One of Them Girls by Cala Riley (the gingerbread man read aloud txt) 📕

If they left me, oh well. The one that cheated? Fuck her. She wasn’t worth it.

Hell, Tinsley’s the only one who ever came close to making me feel this way, but it never was jealousy. I felt like I needed to protect her. My pride was wounded when she chose Finley, but I easily accepted him when I saw how happy he made her. Well, that and when I realized he got his head out of his ass and would appreciate her the way she deserved.

Not with Cassie. I don’t think I could let her go, even if she was happier without me. I don’t think I could stand seeing her happy with another man.

We pull up to her dorm and I park, still lost in my thoughts.

“What are you doing?” she asks, shaking me from it.

“Walking you to the door. Making sure you’re safe,” I say before getting out and walking around to open her door.

Once she’s out, I stay by her side, walking her to the door. Instead of the front door, which is where I was leading her, she grabs my arm leading me around back. Once at the back door, she stops and looks at me.

“I’m not sure how I feel right now. I need time to process, but I want you to come up to my room so I can look at your eye. Then you leave. Agreed?”

I smile at her concern. “I’ll be okay. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Yeah, but I am anyway. For my peace of mind, come up.”

It’s more of a demand than a question.

She’s quiet as she leads me up the back stairs. She pokes her head into the hallway both ways before she waves me forward.

Once in her room, she closes the door, gesturing for me to sit on one of the beds.

“Sit down. I’m going to get some ice. Be right back,” Cassi says as she exits the room.

I haven’t been inside her dorm before. One side is messy. Clothes balled up on the floor at the end with an unmade bed and an old drink and candy on the end table. The other side, the side she gestured me to, is immaculate. Bed made, not a stitch of clothes anywhere and nothing, but a photo of Cassie and another man on her dresser. There’s another photo of her and the man, along with two older people hanging on the wall.

Her family.

You can see the resemblance between her and Ryan. She looks like a younger version of her mother.

Cassi comes back with ice in a paper cup, setting it on the nightstand. Then she moves to her closet, pulling out a washcloth.

Wrapping a couple of pieces in the washcloth, she moves closer to me. I spread my legs so she can move even closer as she looks at my face.

“It’s going to bruise pretty bad, but the ice should take some of the swelling down.” She carefully presses the washcloth to my face.

“Thanks,” I mumble, not really caring about the ice, but not willing to give up her being here with me.

“I can’t believe you punched that guy,” she mutters.

“I would do so much more than just punch a guy for you, Cass.”

Her eyes meet mine and I see them soften a little.

“Well, how about we not worry about that? I don’t need you going to jail for me. Besides, I agreed to dance with him.”

I bring my hands up to her hips and pull her into me, resting my head on her stomach. She squeaks, but doesn’t stop me, even though it prevents her from icing my face.

“I know, but I couldn’t…” I trail off.

She lets out a heavy sigh, burying her free hand in my hair. “I got it. You know I felt the same way seeing you with Tinsley today.”

“I never want you to feel that way. She’s just a friend.”

“How am I supposed to feel when I see you light up seeing her and then finding out her possessive as fuck boyfriend didn’t come with her? It’s suspicious.”

I pull back, looking up into her eyes. “He got into some shit back home and sent her here to keep her safe while he deals with it. Trust me, he’s not happy about it. But he wanted her safe. He’s going to be pissed when he finds out I let Jack take her back to the hotel and I didn’t do it myself. I don’t give a fuck though. Jack’s a good guy, and she’s safe. I needed to be with you. He would’ve done the same had the roles been reversed.”

She frowns a moment before pulling out of my grip, setting the washcloth and ice on her nightstand.

“Maybe you should go,” she whispers.

“Please.” I reach out, grabbing her hand. “Let me hold you for a little while longer.”

She looks at our hands for a moment. “Okay.”

She pulls out of my grasp to grab some clothes, excusing herself to the bathroom, taking the ice with her. When she comes back, she throws her dirty clothes in a hamper in the closet before making her way back to me.

I take in her appearance. In the black dress was sexy as fuck, but she looks even sexier now in a pair of sleep shorts and a tank top with her hair piled on her head and a face free of makeup.

Fuck, this girl would look sexy in a damn potato sack, I’m sure of it.

“Take off your shoes and move over.”

I do as she asks, watching as she climbs into her twin-sized bed beside me. She pushes me until I’m lying on my back, pressing her face against my chest. I don’t hesitate, pulling her into my body, letting her wrap herself around me.

I lean down and kiss the top of her head before running my hand up and down her shoulder.

“You can only stay a little while. We aren’t allowed to have boys sleepover,” she mumbles.

“Okay. Only for a little while. Got it.”

Then there’s