Wilder

“He’s taking some time off,” I said easily, the way I’d been coached by my publicist. “Working on some new tricks.”

“So he can beat your ass, huh? The guy has to be dying to get back on top now that you’ve been there the last couple years.”

I forced a tight smile.

Fingers tentatively brushed over my knuckles. Leah.

“Hey, Paxton, we’d better catch up with the guide. I know you want to get back to the ship,” she said quietly.

The blonde narrowed her eyes at who she obviously viewed as competition. I almost laughed. If Leah had shown one ounce of actual, actionable interest, there would be no contest.

Hell, the idea of getting Leah’s curves under me was miles ahead of a nameless fuck. Take it back. Right now. You’re not interested in sleeping with Leah.

Liar.

“I’m Elyse,” the blonde said to Leah. “Who are you?”

“No one you have to worry about,” Leah answered with a laugh in her voice. “Pax, you ready?”

She tugged on my fingers, prying them loose from the railing. Then she slipped her hand into mine, and my stomach flipped like a thirteen-year-old girl.

“Yeah,” I answered. “Nice to meet you guys. See you on board sometime.”

She led me away from the other students, down the railway over the fifty-foot-deep lake beneath us, her thumb rubbing circles into my palm, taking away a piece of my stress with each motion.

“Are you going to ask me?”

“About what?” she asked over her shoulder, her thick, loose braid sliding against her skin.

“The X Games? Nitro? Any of it?”

She paused, then turned until we faced each other, as alone as we’d been since we met. “Do you want to tell me?”

“No. Not yet.”

Her eyes were soft and deep as the corner of her mouth turned up. “Then I’m not going to pry. It’s not any of my business, anyway.”

She turned away, dropping her hand, and I couldn’t help but feel off, like I’d pulled a half when I meant to turn a full—as if I’d just fallen short of whatever the possibility could have been.

…

“You busy?” I asked Landon from his doorway.

“What does it look like?” he said from behind a book.

“Looks like you need to be distracted.”

He lowered the book and snorted. “Some of us enjoy reading, Pax. You should try it sometime. Then maybe you wouldn’t have to harass your timid little tutor so much.”

“She’s not timid.” I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against his doorframe.

“Compared to your normal scores, she’s a church mouse.” He put his hands up when I stepped into the room. “Look, I honestly think she’s great. She’s really nice, and she might pull you through this year, but I see the way you look at her.”

“I’m not fucking looking at her,” I argued.

“Au contraire. You’re looking like you’d love to fuck her.”

My eyes narrowed. If he wasn’t some heartbroken sap, I’d have laid into him about his own self-destructive sexual habits—there was a reason we called him Casanova—but that only would have made me more of an asshole than I already was. It wasn’t like I didn’t play a role in that heartbreak…and the way he’d changed afterward. “I’m not going to touch her.”

“Good.” He picked up the book again.

“Wait. Aren’t you my friend? Aren’t you supposed to be my wingman if I wanted to actually be with Leah?”

He sighed and put the book down on his stomach. “First, I’ll wingman you through anything you want. Say the word. Even if it’s the stupidest decision you’ve ever made, you know I’ll have your back. Second, do you realize what you just said?”

I rubbed my fingers over my forehead. “My head hurts from studying all evening. Enlighten me.”

“You said be with Leah. Not hook up, or score, or fuck, like you have ever been with anyone. And I can tell you that as your best friend, she’s not the kind of girl you screw, drop for the next hot piece of ass, and expect her to tutor you after. Keep your hands in your pockets and your dick in your pants, because if you fuck this up we’re all screwed.” He raised the book and waved me off. “If you need to get laid, call Zoe. Leave the tutor alone.”

“So I guess this means you don’t approve of me bringing her out with us tomorrow.”

His sigh was hard enough to move the pages, but he didn’t put the book down. “If you’re hell-bent on screwing this up, I won’t stop you. Hell, I’ll find her a wetsuit.”

“Thank you, she’ll need one. And for the record, I’m not screwing this up, or screwing Leah. I’m more than capable of controlling my dick, and I know my grades are more important than any hookup.” The word tasted like shit in my mouth.

I closed his door and found Penna leaning against the wall. “He’s right,” she said with a shrug.

“Not you, too.” I passed her, shaking my head as she followed me down the stairs in the suite. Thank God the camera crews weren’t here right now. “What the hell have I done to deserve you two launching into me?”

She tilted her head. “Do you honestly want me to list every female we’ve had to replace because you don’t specialize in morning afters? What, two camera women? Your physical therapist? My twenty-first birthday party planner?”