Page 16 of The Red Zone
Ugh, his subtle delight was ruining my high.
With that, I turned on my heels and headed for the house without glancing back at him. I’d gotten exactly what I wanted here, and there was no point in enduring his presence any longer than needed.
“Think of me when you come,” he yelled as I reached for the handle to the back door.
“I’d rather die first.”
SIX
MAE
I couldn’t finish.
Every time I got within a millisecond of having a mind-numbing orgasm roll through me, October’s smug face would appear in the forefront of my brain. Sending a spat of aggravation coursing through my veins instead of the sweet, sweet neurochemical cocktail I so desperately craved.
This was just great. Not only had he infiltrated my property, but now he was sabotaging my “self-love” time too. It was appalling, really. Even the saints would consider something of this stature to be downright blasphemous.
Maybe pushing him in the pool earlier was too much enjoyment for my brain to handle in one day. Surely, that was it. But then again, ruining things for me was precisely on brand for him, even if he wasn’t present to reap the benefits, so there could be darker forces at work here.
Peeling the covers off with a sigh, I slung my legs over the edge of the bed and let out a frustrated groan. I bent over to grab my shorts from the floor and shimmied them halfway on before pushing off the mattress to stand.
As I was tying the strings at my waist, my ears perked up at the sound of the front door creaking open in the distance. Followed by Lea and Scarlett’s voices echoing off the walls in a sing-songy tone, announcing their arrival. “Birthday girl! Where are you?”
“I’m walking over to the beauty room.” I shouted down the hall to them with a small laugh. Their enthusiasm made my birthday feel a teeny bit more special. With a smile, I listened as the door slammed behind them, followed by their heavy footsteps trudging up the steps.
Of course, right as I plopped down onto the chair in front of my vanity, both girls barged into the room with overstuffed make-up bags and balloons, screaming and jumping as they smothered me in their arms, wishing me countless happy birthdays.
My heart swelled three sizes bigger than normal as they tangled their arms around me. Pulling away, Lea's brows perked up as she surveyed the scene outside the large floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the backyard. The natural light in this room was the reason it became the designated “beauty room”, after all—although, it was more like a giant closet with a make-up area than anything.
Outside the window, standing by the edge of the pool with a skimmer net in hand, a freshly showered and shirtless October was cleaning the algae out of the deep end.
A small smile tugged at my lips at the thought of him an hour ago drenched in water, clothes and all. Sure, I could’ve told the girls about it, butsomethings were better kept in my personal memory bank.
When October moved in, I made pool cleaning a last-minute mandatory stipulation on his rental agreement, since I was alreadysogracious for letting him live here. He wasn’t thrilled about it, but in my defense, there was no sense in keeping my overpriced pool maintenance company when I had a live-in pool boy readily available at my leisure.
In my eyes, having him do the job wasn’t a form of punishment. It was simply logic. Though, I’m sure he would vehemently disagree.
“It always surprises me that some of the guys on the team are still single.” Lea chimed in after an extended moment of gawking at his half naked body. A minute longer and I would’ve had to wipe up drool from her chin.
“Well, in his case, I could think of a few reasons people might go running for the hills…” I smarted off as a scornful laugh rippled past my lips. I stood side by side with Lea, observing him like a guinea pig in a pet store. But no matter which way I tilted my head; I couldn’t understand her surprise.
Why was he still single?
Oh gosh, let me think.
I mean, there’s his unpleasant demeanor. His cocky personality. Or maybe his disgustingly senseless comebacks. And those were just an appetizer of the nauseating qualities I could think of on the fly.
“Why?” I looked over at her. “Are you finally considering getting your hands dirty with one of the players?”
“At the risk of losing my job and enduring the wrath of my father?” She dipped her chin, giving me a dull look before drawing her gaze back out the window once again. “I might be horny, but I’m not an idiot.”
I peeked back at Scarlett, and we shared a glance with each other, shrugging our shoulders. Lea’s dad was head coach for the Matrix and he had one rule for his players— “don’t date my daughter”.
I’d met Coach Sterling a few times now, and he wasn’t a scary guy by any means, but for some reason, he was the only person on planet earth who had the power to disrupt Lea’s take-no-bullshit demeanor.
With a sigh, she peeled herself away from the window and took a seat in the open chair on the left of my usual spot. “I mean, surely, he has no trouble picking up women. I passed him naked in the locker room by accident once, and I can confirm he isverywell endowed.”
“Lea!” Scarlett and I exclaimed in unison, sharing a look before turning to her with slack jawed faces and appalled laughs.
