Abby Ryan has her whole life planned out, up until graduation that is. As a journalism student at the University of Southern Washington, she has one goal in mind for her last semester of senior year: secure a scholarship for graduate school. But whe...
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The muffled conversation and laughter go silent when I walk into the kitchen.
Luke and Olivia are sitting at the island eating cereal while James is stirring cinnamon into his oatmeal on the stove. I'm more than a little shocked that Luke is even awake before noon, but by the look he's giving Olivia, I have a feeling I know why. I shoot him a warning glare when I pass by, restraining myself from knocking him in the back of the head as I go.
Dating your friend's sister is against bro code, and it's amplified when you're teammates. He catches my warning look and leans back on his stool, putting enough space between him and Olivia for it to look kosher, all while Olivia types on her phone, completely unaware of the silent interaction.
"Good morning." She smiles up at me when she puts her phone down, but her voice is too perky to match her appearance. Her curls are piled into a messy knot on the top of her head, and her makeup is smeared around her eyes. Her dress seems to expose even more skin in the daylight, which just makes my head hurt more. I notice the glassiness in her eyes when she rubs them, smearing her makeup further.
She's hungover, and based on the distinct smell of rum permeating from her, I can only imagine how much she drank last night.
I offered to let her sleep in my bed, but even drunk as hell, my little sister held onto her stubborn streak and demanded to camp out in the living room.
"How'd you sleep?" I ask, grabbing a bowl from the cabinet and skirting around James to get a spoon out of the drawer. I had two beers last night, barely enough to give me a buzz, and yet I woke up feeling like absolute shit.
If I'm being honest, it probably has more to do with the fact that I almost kissed Abby twice last night rather than the beer I consumed. But I don't want to think about that right now.
"The couch was fine. This hangover is killer, though." She downs her entire water bottle before slumping down until her forehead rests against the countertop.
"I bet." I hop onto the counter near the stove and pour milk over my cereal. "I can smell you from here. Did you drink rum last night or bathe in it?"
Olivia doesn't bother lifting her head when she flips me off.
"So, you and Ryan, huh?" Luke says, leaning his elbows onto the counter as his eyes meet mine. He has a shit-eating grin that only grows when James turns around, and Olivia's head pops up.
Jesus fucking Christ, I'm going to kill this kid.
"She just interviewed me." I shrug and stuff a spoonful of cereal into my mouth, praying that he was too drunk to remember what he saw.
"Didn't look like just an interview from what I walked in on." I freeze mid-chew and narrow my eyes at the freshman, my expression blatant—tread carefully, kid.
"What did you walk in on?" James asks wide-eyed, abandoning his oatmeal on the stove to turn around and look at Luke.
"They were about to make out." He grins, pulling at the strings of his hoodie. "And based on the look on her face, she really wanted it. She was giving him fuck me eyes."
