Make It Count (24 page)

“MBF!” Kat crowed. “She’s my MBF!”

“MB what? You still haven’t told me what that means.” Alec said.

“Major Best Friend,” Kat explained.

Lea rolled her eyes.

Max opened his mouth but a shout from behind them cut him off. “Hey!” Cam yelled, sitting at a computer in a bowling lane. “I’m going to enter you as Maxi Pad, sound good?”

“Asshole,” Max muttered as he shoved out of his chair and stalked off toward a laughing Cam.

Lea’s eyes were on Max’s retreating back and Kat thought maybe there was a spark of interest.

Alec leaned in and kissed her her cheek. “I know what you’re thinking. Don’t try to play matchmaker.”

“What? I wasn’t thinking that.” She said in mock offense.

“Liar,” Alec said softly, leaning in to kiss her lips.

After they ate, they got their shoes and walked to their lane, picking their bowling balls along the way. Alec triumphantly showed her a god-awful electric blue bowling bowl with tacky neon yellow—glow-in-the-dark, he told her proudly—lightning bolts, and she chose a sparkly, glittery hot pink ball. After much deliberation and full-on debate with an excellent rebuttal by Alec, it was determined he won the unspoken Ugliest Bowling Ball competition.

She bowled horribly for the first five frames trying to think of how to get back at him. Losing was no fun.

She ended up bowling three strikes in a row, beating Alec as well as a grumbling Cam. Max probably would have grumbled if he’d been paying attention to the game and not staring at Lea with a softened expression as she laughed with Danica.

As Kat hopped up and down shouting about her victory, Alec laughed and grabbed her around the waist. His eyes darkened. “I so do not want to make out with you right now.”

She gripped his shoulders. “No?”

“Not at all.”

She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Details.”

“I definitely do not want to find the nearest flat surface and hook your legs around my waist. And squeeze your ass. And kiss that victorious smug smile right off your face . . .” He trailed off as he buried his face in her neck. She felt lips, tongue and a little bit of teeth.

She bit back a moan. “Well, that’s good, because I don’t want to get naked right now. I ate like three brownies last night.”

Alec laughed and nipped her earlobe.

“And you’re the aspiring lawyer,” she said, “So you know that I’m definitely not worth the risk of a public indecency arrest.”

He pulled back and chuckled, cupping her face to swipe his thumb over her cheekbone. His lips quirked into a smile. “Nah, definitely not worth it.”

She ran her fingers along his jaw, then placed her hand over his heart. “Ditto,
meu coração
.”

Enjoyed Megan Erickson’s
Make It Count
?

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Make It Right
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Make It Right

Bowler University, Book 2

M
AX
P
AYTON WOULD
like nothing more than to forget his junior year of college . . . and yet, senior year isn’t looking to be much better. After graduation he’ll still be under his overbearing father’s thumb, helping run the family business as he’s always been expected to do.

When Max volunteers to help teach a self-defense class after a rash of assaults and thefts on campus, one of the other instructors is the pixie-faced girl he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about since last year. His dad always taught him size and strength always win a fight. But while Max is lying on the mat at Lea Travers’s feet after a skilled blow to his carotid artery, he begins to revise that thought.

Lea Travers avoids guys like Max—cocky jocks who assume she’s a fragile doll because of her small stature and disability from a childhood car accident. She likes to be in control, and Max challenges her at every turn. But during the moments he lets his guard down, she sees a soul as broken inside as she is outside. Trusting him is a whole other problem  . . .

When the assaults hit close to home, both Max and Lea have to change their assumptions about strength and weakness before they can get the future they want—together.

C
OMING
S
EPTEMBER 2014

Chapter One

T
HE CAT WAS
back.

Its left ear was shredded but healed, and that scar on its chin a hairless C amid the black fur.

But it was limping and Max could see a dark, wet spot on its haunch. Small red footprints marked its path leading to Max’s back door.

He crouched down and held a hand out. “If you could talk, bet you’d say, ‘You should see the other guy.’ ”

The cat sat down ten feet away and licked its black lips as if in an affirmative answer.

“I bet you got some good licks in, huh?” He said, reaching behind him for the can of tuna he’d opened when he saw the cat through the window of his college town house.

The cat didn’t move, just studied him, yellow eyes glowing in the setting sun. From what Max knew of cats—which was limited since his dad threatened to shoot any potential feline pet when Max had been a kid—the cat must be hurting to let the injury sit without cleaning it thoroughly. So he quit the small talk, scooped out the tuna onto a small plate and shoved it toward the cat.

Then he waited. And the cat didn’t move.

This wasn’t their normal routine. Max always left right after supplying the food, like he was the cat’s dirty secret and if its big cat-gang buddies found out it had a human on the side, it’d be laughed out of the alley.

But he didn’t like the way the cat was favoring his leg. And he was tired of being a dirty secret. Next he grabbed a plastic bowl of water and shoved that alongside the food.

Then he waited. And still the cat didn’t move.

“Come on, buddy,” he whispered, hearing the concern in his voice. “I’m your friend.”

The cat’s yellow eyes never left Max as it dipped its head and slowly crept forward, body tense, clearly fighting the flight instinct.

Max didn’t move.

The cat reached the plate of food and crouched, then scarfed up bits of tuna in between glances at Max. He ran his eyes over the sleek, battered body and sighed.

When the cat ate all the tuna, he gave Max a long look before lapping at the water.

He was close, only like two feet away, and if Max just stretched out his arm  . . .

There was the bang of the screen door behind him and the cat took off like a shot, bounding down the alley and disappearing through a hole in the neighbor’s shrubs.

“Dammit!” Max swore, jumping up from his crouched position and whirling to face whoever interrupted the moment. “Could you be any louder—”

Kat Caruso stared at him, eyes wide, empty gallon of chocolate milk dangling from a finger. Then those blue eyes—which would darken when he used to lower his head to nuzzle her neck—narrowed. She dropped the gallon in the recycling bin and wiped her hands. “Excuse me for helping to clean your kitchen, Max.”

He winced. When they’d dated, she’d taken his bad attitude without a peep. But since she’d fallen in love with his best friend, she didn’t let anyone give her crap. As it should be.

And that just depressed him further, because he never inspired someone else to be a better person. He couldn’t even inspire himself. So he tightened his jaw and stayed silent. He should apologize for swearing at her, but the words stuck in his throat.

Kat cocked a hip. “What are you doing out here anyway?”

Before he could answer, movement behind Kat caught his eye. Lea Travers’s big brown eyes focused on him below her thick fringe of dark bangs. “I heard yelling, what’s up?” Her voice, as always, was soft and musical and did something weird to his gut.

Kat glanced at her friend and waved in Max’s direction with an eye roll. “Max being Max. Come on, Lea.”

Kat turned and walked back into the house, light brown hair swishing behind her.

But Lea didn’t follow Kat. Her eyes landed on the empty plate of food and bowl of water, then roamed past his shoulder. The scrutiny unsettled him. Made him cranky. Okay, crankier.

It must have shown on his face, because Lea’s pixie features hardened into an indifferent mask. He waited for her to leave so he could clean up after his cat—shit, his cat—and get to class. She crossed her slender arms over her chest. “It takes time, you know?”

“What’re you talking about?” he snapped.

Lea didn’t flinch. She nodded toward the cat’s dinner area. “Cats. Takes a long time for them to trust. And sometimes feral cats never trust humans.”

Who died and made her an expert? He’d get that cat to trust him if it killed him. “Well thanks, Miss Veterinarian. Didn’t know you were studying that on top of your Shakespeare and Dickens.”

She dropped her hands at her sides, fingers curled into little fists. “Why do you always have to be an asshole?”

“Why are you still bugging me?” he shot back.

Those liquid brown eyes fired. “Grow up, Max.” Then she turned around and walked back into the house, her limp more pronounced then he’d ever seen it.

He didn’t watch the way her ass looked in her tight jeans. Or how her hair shone in the sun. The sight of her eyes—so alive and challenging, calling him on his bullshit—didn’t linger in his mind.

He knew Lea despised him. All she knew of him was that he’d dated Kat and treated her like crap. And before that, he’d slept with his best friend’s girlfriend and kept it from him.

Although it had worked out in the end, because now Alec was with Kat and neither had ever been happier.

But Max was still an asshole.

His phone rang in his jacket pocket and he pulled it out, eyes still scanning the road to see if the cat came back. He glanced at the caller ID and sighed. “Yo.”

“Max,” Calvin’s voice grunted in his ear.

“Who else would it be? You called me.”

His oldest brother ignored the question. “Friday afternoon, you don’t have class, right?”

As a senior at Bowler University, he’d had his pick of classes, so he’d made sure to keep his Fridays open. That was his day. A day for himself. One where he didn’t have to attend class in a major he hated or work in his dad’s automotive shop, doing work he hated. A constant reminder he was about to be stuck doing that same work he hated for the rest of his life. Unless he crawled out from under Jack Payton’s steel-toe boots. Which he didn’t see happening.

“You know I don’t,” was all he said.

Another voice murmured over the line and Max recognized Brent’s voice—the middle brother. “That’s what I’m doing right now, assface,” Calvin’s voice was muffled as he spoke to Brent, and Max rolled his eyes.

“Max,” Calvin’s deep voice came back on the line, clearer.

“I didn’t go anywhere. You called me. What the fuck do you want?” Max growled.

Silence.

“What crawled up your ass and died?” Cal asked.

“Cal—“

“Can you drive to Dad’s Friday? That big dying tree in the backyard finally cracked under last week’s ice storm. Dad wants it cleared out and if we don’t do it Friday, he’s going to do it over the weekend. And then he’ll throw his back out and be even more miserable than usual. Brent and I don’t want to deal with that shit, so we need to get this tree taken care of. You in?”

Max gritted his teeth and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. His older brothers had to work with their dad every day at the shop. And sparing them from their father’s wrath was the only reason he said what he did next. “Sure.”

Cal’s voice was muffled again. “Will you quit yapping in my ear? I asked him and he said he’d do it. Fuck, you’re annoying . . . What? . . . Fine, Brent.” More muffled sounds and again the clearer voice. “Max?”

This time, he didn’t even dignify it with an answer. Cal continued, “Brent wants some of your cookies.”

He couldn’t help but grin. “Last time I saw both of you, looked like you needed to lay off the cookies.”

“Fuck you,” Cal said, laughing, and Max grinned wider.

“I’ll be there. With cookies.”

“Later, bro.”

Max ended the call, took one last look at the alley and then gathered the cat’s dishes before trudging into the kitchen. As he washed the dishes, voices filtered in from the living room, Kat’s laughter, Lea’s quiet murmuring, Alec conversing with their other roommate, Camilo Ruiz.

Amazing how the voices of a full house made Max feel even more alone.

A breeze ruffled the back of Max’s T-shirt. He glanced over his shoulder at the open screen door and frowned. He must have forgotten to shut it. He dried his hands, pulled the door shut, and then walked into the living room.

Lea and Kat sat on the floor in front of the coffee table, books open in front of them. Alec sat behind Kat, his spread legs on either side of her as she leaned her head on his thigh.

Alec Stone, his best friend since elementary school, turned his head when Max cleared his throat. Alec’s face turned wary, and Max hated the fact that he’d been such a prick lately that even his best friend was cautious around him. “Hey, man,” Alec said.

Max nodded. “What’s up, Zuk.”

Alec smiled, clearly loving that Max used the old nickname, which Max had given him years ago because of his pompadour hairstyle—like Danny Zuko from Grease.

Alec’s fingers absentmindedly shifted through Kat’s hair. “Cat let you touch it yet?”

Lea’s eyes were on him. He could feel them, like twin heat-seeking missiles. “No,” he said.

Alec nodded encouragingly. “He will. Just give it time.”

Max shrugged, playing it off like he didn’t care.

“Wanna play?” Cam asked, tilting the controller to his video-game system, eyes on the TV as his army guy dodged a grenade and took aim at a sniper.

Max chuckled at their roommate. “No thanks, man. Got some studying to do.” Even though he didn’t give a shit about his major, he was so close to graduating, he could smell it.

He took one step forward, when a black blur flew past him and raced up the stairs. “Holy shit!” Max yelped, losing his footing and crashing painfully into the coffee table. The girls screeched. Cam threw his remote control, and Alec joined Max on the coffee table, the two of them clutching each other like it was some B-rate horror movie.

“What was that?” Alec’s low voice vibrated in Cam’s ear.

“A raccoon?” Cam guessed.

“A dog,” Lea said.

“A real big dog,” Kat added.

“I think it was a bear,” Max said.

Alec’s nails dug into Max’s biceps. “I don’t think bears move that fast.”

“Okay, so, like a freak bear.” Max gently pushed Alec off of him before he could develop bruises.

Cam stood up slowly, eyes on the stairs. “I wish I had my gun.”

Alec rolled his eyes. “We are not in a combat zone.”

“I’m going to get a broom,” Max declared, heading for the kitchen.

“A broom?” Alec called after him. “What the hell is a broom going to do?”

Max grabbed the wooden-handled broom from the corner of the kitchen and walked back into the living room, brandishing it like a sword. “I don’t know, I’ll poke it.”

Alec narrowed his eyes. “I’m sure this freak bear is going to love being poked.”

“You have a better idea?” Max retorted.

Alec was mute.

Kat tapped her finger to her lips. “Should I grab the fire extinguisher? That seems like something someone would do if this was a movie.”

Alec sighed and laced his fingers with Kat’s. “I’m thinking we don’t need the fire extinguisher.”

Max drew his eyes away from the couple to see Lea quietly climbing the flight of stairs. “Hey,” he said, shouldering past her, broom held out in defense. “You don’t know what that thing is. Don’t just march up there alone.”

Lea eyed the broom, then him and raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to protect me, then? With a broom?”

Max’s cheeks warmed. “Well, I don’t keep bear-protection weapons lying around so . . .”

Lea snorted a laugh and then waved him on. “Fine, you first, then.”

Max walked slowly up the stairs, broom handle out, while the caravan followed him, Cam bringing up the rear. Alec’s room was at the top of the stairs and Max poked his head in, looking around.

“All clear!” He called out.

“For the love . . .” muttered an exasperated Alec behind Lea.

“All clear!” Kat echoed, followed by a “Roger that!” from Cam.

Next was the bathroom, and Max used the broom handle to slowly push aside the shower curtain. The only creature in there was a wad of hair Kat had left behind. “All clear except for a Kat hairball!” Max called.

“Hey!” Kat protested.

“Roger that!” Cam repeated.

Lea giggled behind Max and he decided he liked that sound.

Next was Max’s room and the door was definitely open wider than he had left it. He held up a closed fist and Lea bumped into him. “Don’t you know the hand signal for stop?” he whispered over his shoulder.

Those eyes pierced him. “Excuse me. Your massive head is blocking my sight and I can’t see anything.”

“Hey,” Max said, affronted, “Cam, you gotta teach Lea the military hand signals or whatever.”

“Roger that!” Cam called again with a laugh. He was in the Air National Guard and knew all that fancy stuff.

Max focused back on the task at hand—ridding their campus apartment of unwanted wildlife.

He motioned for Lea to stay outside his bedroom door and peeked in, broom handle at the ready to defend his person.

And right there, in the center of his unmade bed, was a ball of black fur. Yellow eyes blinked at him and a pink mouth opened to reveal white teeth and a chipped fang.

“Well fuck me,” Max said, lowering the broom handle and releasing the tension in his shoulders.

“What’s going on?” Alec called and Max poked his head out into the hallway to survey his makeshift backup.

“It’s him,” he said, still in awe.

“Who?” Kat asked.

“Him,” Max waved a hand toward his bedroom. “The cat.”

Kat’s eyes widened. “How the hell did he get in the house?”

Max bit his lip. “I left the back door open while I washed the dishes. I guess he crept in and hid or something, then we saw him when he ran up here.” He shifted his weight. “And he’s hurt. I saw him bleeding.”

“You just going to leave him in there?” Kat said.

Max shrugged. “Sure. I mean, he could use a break from the cold and he seems to be loving my bed.”