The Underdogs: The Complete Series

by Stewart , Kate

  “Houseman, park the fucking car and take cover! You know there’s going to be another one! There always is!”

  “Laney, it’s fine. Stop yelling at me.”

  Bluetooth connected, I race through the streets like a madman taking every curve at warp speed as Laney screams at the top of her lungs.

  “This is the dumbest damn thing you’ve ever done!”

  “Stay in the tub!”

  “I am!” She says before grumbling. “He’s going to beat up hurricane-force winds for us, Max. Told you he was a keeper.”

  “That’s enough, Laney!” I shout, as I fishtail on the road leading to hers. I still have five minutes left in the drive going a hundred miles an hour. Adrenaline spiking, I listen closely for sirens.

  “There is no oxygen in that brain of yours! Pull over right now and get somewhere safe!”

  “Laney, I’m going to be the first twenty-one-year-old to have a fucking heart attack in the middle of a tornado, if you don’t shut the hell up!”

  “Don’t you tell me to shut up! You’re risking your life, and for what?”

  “I don’t want you to be alone!”

  “I can handle it!”

  “I can’t! I can’t! I can’t fucking handle it, okay? And you shouldn’t be alone. Not the way you are. All. The. Time. Having to fend for yourself, and figure it out on your own because there’s no one there to help you. I fucking hate it. I hate it for you, and I hate it for your mother. And I hate it that I want you to turn to me when you need me but you’re so damned independent you’re missing the part where I come in, so I’m going to go ahead and point out that time is now. This is where I come in, Laney. Right here, when it’s scary, and I can be there to comfort you and ride it out with you. So, yeah, I would rather die in a fucking tornado than know you’re scared and alone in that house without me.”

  A seconds-long silence ensues as I floor it, taking a turn that would make a gamer jealous.

  “Theo?”

  “I’m here.”

  “You’re a stupid man.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I’m so pissed off at you right now.”

  “I know.”

  “So stupid,” she says tearfully. “You’re a stupid, stupid, good man. And my hero,” her voice cracks just as I fly down her driveway.

  “I’m here,” I skid to a stop an inch from hitting her porch. I charge up the stairs and through the front door to see the bathroom door open. Max comes running with Laney hot on his heels. She runs full sprint behind Max in a cami and sleeper shorts, relief covering her face as tears run down her cheeks. We collide in the hall, and I lift her as she slams her mouth over mine. Gripping her close, I usher them both back in the bathroom and into the tub, our lips never parting.

  “Idiot,” she murmurs into my mouth as our tongues duel for dominance. She pulls away, batting a tear from her eyes as I pull her down with me to straddle my lap.

  “Stupid ass.” She tugs on my hair, and I see the fire in her eyes as she looks me over in a daze before covering me in her kisses. My temple, my nose, my cheeks, my lips, my throat.

  “Worth it,” I grunt, gripping her waist as she turns on my lap, lifting Max out of the tub to the floor before turning her attention back to me.

  “So stupid,” she whispers, running her tongue along my lower lip, my neck, before pushing her chest toward me. I bite into the meat of her cleavage as she cups me in my jeans before thrusting her tongue into my mouth. It’s a tight fit, but she manages to get good friction. Rock fucking hard, I massage her thighs, kissing her back with equal fervor before she rips herself away, eyes hooded.

  “Total dumbass,” she says, resting her ass on my thighs while unbuttoning my jeans and slowly pulling the zipper down before taking my cock out and pumping it in her fist. “Moron.”

  “Are we having a fight?” I ask through clenched teeth.

  “Yesss,” she hisses, stroking the tip of my dick, her thumb brushing the pre-cum over the head. I damn near lose my shit when she begins to pump my length, eyeing my cock with hunger. Groaning, I look up to see her eyes flare, the rise and fall of her chest. She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

  Eyes locked on mine, she rises to position herself pushing her shorts to the side before sinking onto me and surrounding me in tight, wet heat. When she’s fully seated, I see fucking stars. She grinds onto me in slow motion, and I pull off her cami, cupping her perfect tits while I drown in the feel of her.

  “You win,” I groan into her mouth just as she comes.

  #tubbingoutthetwister #nostormcankeephimaway #inseparable #myhero #hesgotmyback #bestfriendsforlife #livingmyhappiestlife

  The rest of the week is drama free. There’s been another shift between us since the day of the tornado. Three people died that day getting swept off the highway in their cars by one of two tornadoes that touched down. I could have very well died that day, a fact that Laney has enjoyed pointing out numerous times. My reply is always to shut her up with swift dick punishment, which she thoroughly enjoys. Last night we had Devin and Chase over for dinner. Laney cooked homemade pasta thanks to a cooking show we binged on Netflix. It was pretty damn good. We both had a lot of firsts this week.

  She hosted her first dinner party.

  I got to have piano sex.

  She learned a few chords on my acoustic.

  I mastered sixty-nine.

  Some days we left the house and did mundane things, like go to Home Depot for a better shower head. It was totally domestic, and I loved every minute.

  In the morning, I cooked breakfast, and my barista made the coffee, laxative-free. At night, I would read with my head in her lap while she played with my hair and watched cooking shows.

  We stayed up late, wearing each other out and slept in every day waking each other up in naked and creative ways.

  Every once in a while, I’d catch her looking at me, and wordlessly bring her to me for a kiss, because I knew without a doubt, when she looked at me that way, she was with me, and I’d made my place with her.

  It was the best week of my life.

  Grannism—If a man makes you smile, he’s worth it. If he makes you cry, that’s when you know he’s worth a whole lot more to you.

  Laney

  Tonight’s the night I confess to my love about how I feel. I’ve been patient. We’ve made it past every major holiday, not to mention Valentine’s, the green beer of St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter. So far, he’s refused to be the first to utter the words. It’s only in the past week that I’ve become obsessed with my confession. With my graduation looming I’m determined to secure my place with him as he has with me, no matter what my future entails. It’s when I was in the shower this morning that I realized what’s been holding him back. He doesn’t want me to feel obligated to return the sentiment.

  That has to be it.

  And I can’t hold back anymore. There’s no way I can be wrong. This feeling is reciprocal. Even if it’s only been mere months since we got physical, those months have changed everything for me, inside of me.

  My gypsy heart no longer beats that beatnik way. It now thrums in a happy and monogamous rhythm, spelling out his name every four beats. Theo’s carefully carved his place in my life and over my heart. It’s etched all over me. At the same time, something tells me he thrives on the anticipation. He’s made me wait for so much already. It’s one of his talents to drive me absolutely bat shit crazy before I get to reap the rewards. But they’ve all been worth it.

  He is worth it. While I laid myself bare, he’s been spoon-feeding me pieces of himself. Layer by layer, everything he’s unveiled has only made me fall harder.

  A knock at the door has me running toward it, toward him. I open it to see Theo standing at my door, looking edible while holding the largest bouquet of flowers I’ve ever seen. It’s obscene and takes both of his hands to hold it.

  “Good God, man, did you buy the whole flower shop?!”

  “I asked for one of each.”<
br />
  “So I could finally decide on one?”

  “No,” he leans in pressing a gentle kiss to my lips, “so you could have them all.”

  It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him then, but I hold back and kiss the hell out of him instead.

  “Ahem,” my mother says, breaking us up. “Theo, those are so beautiful.”

  “Hey Deidra.” Theo bends down, disappearing behind the door and picks up a smaller bouquet of wildflowers. “These are for you.”

  “Thank you. It’s been a long time since I got flowers,” she murmurs appreciatively before grabbing our bouquets and heading to the kitchen.

  Theo looks me over as we linger at the door. “You look beautiful.”

  “Thank you. Where are we going?”

  “It’s a surprise.” He looks pleased with himself. He’s wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt and dark jeans. I push up on my toes and lean in. “Heads up, Houseman, I’m in a kind of mood and when I say mood, I mean I want to suck the life out of you.”

  I pull back to weigh his expression, and my mom chooses that moment to kiss us both on the cheek before darting out the door.

  “I’m running late. Where are you two off to?”

  “It’s a surprise,” Theo says, his hot gaze never leaving mine.

  “Well, have fun.” She calls before jetting down the steps and getting in her suburban.

  When her taillights grow dim, Theo ushers me inside the door and pins me to it.

  “I thought we were leaving.”

  “We are,” he says before taking all the gloss off my lips. When he pulls away, I’m a puddle of want, and his lips are shining. Standing limply at the door, I shake my head.

  “I missed you today.”

  “Theo—”

  He cups my face rubbing his thumbs along my cheeks. “I think about you all the time. If I’m reading, I think about what you might think of the book. If I’m driving, I wonder what you’ll think of the song playing. I want in that head of yours so bad, all the time.”

  “I’m crazy about you, too.”

  “Laney,” he whispers softly, “this is real for me.”

  It’s the perfect moment. The words are begging to be spoken, but I can’t get them out. He weighs my expression carefully before lifting my hand to press a kiss to it. “Let’s go.”

  Half an hour later, we pull up to Theo’s house where we’re forced to park on the other side of the street due to the number of cars in his drive.

  “What’s going on here?”

  “Nothing we want to stick around for, I forgot something, should only take a second.” He opens his door, but I put my hand on his to stop him.

  “Wait,” I say, and he hesitates.

  “Laney, if you—”

  “This is real for me too.” My fear is realized as he refuses to meet my eyes. He thinks I said it out of guilt. He leans in and kisses me. “I’ll be right back.”

  Theo runs inside as a group of guys huddled on his porch greet him, and he gives them a quick wave. Curiosity gets the best of me and nature calls, so I decide to kill two birds. It’s more a gathering than a party, and I can see why we wouldn’t want to be a part of it. I’ve seen more ass cheeks in the last fifteen seconds than I did changing diapers at my first job. It’s a grinder, and I feel like I’m walking into an episode of Rock of Love. This gathering is a no holds barred, titty festival fight for the biggest meat stick.

  I’m so over it already.

  Halfway to the house, I’m stopped by a familiar voice.

  “You again. Where did you come from and where the hell have you been my whole life?” I look up to see Batman surrounded by a few Robins as he pumps a keg. “Sorry,” I shake my head at his tired line and move toward the porch.

  “No way, you’re not getting away from me again.”

  “Look, you get points for persistence, but sorry to tell you, Romeo, it’s never going to happen.”

  He moves to block me from the porch, his back to his friends. He shoves his hands in his jeans, his bulky frame imposing, his T-shirt strangling his biceps.

  And I feel nothing but…annoyance.

  “Listen. I’ve been chasing you for months. When are you going to finally give me a chance? There’s something here,” he says, dipping his head low to catch my eyes. “I know you feel it too.”

  I consider him, admire him briefly, and realize what a blessing it is to know the difference between attraction and true chemistry and the blessed fact that I now know better. Six months ago, I would’ve easily fallen into this trap. And it took one good man to change everything.

  “You do feel it,” he says with a smirk. It’s then I realize I haven’t replied, and I’m sending out the wrong signals.

  “Maybe yo—”

  “Maybe?” That voice doesn’t belong to him. It belongs to the man standing to the right of us. “Did you just fucking say maybe?”

  Theo’s livid eyes meet mine and then shoot over to Batman. He reads our posture before we take a step away from each other, but it’s too late. He saw intimacy, familiarity. He saw me linger too long. His eyes blaze over me and then shoot back to him.

  “You’ve been chasing her for months?”

  Batman shakes his head. “No, man, it’s not like that.”

  “What’s it like?” Theo spits menacingly. “Please, Troy, tell me what the fuck it’s like. Because I really need to know.”

  Troy? Batman is Troy?!

  Dread cloaks me while bile climbs up my throat.

  “Oh shit.” One of the guys says as Theo steps directly in front of Troy, his intent clear when he bats the full beer out of his hand, and it splashes the few guys next to him.

  “What the hell,” one of them spouts, wiping away the beer from his soaked arms. “You need to check yourself, Bugle Boy.”

  Theo’s gaze doesn’t waver. “Come on, tell me, fuckboy, because I need to know how a clueless piece of total shit like you gets away with this over and over.”

  Troy’s jaw ticks and his eyes narrow. “Look, this holier-than-thou routine is getting fucking old, man. I didn’t know she belonged to you.”

  Theo grits his teeth, ready to pounce. “Never stopped you before, has it? You’re disgusting.”

  Troy’s eyes flare, and I shake my head, knowing he’s about to go for the jugular.

  “Maybe you need to ask her why she’s sending vibes my way.”

  “Don’t you dare! You bastard,” I finally manage to say glaring at Troy before turning pleading eyes to Theo. “Theo, that’s not true!”

  “You’re asking for an ass-whooping,” the guy standing next to Troy says in warning. “You need to back off, Theo.”

  Troy lifts his hand, silencing him with a gesture. “Clear them out.”

  “Be a good dog, Kevin, and obey your master,” Theo snarks, never tearing his eyes away from Troy.

  “Fuck you, Bugle Boy,” Kevin says snidely before turning to the gathering crowd. “Party’s over. See yourselves out. Now.”

  There are only a few groans before those on the lawn start to disperse. The tension is unbearable, palpable as the two stand off.

  Theo is the first to speak. “You’re pathetic, you know that? The worst kind of fucking man.”

  Troy goes rigid, his eyes icing over. “I’m the man you wish you were.”

  “You’re a sack of shit hiding behind a pretty face, and you know it.”

  “Like I said, I don’t know her.”

  Unable to handle the tension, I step between them facing Theo. “I didn’t even know his name before tonight.”

  “You don’t know her?” Theo ignores me altogether, his eyes fixed behind me as he snaps over my shoulder at Troy. He’s shaking with anger.

  “Theo,” I say, placing a hand on his chest. He jerks his body away, glaring at me before attacking Troy again. “You don’t know her, huh?”

  Troy wipes a hand down his face. “No.”

  “Yeah, you don’t,” Theo says, swallowing. “But I know you. I’ve
known every version of you since middle school, and I’m not impressed with the 2.0. Get your shit and get the hell out of my house, and don’t fucking come back.”

  “Whatever, man, gladly,” Troy says, stalking up toward the house.

  I look back to Theo just as his turbulent eyes sweep me. “And now I know you, too,” he says with revulsion just before he turns to stalk away.

  “Don’t you dare,” I follow him across the yard back to his car. “I was about to turn him down. I had no idea he was your roommate. None.”

  He opens his driver door, and I kick it shut. Furious eyes meet mine.

  “Don’t go off half-cocked. This is a huge misunderstanding. I didn’t know who he was until tonight.”

  “Move, Laney.”

  “This is ridiculous and uncalled for. I’ve never entertained him!”

  “Get out of my way,” Theo says, his voice so cold my eyes fill.

  “You are making a mistake,” I whisper hoarsely.

  “The only fucking mistake I made is wasting more of my time and attention on another woman who didn’t deserve it!”

  “Don’t…don’t say anything else I can’t forgive you for.”

  “Then get the hell out of my way, Laney!”

  Mortified, I cover my mouth, and stumble a step back from his door just before he jerks it open, starts his car, and drives away.

  Laney

  Hours later, I’m freezing on his porch. Troy left just after Theo with a few of his friends. He tried to approach me, but I’d snubbed him with the wave of my hand. He had to know how much damage he’d done with a few mere sentences. He played on Theo’s insecurities while making me look guilty and all because of his arrogance.

  This was a fight between two completely different with one common denominator, pride. Combine that five-letter word with two sets of balls and you get a mushroom cloud the size of Texas.

  Gran used to tell me pride is a man’s fuel source and when threatened, even the humblest of men can become a raging bull.

  I’d just watched it happen. But the truth also came out as well. To Troy, I would’ve been another conquest. To the man I loved, I was a reason to declare war.