.

Nessa's cheeks were turning red, and I couldn't withhold a smirk.

"I'm going to believe Madie, I think," I said. "Can I join you? I wanted to talk to you about something anyway."

"Well, I don't want to talk to you," Nessa mumbled, glancing away.

I chuckled softly, even though it stung a little. Okay, a lot. It stung a lot. What happened to our breakthrough this weekend? For fuck's sake, we made a deal that she wasn't going to push me away like this anymore.

"I was talking to Madie," I admitted and then watched, a bit amused, as Nessa blushed again. She ducked her head.

Madie didn't, though. Curiosity simmered in her eyes, so I pushed Nessa out of my thoughts and turned to talk to her roommate instead.

I told her about Bren knocking Brodie down a few pegs—conveniently leaving out our conversation—before mentioning my concerns about what Brodie might do next. Retaliate, maybe? I honestly didn't know. But when I opened my mouth to caution her further, a snooty, annoying-ass voice interrupted me.

"Hey, Nessa. Can I talk to you for a second?"

Turning around, I frowned, coming face-to-face with the jerk who'd ditched Nessa at the gala.

She blinked, surprise lingering in her expression.

"Oh, I don't—"

"Please. Just real quick," he pressed, and I clenched my teeth.

"Fine. What do you want, Jonathan?"

He shuffled on his feet, glancing over at me once. I narrowed my eyes as he asked his next question.

"Can we talk in private?"

Dude was really looking for a swift punch to the nose.

"Why?" Nessa shot back.

"Nessa, it'll only take a minute," he pleaded pathetically, and I lost my restraint.

"She doesn't want to talk to you, asshole," I cut in coldly. "So either say what you're gonna say here or hit the fucking road."

Jonathan switched his full attention to me. His lips twitched. Eyes flared.

Come at me. I dare you.

Nessa pushed back from the table. "Fine," she said firmly, breaking apart our staredown. "Let's talk over there. But make it quick."

I watched them walk away together, Jonathan inching closer to Nessa with every step. And holy hell, I was pissed.

How many times had Nessa shoved me to the side, even though I'd barely done a goddamn thing wrong? And yet, here she was. Giving this guy another chance after he fucking ditched her in the middle of a date. A date he was goddamn lucky to have been gifted anyway.

"That prick completely blew her off at the gala," I spewed. "Why is she giving him the time of day?"

Madie's small voice answered me, trying to talk me down, and I tore my attention away from Nessa. I'd forgotten for a second that she was even there.

I listened as she muttered that we shouldn't judge Nessa for hearing Jonathan out. But all I could think about was why the hell it wasn't that easy for her to do the same thing with me?

And so when I couldn't take it anymore, I walked away.

It wasn't until later that night that I decided I could text her without exploding.

Me: So are you giving that guy another chance?

Nessa: Of course not.

Relief hit me like a tidal wave, but my doubts still lingered. Three little dots appeared to indicate she was still typing, and I waited, wanting to see what else she had to say. But then they disappeared.

I needed to know, though.

Me: Then why did you talk to him?

Nessa: Jealous, Wilder?

Shit, I needed to talk to her about using my middle name like that. It was a blessing and a curse. Both dangerous, though.

Me: When it comes to you? Always.

I was jealous of how easily he got her attention when I'd had to work fucking hard for it. Jealous that I'd been waiting days just to talk to her, and she walked off with him.

Nessa: Don't be.

I sucked in a breath.

Me: You didn't answer my question.

Nessa typed for a really fucking long time, and I held that breath the whole time.

Nessa: I talked to him because I didn't want you to do something stupid. He was two seconds away from saying something that I knew you wouldn't like. I didn't talk to him for his sake and definitely not for mine. I did it for you.

Exhaling, the whole room spun around me while I typed my reply.

Me: Think I can't handle myself, Adler?

Nessa: Not around me, you can't.

Me: Fuck, that's the truth.

Me: Why didn't you want to talk to me then? When I walked up.

Nessa: God, Grayson. Why do you think?

Me: I have absolutely no idea.

Nessa: I panicked, okay? I don't know how to act around you after everything that happened this weekend. We slept together.

I was going to make a joke about how we didn't really sleep together when she sent another text that had me reeling back.

Nessa: I've never slept with a guy before like that. Just...slept.

I stared at that text for a really long time, trying to digest that I made it onto Nessa's lists of firsts. And the feeling swelling up inside me only solidified how badly I wanted to be on that list in more ways than one.

A first down never felt so goddamn good. All I needed now was to keep making my way up the field for more.

Me: You're welcome to watch Netflix and fall asleep in my bed any night, Nessa. It doesn't need to be weird or different between us.

Me: Unless you've changed your mind about giving me a chance?

Nessa: No, I definitely haven't changed my mind.

Definitely, huh? I liked the sound of that.

A smile took over my face.

Me: Good. Now, can I see you tomorrow? We have some unfinished business.

Nessa: ...what does that mean?

Nessa: I work until six.

Me: Great. My room. 6:30. Tomorrow.

Nessa: Wait, but what does that mean?

Me: You'll see.

Me: Oh, and Adler?

Nessa: Yeah?

I realized as soon as I hit send on my text that her definitely had probably gone to my head. But it was too late now.

Me: Wear a skirt for me, darling.

💗

the Bren/Grayson bromance is going to be a reluctant one but it's begun!

what does Grayson have planned hmmmm

xoxoxox