Page 71 of Hating On Riot

“Are you moving back in with Riot?” she asks.

If she knows, my brothers must know too. Emily is Hope’s best friend, and that girl has a mouth on her. Anxiety slithers up my spine.

“No,” I mutter. I haven’t been out of the house for a full day, and I miss Riot and the guys like crazy.

“How’s the app?”

“Good,” I say, keeping my voice low like hers while the guys talk.

“Meet him in real life, Arie.”

“How—”

“I didn’t read the messages,” she says in a rush. “It’s time. He has things he wants to say to you. Important, life-changing things.”

Boy, are they ever.

27

Riot

She doesn’t talk to me at practice or in our elective. I understand why. Her brothers walked her to every class. They keep an eye on her, sitting in the stands with their beefy arms crossed, their glares fixed on me. Tony follows her movements, and Cameron follows mine, their steely gazes locked on me.

I sit in my truck, parked on a side street, with a clear view of the couple inside Gigi’s diner, their heads close together. She’s blocked my number. Or, more accurately, her brothers have blocked me.

She’s made her choice. She chose her loyalty to her brothers over her love for me. Come to think of it, the love is one-sided. I said the three words, but she never said them to me.

A knock on my window startles me. I turn, hands clenched, ready to throw a punch. It’s Merrick. I roll down the window. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I growl.

“Nice to see you too, little bro.” He jogs around the front of the truck and settles into my ride.

“Answer the question, M.”

“Having your back.” He jerks his chin toward the third booth down from where Arie is chatting it up with a guy I know well. “Her brothers keep a close eye on her. As always.”

“No, shit. They’ve shut me down. Shut me out of her life.” I pound my fist on the steering wheel.

Merrick dismisses my anger and frustration with a wave. “Good riddance. She’s not worth your time. She’s made her choice, and you ain’t it. There’s plenty of pussy out there. Is one better than the other? They all taste the same, little bro.” He clamps his hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “She’s a cocktease, Riot, dangling those tits in front of that damned boy.”

Arie’s leaned forward with a bright smile, giving that damned boy a view of her ample cleavage. “That’s Brock Waterstone. We shot hoops together for as long as I can remember.”

From my vantage point, that damned boy is very much a man. I smirk. I watched the happy couple enter the diner. He towers over her. I know for certain he has a good four inches on me.

Girls these days are into guys who are six-foot-five and taller. It’s all those damned mafia romances. Brock is also tatted. He has a full, colorful sleeve. Tattoos line his neck. His ink rivals Midnight’s and his crew’s. He’s looking at my girl like she walks on water. Is he the one Arie’s put in her contacts as “Sean”? The same dude she’s been texting back and forth with? That kind of what the fuckery?

“Mention her perfect tits again, and I’ll knock you out,” I grumble. Fuck sakes, I miss her tits.

Merrick chuckles. “Give up the ghost. Let her go, baby bro.”

“I can’t,” I mutter. The fight is leaving me. I’m failing two of my classes and will need to visit Brooke for help.

“What will you do when you have to tell her the truth? That you’re not here for the degree. That you aren’t planning to use it? You’re here because you’re pussy-whipped by a girl whose brothers beat the shit out of you, stomping on your pride and our reputation.”

“Fuck off, M. Stop toying with me. Stop standing on my shoulder, whispering shitty things to me, playing the damned devil when we know underneath that tough exterior is a big, cuddly bear.”

I glance sidelong at him. He snickers, then drops the tough-guy act. Before I can open my mouth to ream him out, he grabs me by the neck and yanks me to him until our bodies collide. Merrick drives his fist into my hair, messing up the strands I gave more than my usual attention to in case I ran into Arie. I wanted to look my best.

“Do you really want me to let her go?” I ask the guy I’ve looked up to for as long as I can remember.