Free Finding Dandelion (Dearest #2) by Lex Martin

sister’s roommate stares at me like we’ve met, like we’re friends. Hell, like we’re more than friends. But all I draw is a blank.
    Her expression is a cross between excitement, fear and horror. Yes, that’s what I do to women.
    In sweats and a black t-shirt that hugs her small frame, she looks like she’s sixteen, especially since she’s not wearing makeup. But she’s beautiful. Delicate.
    I start to worry that I slept with her in some drunken state, but nothing about Dani makes me think that’s possible. First of all, her tits aren’t hanging out like Christmas ornaments. Strike one. Secondly, she lives with Clem. Strike two. Thirdly, she looks too innocent to be interested in me. Strike three.
    Nothing in that equation puts her even remotely in the fuckable category.
    So then why do I have an immediate boner? And why does she keep looking at me like that?
    Fuck. I rub my temple, the pounding nearly unbearable.
    Concussions suck. The doctor said the headaches should go away within a week, but a week has gone by, and I’m still miserable.
    I had to fucking scale Hannah’s balcony to get into her apartment. Or at least that’s what I’m told since I don’t remember any of it.
    I leapt over the railing, something I’ve done all the other times she got locked out. Except this time I slipped, slammed my head on her grill and blacked out. Good thing the building manager arrived to unlock the door.
    Chloe saw the whole thing through the sliding glass door, me wiping out. It scared the shit out of her. I woke up to her screams.
    As it turns out, the soup Hannah left on the stove had burned to a crisp, so even though my coach thinks I got a concussion because I was out partying on my birthday, I know the truth.
    And I’d do it again. Chloe reminds me of Clementine. It’s the way she looks at me like I can fix anything. It’s been years since my sister looked at me like that, and it sucks that we’ve grown apart. It’s my fault. I can’t do anything about it now, but when I look at little Chloe, it makes me want to protect her.
    Of course, no good deed goes unpunished. I’m on probation because I had to miss several practices. Coach says one more screwup and I’m off the team. Happy fucking birthday to me.
     
     

 
     
    CHAPTER TWELVE
     
    - Dani -
     
    I spend the rest of the day avoiding Jax like he has the Ebola virus. After lunch, someone knocks on the front door, and an Amazonian-looking supermodel saunters in. She doesn’t bother telling anyone hi. Instead, she heads straight to Jax and drops into his lap, making a point to tongue him up in front of a room full of people.
    The guys love the show, and they hoot and holler like she’s doling out free lap dances. Clem, who seems to have recovered from her earlier embarrassment, rolls her eyes and makes a gagging sound. I’m starting to like her more and more.
    And, yeah, I’m painfully and ridiculously jealous.
    On the way home, I close my eyes and let my head fall back against the seat. The purr of the car is strangely soothing. I can’t wait to get home so I can die an appropriate death alone. All I can think of is how he kissed that girl back and how his lips must have felt.
    “Can you believe my brother?” Clem asks, breaking into my misery.
    I stiffen immediately. I don’t think I’m in a position to say anything so I keep my mouth shut.
    She continues without any encouragement. “Why can’t he grow up and stop being such a slut? That girl was skeevy.”
    “I think I’ve seen her in a Calvin Klein ad,” Jenna says.
    Ugh. That’s where I recognize her from.
    If I ever thought there was a chance in hell he’d be interested in me, today shot down that delusion. Of course he loves bombshells. What guy doesn’t? I’m Midwest and corn-fed. She’s runway and underfed. She probably survives on two carrots and a twig a day.
    Tears brim my eyes, and I blink them away quickly. I don’t know why I want to cry. I set out for a one-night