Page 7 of Undeniable
“No.” I opened the closet. “See if anything in here might fit. The dresser might have undergarments too.”
Mazzie grabbed my hand. “Hey, it’s okay to get emotional.”
I turned to her, and a tear slid down her rosy cheek. Then her gaze dropped to my lips, her chest rising and falling.
We stood motionless, both of us breathing heavily. I wanted her. But more than that, I was afraid of taking that first step. Afraid that she would reject me. Afraid that my heart would break into a thousand pieces if she did.
She wasn’t like the others. Most of the girls I hooked up with were blondes. Safe. Detached. Not reminders of Natalia Reyes, cause of my first heartbreak.
Mazzie edged closer, our lips a breath apart. “Who are you, Lucas Allen?”
“Just a guy in a room with a pretty woman.” Quick as a whip, I created distance between us, shaking off all the emotions twisting me into one big knot.
Confusion flashed in her eyes before she masked it and opened the dresser drawer containing neatly folded bras.
“I’ll leave you to change.” I slipped out fast, and the second I was in the hall, I released the breath I’d been holding.
What was happening to me? The day had started out okay. Then we lost the game, then my mom and I argued about my father, and now, I was supposed to be enjoying a belated birthday party for me. Yet here I was acting emotional in front of a woman I didn’t even know.
I heard a chuckle before I spotted Ryker standing at the other end of the hall, shoulder pressed against the wall.
I kicked my weak legs into gear. “Spying on us?”
“The last time I saw that puppy dog look on you was Natalia,” he said as sure as the night was setting in.
“You pinned me the moment I got out of the pool.” It wasn’t a question. Ryker knew me like I was his brother.
“Yep, I saw the look on your face when you came up for air with her in your arms. She’s stunning, dude. Even Haven mentioned that.”
“I’m not going down that road of love. I have too much fucked-up shit I’m dealing with. Besides, no ties while I’m in college.” The latter was my top rule. I didn’t want ties. I didn’t want to deal with heartbreak.
He pushed off the wall, strands of his black locks falling forward. “Listen to me. Your rules won’t matter when you fall, and my gut is telling me that you’re going to fall so freaking hard for her that you won’t know what hit you. Take it from me. You saw how my heart leapt from my chest for Haven.”
“So now you’re a clairvoyant?” I teased.
“Just stating a fact,” he volleyed in return.
“Well, the fact is, she doesn’t like football players, hence me.” I couldn’t say that for certain.
“Uh, um. Keep telling yourself that.” He scratched his close-shaven scruff. “On another note, what happened with your mother?” he asked. “Has your old man showed up yet?”
My father, Kurtis Allen, was up for early parole after ten years in prison for embezzlement.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “No sign of him. Supposedly, he was released last weekend, but not sure.” Both my mom and I had been nervous wrecks.
“Is she planning on taking him back?” Ryker asked.
“I think she’s still in love with him. But she wants us to gather as a family and talk about things if or when he returns to Lakemont.”
I had nothing to say to the man, but I was worried he would gamble again, which meant he could play on my mom’s emotions and coax her into giving him money. She’d worked tirelessly to build her nest egg after Kurtis had drained their bank accounts. Like hell he would ruin her life again. I wasn’t twelve anymore, and I would literally beat his ass if he so much as made my mother cry.
“You’ve been wound tight since you heard your dad was being released on early parole,” Ryker said. “But do me a favor. Let loose tonight. Enjoy your birthday party.”
I rubbed a kink in my neck. I’d been tearing my insides to shreds for the last two months. Still, I knew one way to throw caution to the wind, and her name was Mazzie. Just being in her presence was making me feel like nothing else mattered.
“I’ll try, and if I haven’t said thank you, I really appreciate you throwing me a birthday bash.” I’d turned twenty-two in early September, but with football and other stuff going on, none of us had time for anything.
“Haven did all the planning,” he said. “You know I’m not good at the details unless it comes to football.”
