Page 7 of Play For Me

“Shit, it bled all the way through,” Jay mutters, sounding stressed. “Let me get some more towels.”

“No.” It’s the first thing I’ve heard the guy say. His voice is low and a little gravely and I get the sudden image of what it would sound like whispering in my ear.

Get it together,I order myself.He’s just a boy.And I really don’t have time for boys in my life right now.

On the other hand,I think as I watch his bare stomach muscles flex as he lifts the clean shirt over his head,maybe I need to start making time.

I’ve sworn off guys for the last month of summer, wanting to completely focus on pre-season training. But maybe if I’d let off some steam with a willing participant in the recent past, I wouldn’t be imagining myself licking the remaining punch off the guy’s abs.

“Better?” Emery asks, once he has the clean shirt on. From the way she’s hovering and fussing, anyone would assume she’s interested in him. And how ridiculous am I, that the thought has jealousy trickling through me? In the first place, Emery is gay. Secondly, and more importantly, I don’t evenknowthis guy.

You know what his happy trail looks like,a voice in my head reminds me. It sounds suspiciously like Vega’s.

“Fine,” he mutters, but the guy doesn’t look fine. He keeps pulling the shirt away from his chest and wincing, like it’s hurting him in some way. His jaw is clenched, his eyes flashing. And one of his hands is making a fist against the side of his leg. He looks…agitated, I guess would be the best word. Or pained, maybe. A little pissed off, too.

“Can I do anything to help?” Violet asks, still rubbing her red arm. “I feel responsible.”

Jay’s head snaps over, his eyes widening a little as they dart between me and my cousins. I get the impression he had forgotten we were here. He plasters a smile on his face, but it doesn’t look quite natural.

“Definitely not your fault,” he says. His eyes catch Violet rubbing her arm and his jaw tightens nearly as much as his friend’s. “You okay? We should have gotten involved before he grabbed you.”

“I’m fine. Thank you. It’s Jason, right?”

“You can call me Jay,” he says, smile a little more believable now. “And it’s no problem.”

Vi turns her attention to the other guy, who isn’t looking at anyone, still grimacing down at his shirt. “And thank youas well…” she trails off, like she’s waiting for him to introduce himself. The guy ignores her.

“This is Solomon Barnes,” Jay says, nudging the guy’s shoulder. Solomon jerks away like Jay hit him, his jaw clenching even tighter.

“Thank you, Solomon,” Violet says uncertainly. She’s definitely picking up the same weird vibe that I am.

“He’s a pretty quiet guy.” Jay’s jocular voice sounds false now.

“We need to get out of here,” Emery says, her attention fully on Solomon. I don’t think she’s acknowledged any of us.

“Yeah,” Jay says, gaze darting between his friend and his sister. “We should head out.”

“I could clean your shirt for you?” Violet offers, obviously still feeling guilty. That pisses me off all over again. What does she have to be guilty about? This whole thing was asshole Travis’s fault. And, I concede, maybe my fault a little, for losing my temper and kneeing her ex in the junk. And Vega’s, for throwing the punch. But definitely not Violet’s.

“It’s fine,” Jay assures her, starting to nudge his friend away from us. Solomon still hasn’t said anything, hasn’t even acknowledged Violet, even though she clearly feels like shit. I’m starting to get annoyed. He doesn’t need to act like a dick, no matter how hot he is.

“Oh no!” Vega cries suddenly, stepping forward. “I think I got some punch in your hair.” She reaches toward his head, like she’s going to somehow clean it off with her bare hands, but the guy gives a violent jerk away from her. “No!” he barks, voice loud even over the music. Vega freezes, hand still outstretched.

“Sorry,” she mutters, voice way smaller than it usually is. “I didn’t mean…I’m sorry.”

“No worries, guys,” Jay says in that false jocular voice that is definitely lined with some panic now. “We’re just gonna headout so Sol can get cleaned up.” He nods at me. “See you around, Ceece.”

“Yeah,” I mutter, eyes narrowed on his friend. Solomon has turned away from us without accepting Vega’s apology, without acknowledging Violet or me. He starts to make his way to the door, looking like he can’t get away from us quickly enough, Emery and Jay hurrying behind him.

What an asshole.

“Well,” Violet says, her voice soft. “I suppose this is a new record for us.”

“What do you mean?” Vega asks.

Violet gives me a wan smile. “It only took us, what, a couple days on campus before starting some epic drama?”

I force myself to grin back, to sling an arm over her shoulder, when what I really want to do is follow the jerk who had been so rude to my cousins and demand to know what the hell his problem is.