Tethered Hearts | ✓ | Books 1 & 2

Episode 12| Take A Chill Pill

Bryce's P.O.V.

Eyes glued to the disarray of papers scattered about, I stayed seated behind the desk. Kelsey swept away Sophia for 'girl talk', nonetheless. I didn't get up from my seat, not because I wanted to let them have their moment, but because standing up would put the glaring tent in my pants on full-display. Kelsey would have a fucking field day.

Intentional or unintentional, the small action of crossing her legs—wider than intended—gave me view at what Sophia had underneath. To me, it wasn't much at all. I knew myself well enough to know that the sight alone didn't cause the hard-on, but the thoughts that it created afterwards surely did. They were thoughts that envisioned how our conversation would've played out if it hadn't been interrupted by Kelsey.

Kelsey knew me; she probably sensed it. I couldn't last another minute of aimlessly talking to Sophia, knowing damn well that all I was thinking of was throwing all the papers to the floor and bending her over my desk with her back to me.

Aggressively, I gnawed at the hanging nail on my thumb, putting my mind off its edge with a separate task. Going back to my bad habit of biting my nails seemed more productive than fantasizing about Sophia inside the den.

If I had things go my way, I would do what I did in most situations and be upfront. But the lackluster glimmer in her brown eyes said she was half-interested in communicating with me unless it had to do with her beloved anthropology notes.

What I felt was purely physical—the way I liked it.

What I wanted to do was only temporary—the way Kelsey hated it.

She'd chew me out for the millionth time if I sabotage her "Get Bryce a Girlfriend" scheme. Her mind was set on this, and I could only blame me for planting that seed in her. I had given her the impression that there was a chance. By agreeing to let Sophia come over, I was letting Kelsey's mischievous match-maker dreams come true.

She had another thing coming for her if she thought I'd roll over that easy.

I held my guard up, warding off girls like Sophia so I didn't have to get to know them. Bad things happened when I let people add their mark on me, add their history. I had to build a buffer before things crossed the line from stranger to something more.

A door downstairs, opening and closing, snatched my attention. I glanced at my jeans and was elated to see it had gone down. Slowly, I got away from my desk and headed for the door. "Who left?" I asked, hurrying down the stairs.

Conner and Kelsey were lounging on the couch, swapping spit without a care in the world at who might catch them in the act. I'd say I was on the verge of gagging, but I didn't have anything in my stomach to vomit. With the stress of the other guys hovering over my head, I hadn't eaten much in the past forty-eight hours.

I did drink a lot last night. That should make up for my lack of sleep and food.

Glancing around, I could tell was something was off. Sophia was missing.

Kelsey retracted from the kiss, moving around on the couch till she was propped up on Conner's knee. "Oh, uh. Sophia stepped out. A guy came to visit her."

"You just let him in? What's his name?" I demanded. "How did he look?"

Conner bobbed his head, unamused. "I don't know, he was blonde. He said his name was Nicolas. I think it's an Annenberg though because I'm damn positive I sold him and this red-head chick an eight-ball of coke the other night."

"You idiot," Kelsey shouted, jumping off his lap. "She dated an Annenberg. Even I know that. His sister pushed her into the lake at that party. It was all over the news."