Rounding Third by Michelle Lynn Page B

never get her if I’m accessible the entire time.
    Just then, Liam’s hand skates along a girl’s back as he weaves through the crowd. I watch his hand skim up the side of her body before cupping her breast. It’s a hidden display, but he whispers something in her ear, and she pushes her ass into his crotch right before he thrusts into her. Within ten seconds, it’s over, and he’s smiling on his way to Ella. The fucking asshole is fooling around with more than one girl.
    My body stiffens, and now, my clenched fist is preparing to pummel his ass.
    He hands her a cup of alcohol. She sips it and conveys her thank-you with a sweet kiss on his cheek. Jealousy piles deep through me.
    As I watch the two, he does all the touching and kissing, but his eyes roam to other girls in the small room. A blonde passes by him, one of his frat brothers distracts Ella, and jackass whispers something in the blonde’s ear before following her out of the room.
    The frat brother holds Ella until Liam’s gone. She seems completely unfazed, and she either ignores or is ignorant to her boyfriend’s cheating. She pours the glass of vodka into another cup on the kitchen counter and holds the empty glass in front of her.
    “Third?” A small blonde touches my arm.
    I twist my head back in the circle of girls vying for my attention. “It’s Crosby,” I clarify.
    “Oh. Hey, do you want to go upstairs?” She nestles up her crotch to grind along my thigh.
    I slide my leg back. “Nah, I’m good here.” I smile down at her. “Maybe another time.”
    Like never.
    “Lynch!” Saucey screams into the room. He’s definitely had his fair share of alcohol, meaning the stash isn’t only in the kitchen.
    My eyes instinctively move to Ella, and I find her and Jen’s eyes searching the room. Strike that. Ella’s searching, but Jen’s eyes stop on Saucey. Before Ella can find me, I focus my attention on Saucey and then shoot a welcoming smile to the girls, so they swarm closer to me.
    Not having to do much, I open my arms, and the girls fight to squeeze out others.
    Saucey slides through the barricade of women and slaps me on the back. “Where are they?” he whispers.
    “Two o’clock,” I answer, laughing at some moronic joke from one of the diamond chasers.
    He nods and then swings his arm around the brunette who escorted me in here, whispering in her ear. She eats it up by giving him her full attention, meaning her hand is actually rubbing his dick through his pants. Fuck, these girls are a hell of a lot more aggressive than the ones at junior college. I might be out of my league.
    “Excuse me.” Jen’s first to break the wall with Ella following her, her empty glass in hand.
    The girls snarl and convey their displeasure, but Jen ignores them. She takes the girl’s hand and removes it from Saucey’s crotch, picking it off like it’s a spider, before dropping it.
    “He’s not yours,” Jen says in a condescending voice.
    “And he’s yours?” the brunette challenges.
    Fuck, girl fight.
    Jen eyes Saucey, licking her lips.
    “Sorry, honey,” he says to the brunette. Then, he swings Jen around, caging her to the wall, claiming her mouth.
    I roll my eyes and find Ella staring over at me while the blonde from earlier licks my neck.
    “Did you need anything?” I ask Ella.
    She narrows her eyes. “No.”
    She circles around to leave, but I grab her wrist before she can escape.
    If Brax were here, he’d tell me to let her go, but it was instinct. She couldn’t leave yet, not when her eyes were on the verge of anger with a flash of jealousy.
    The blonde doesn’t leave, so I slide to the side and take Ella with me.
    “Excuse us,” I tell the blonde while her tongue hangs out like a dog after a walk.
    “What the hell?” The blonde steps forward. “I had dibs first.”
    “No one had dibs before me,” Ella replies.
    Damn, I wish I could hold in the smile begging to come out.
    “Excuse us,” I repeat before trying to escort us