“Not bad,” I said noncommittally, though I had to swallow around the lump that had formed in my throat just by looking at his naked torso. Jordan arched his eyebrow at me, not fooled in the slightest. Then with careful slowness, he pulled on a gray Generation Rejects t-shirt. I felt like I was watching a strip show in reverse. He was so freaking sexy, even when putting his clothes on. I was debating whether we should just skip our classes and spend the rest of the day in bed, getting better acquainted when the door burst open.
“Jordan! Where the hell have you been, man?” Gio came into the room and punched Jordan good- naturedly on the shoulder.
“I've been at Garrett's. We've been putting in a lot of practice time so I needed to be over there.” Jordan answered dismissively. I watched the two of them and I realized Jordan didn't like Gio at all. Not that I blamed him. Gio was a jerk. And he just earned the title all over again when he realized I was sitting on Jordan's bed.
“Well, that's not Olivia,” he said with a sneer. Jordan's shoulder's tightened.
“Shut up, Gio. That shit's uncalled for,” Jordan said in a dangerously soft voice. Gio put his hands up in mock surrender.
“I was just making an observation, man. Just a little surprised to see the swap in bed partners. After all, it was Olivia's fine ass up in here just a few weeks ago. Though pu**y's pu**y, right?” Gio grinned nastily in my direction. The acid bubbled in my stomach though I was proud of the hateful glare I threw in his direction. Gio purposefully licked his lips, his eyes raking over my body as though he saw straight through my clothing. This guy had date ra**st written all over him. What a creep.
Jordan got in the other guy's face. “That's enough. Get the f**k out,” Jordan growled, his face a scary shade of red. Gio looked at Jordan with a twinge of disgust.
“Whatever. It's your dick. You can dip it wherever you want. Though I'd be sure to wrap it with that one.” I barely had time to register the insult before Jordan's arm reared back and swung around to connect with Gio's jaw.
Gio went to the floor. He held his hand up over his face. “What the f**k man?” he screamed, trying to get to his feet. Jordan hauled him up and threw him out into the hallway. He stood over Gio, his hands clenched by his side, ready to do more damage if necessary.
“Don't you ever f**king talk to my girl like that again! DO YOU HEAR ME?!” Jordan roared.
A few of their brothers had appeared. One was trying to pull Jordan back while two others got Gio to his feet. Gio's jaw had blossomed in to a bright red and I knew he'd have a serious bruise in a few hours. Gio spat at Jordan's feet.
“Bros before hoes man. Or have you forgotten? No chick is worth it,” he yelled, throwing me a look that made me want to crawl into a hole and hide.
Jordan tried to lunge for him again, but their other roommate, Fred, pulled him back into his bedroom. Fred slammed the door and shoved Jordan back. “Don't bring your shit into this house, Jordan! I don't know what is up between you and Gio, but it ends now!” Fred was a big guy and manhandled Jordan with ease. I knew Fred played on the school's lacrosse team. He had always seemed like a sweet person but now he just looked pissed.
Jordan turned and slammed his fist into the wall, plaster falling in big chunks to the floor. The whole time, I sat there on his bed, too freaked out to move or make a sound. It was like Jordan had forgotten I was there. Fred looked in my direction and gave me a tiny smile. “Sorry about that, Maysie. You okay?” he asked. I was shocked by the concern in his voice. I nodded.
“Yeah,” I was able to squeak out.
Fred turned back to Jordan. “Calm down. I'll talk to Gio. But this shit cannot happen again. We have to all live together. I think we need to have a house meeting tonight,” he said. Jordan didn't say anything and Fred didn't wait for a reply. He left the room after giving me another comforting smile. Once Fred was gone, Jordan seemed to try and get himself under control. I didn't know what to say, but I got to my feet and tentatively walked toward him.
I put my hand on his arm. “It's okay,” I said softly. Jordan grabbed my hand and pulled me to him in a tight hold.
“No, Maysie. It is NOT okay! Is this the shit you've been dealing with?” he asked in a pained voice. I didn't say anything. I didn't want him to get even more fired up than he already was. Jordan must have taken my silence for acquittance because he tightened his hold on me. “I'll f**king kill them all! They cannot talk about you like that!” he said angrily.
I pulled away from him. “Stop it, Jordan. I don't need you to fight my battles for me,” I assured him. Jordan shook his head and looked so upset that it wrenched at my heart.
“This is my fault! I created this stupid mess. If I had just broken up with Olivia in the first place...” I put my fingers over his mouth to quiet him. His eyes held mine and I hated to see him like this.
“Yeah, the situation sucks. I won't lie and say it doesn't. But I'm a big girl and I made the choices that I did knowing the consequences. It is not entirely your fault. It takes two to tango, Jordan. We got into this together and we'll handle it together. Right?” I asked. Jordan nodded, kissing the fingers that still covered his lips.
“Then, we'll be alright,” I said confidently. Jordan pulled my hand from his mouth and roughly kissed my lips. His hands came up to tangle in my hair as he ravaged my mouth. He always kissed this way. Like he was trying to eat me alive. Pulling away, he dropped his forehead to rest against mine.
“I mean it when I say I won't tolerate the kind of bullshit people are saying about you!” he said emphatically. I held his face with my hands, touched that he wanted to defend me like that. But also feeling sad that he had to in the first place.
I placed my lips to his and he softened immediately. His arms came up to hold me and we stood like that for a while, not saying anything else. I looked up at the clock on his wall.
“Well, I'd say breakfast is out of the question,” I said, indicating the time. We had thirty minutes before our classes started. Jordan grabbed his messenger bag and slung it over his shoulder and then he took my hand in his.
“I can't have my girl going to class hungry. Let's at least stop and get a bagel.” His earlier anger had dissipated and he smiled down at me in a tender way so at odds with his bad boy appearance. With his facial piercings, buzzed head and tattoos he looked like the quintessential bad ass. But I was beginning to see the soft heart underneath it all. And it was safe to say I had already fallen more than a bit in love with him.