I can’t stop my smile from spreading.
“What? Was that too much?”
I tighten my arm around her waist. “When have I ever complained about you getting all passionate like that? Even back in high school you had this fire in you, Sam. It was…intoxicating. Even then. That hasn’t changed.”
She bites her lip. “You saying I wouldn’t have made a good teacher?”
“You would have made a shit teacher.”
She throws her head back and laughs. It’s husky, it’s free, and it draws the attention of every man in the room. And yeah, I’ve noticed them looking at my woman all night.
That’s right, my woman.
I don’t fucking care how caveman that sounds. Suddenly, I hate the fact that their eyes are on her. Hate how exposed she is under that damn dress, even though I don’t think anyone else can tell. It doesn’t matter.
Tonight, I want her all to myself. I want to love her and feel her love for me in return.
Hell, I don’t think I’ve ever not been in love with this girl.
The realization hits me with the full force of a battering ram. Along with the knowledge that if I don’t do everything right with her this time around, I’ll lose her forever. There won’t be a third chance. Hell, she hasn’t even given me a second one yet.
And I’d never survive living the rest of my life without her.
Which is why I drop her back off at her condo half an hour later, lipstick still in place and panties in hand.
Tonight is just about having tonight.
I’ll pick the ball back up tomorrow.
I just hope the plays I’m calling will end up winning me the game.
Because I have to make Sam mine…for good.
Chapter Thirty-One
“Barracuda”
by Heart
Back then…
Sam
Two more hours until my shift at Fielder’s would be over.
Thanks to Monday Night Football, the place had been pretty busy. As much as I wanted to stop and watch the games on one of the dozen wall TVs, I wanted my tips even more, so I hardly ever stopped moving. One table of guys had been particularly rowdy while watching the Dolphins game, especially after a few rounds of beers between them. But they had been nothing more than mildly flirtatious. Nothing I couldn’t handle.
Just as I was enjoying a brief lull when half my tables were empty, the front door whooshed open and a group of big, burly guys came barreling into the bar. I immediately recognized the UF football players, and my stomach sank. Somehow, I just knew he’d be with them. Sure enough, he was the last of the group to walk in.
Kade.
And of course, they all sat in my section.
I pulled on Kim’s arm as she was passing me, bringing my co-worker to a halt. “I’ll give you all the tips in my apron right now if you take the table of guys that just walked in.”
She’d been running ragged just like me all night since another one of the waitresses decided to not show up for her shift. A person could get food poisoning only so many times, for crying out loud.
“Girl, any other night you know I’d have your back,” she said, sounding out of breath. “But I’ve been working on my huge table with the birthday party for almost three hours, and they’re taking up all of my time. If I didn’t have some major tips coming from them, I’d gladly trade you. Sorry, babe.”
She ran off and I groaned at the ceiling, cursing Kade out in my head. As short-staffed and busy as we already were, I had no choice but to take their table. I watched other customers go up and shake the football players’ hands and take pictures with them. Our team was having a killer season, so the guys had basically become campus celebrities.
I couldn’t help but notice that Kade was without the lovely Robyn tonight. And yes, I had to admit she was lovely. Clearly coming from money, she oozed high class and was unsurprisingly beautiful. On top of everything else, she was friendly and charming. Standing next to her had made me feel childish and…inferior.
More like sick to my stomach.
Over a month after meeting her and I was still feeling that way.
Kade’s gaze swung around the bar, eyes searching until they landed on me. I stood rooted to my spot in the corner, involuntarily frozen while that muscle in his jaw ticked away. I knew he was probably pissed that I’d been avoiding him since the party. Well, he could be pissed all he wanted because I wasn’t thrilled to see him, either.
Whether he liked it or not, things had changed the second I heard Robyn’s name.
I’d come to college with every intention of staking my claim on him. Then we argued at the house party and I met Robyn, and now I didn’t know where we stood. Which was partly my fault. I was grouchy and bitter as hell, so most of the texts and calls from him had gone unanswered.
But hey, no one was perfect.
“Hey, guys,” I said after approaching their table. “My name is Sam and I’ll be taking care of y’all this evening. What can I get for everyone?”
The rest of the guys were riveted to the TV in front of them, distractedly calling out the names of the beers they wanted, while Kade’s attention remained on me. Obviously, none of them were aware we knew each other.
“Sorry, we don’t serve blue Gatorade here,” I told him. “No PowerAde, either.”
His grin peeked out. “I’ll just have a Bud Light. Thanks, Sam.”
That had certainly changed. He never used to drink during season.
Maybe the problem was that I didn’t know Kade anymore.
I rushed off to give their orders to the bartender while I checked on my other tables. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, telling me that Kade’s eyes tracked every move I made.
As I was tending to my other customers, one of the guys from the Dolphins table stuck out his hand and snagged my arm. I gritted my teeth against the urge to fling it off and give him a swift kick in the ass. If I wasn’t worried about losing my job—and I needed this job—I would have done exactly that. Nothing irritated me more than someone thinking they had the right to manhandle me.
“Hey, darlin’,” he drawled, holding up his empty beer bottle. “You want to bring me another Flat Rock? And maybe your number along with it?”
His buddies snickered.
I carefully extracted my arm from his hold and patted his hand. “Why don’t we just stick to the Flat Rock, okay?” I smoothed the rejection over with the warmest smile I could manage.
Walking away, I glanced back at Kade to find him frowning in my direction, staring hard at Handsy Flat Rock. Trying to brush off that mysterious reaction, I checked on how his table was doing.
“We’ll take a full order of the mango jalapeño chicken wings and another of the honey barbeque,” the guy to the right of Kade said.
“Got it. Anything else?”
There were murmurs of “no” and “nah, we’re good,” but Kade’s low voice reached my ears before I could turn away. “Can we talk?”
“I’m busy right now.”
His lips firmed. “When do you get off?”
“An hour. But I have a lot of homework to do, so it can’t take long.”
“Fine.”
I faltered at his curt tone. But I couldn’t get upset that he had a stick up his ass when I’d had one up mine for over a month. I hated the discontent between us.
An hour later my feet were killing me, I had a good chunk of tips in my pocket, and my nerves were frayed to the max thanks to Kade’s constant scrutiny that followed me all over the damn place. I told Kim goodbye, grabbed my purse from the employee lockers off the kitchen, and headed back out to the dining room to look for Kade.
As I passed the bathrooms, a large body stumbled into me, almost knocking me over. I looked up to find Handsy Flat Rock drunkenly smiling down at me. It was any wonder he wasn’t drooling, he was so wasted. I wanted to ask him if he realized he’d left a fifty dollar bill as a tip, but why was it my job to bring that to his attention? I’d
earned at least that amount after dealing with his wandering hands all night.
“Hello, sweet thing,” he slurred. “Never got that number, ya know.”
I was pretty sure the door frame he was leaning against was the only thing holding him upright at that point.
And I’d officially lost all patience with him.
“That’s because I didn’t give it to you. Why don’t you go sleep it off and let me by.”
“Now, that’s not very nice. ‘Sno way to earn a tip.”
“You already gave me a tip. And now I’m going home.”
I tried to squeeze around him, but he moved in front of me, once again blocking my path.
“I’ve got another tip for ya.” He lewdly grabbed his crotch, making me want to gag. “Right here, darlin’.”
I huffed, super irritated as shit now. “Seriously, buddy? Don’t make me call security. I’m not in the mood to deal with this.”
He stepped toward me, crowding me into the corner. “Don’t worry, I’ll get ya in the mood.”
When he wrapped his meaty paw around my hip and tried going for my ass, I lost it. “Whoa! Hands off, asshole.”
“Aw, come on—”
“Are you deaf?” a deep male voice said from behind him. One I instantly recognized.
Kade bodily shoved Handsy away from me, the coldest glare I’d ever seen marring his features. “She said hands off, asshole.”
“Those were her exact words,” one of Kade’s teammates said from beside him.
My eyes widened to see his entire table—mostly linemen and linebackers—standing there, forming one intimidating wall, all glaring in our direction. Jesus, I’d hate to go up against those guys on the field.
“He’s drunk,” I told Kade, taking pity on the guy. He was probably pissing his pants at the sight before him. “I’ll have security call him a cab.”
Kade followed me to find security while the guys escorted Handsy to the front door. A little embarrassed that Kade’s teammates had just witnessed the scene back there, I shyly told them all thanks before escaping to my car, Kade hot on my heels.
“Sam, we need to talk.”
I threw open my door and flung my purse onto the seat. “What is it?”
He jerked on my arm, bringing my attention around to him. “Stop. Whatever this is between us, I want it to end now. What’s going on with you?”
“Me? What about you? You’ve been snarky with me ever since the house party.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it. You were the one who started snapping first. I’m sorry for whatever I did to upset you.” He took a step back and put his hands on his hips, sighing. “Is this about Robyn? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her.”
I crossed my arms. “Why should you have told me about her? You have nothing to be sorry for.”
His eyes sharpened on me, assessing. “I guess I don’t. Then what’s your problem?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.” His voice was emphatic. “We’re supposed to be best friends—”
“Exactly!” I yelled, not meaning to raise my voice. “We’re supposed to be best friends, and I guess I just miss my friend.”
He looked confused, so I explained. “Ever since you got to college you’ve been distant. And don’t get me wrong, I understand how busy your life is. I just didn’t expect you to get too busy for me.”
He hung his head, shaking it. “It’s not that I’ve been too busy, Sam. It’s just that…you were dealing with your own stuff back then. Now, I’m with Robyn. I wasn’t sure how you and I would…” He trailed off, staring at the ground.
I nodded, knowing what he wasn’t saying. “I understand that you have a girlfriend. But I was with Trent for a long time, and we still managed to be friends then. That’s all I want, Kade.” Sort of. “My life just isn’t the same without you in it.”
His head snapped up, his face softening. “Same here. I’m sorry I haven’t been around as much.” He closed the distance between us and took both of my hands in his. “But I hope you know how much I care about you. And how I’ll always be there for you. No matter what’s going on in our lives, you’ll always have me.”
But as what? I wanted to ask. As just a friend? Or would we ever be more? Would we ever get the timing right, when we’re both single at the same time and our lives weren’t in emotional turmoil?
Would we ever be on the same page?
Or were we just not meant to be a couple?
I leaned in to hug him, savoring the feeling because who knew when it would happen again. The fact that he smelled the same as he always had was more painful than comforting. Because Robyn was the girl who got to breathe in that scent whenever she wanted. Not me.
“You’ll always have me, too,” I whispered.
His arms tightened around me.
When we pulled apart, I smiled as best I could. I was close to some major tears, and I wasn’t about to let them fall in front of him. Now, after I got in my car and drove off, that was a different story.
“So, I’ll see you soon? I have a game on Saturday, of course, but maybe you can come over to my place and we can watch the games on Sunday?”
I wondered how Robyn was going to feel about that. Please don’t let her be there.
“Yeah. That sounds good. Thanks for that in there, by the way.” I nodded at the bar. “I had it handled, but I appreciate the assist.”
He chuckled. “I know you can take care of yourself. And you’re welcome. I told you, Sam, I’ll always be there for you.”
For some reason, that sounded more like a curse than a promise.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Runnin’ with the Devil”
by Van Halen
Kade
“Holding!”
The word burst from Sam seconds before the referee on the TV threw his flag into the air, followed by the sound of a shrill whistle.
Things had been better between us since the night outside of Fielder’s two months ago. Now, here we were, back to watching Sunday football together, just like old times. As friends.
Just friends.
Which is what you want, right?
“How’s your brother doing?” I asked. “Sounds like he’s having a pretty good season.”
Her eyes remained locked on the TV screen. “He’s also apparently dating someone. She might actually be a keeper, this one. Looks like he’s finally leaving his man-whore days behind him.”
“Really? Good for him. And what about your dad?”
She was sitting forward on the couch, so I saw when her shoulders tensed. “What about him?”
“He still calling you, trying to get in touch?”
“Yep.”
“Have you ever thought about answering him?” I asked gently.
I could practically hear her grinding her teeth from here. “As far as I know, pigs haven’t started flying yet. So, no, I haven’t.”
“Maybe you should finally hear him out. What would it hurt to just listen to what he has to say?”
“Why should I give him my time?” she snapped. “If he wanted to apologize he could have come back and done it in person. He never even tried.”
“But he hasn’t given up trying to talk, either. I don’t think he wants to push you. It sounds like he just misses you.”
She grunted and flung herself back against the cushions. “Well, he’s going to be waiting the rest of his life. He left us without saying a word to me or to Drake.” She sighed. “Can we talk about something else, please?”
“Yeah, sorry.” Her dad was obviously still a very touchy subject. I bumped my knee against hers. “You know you can always talk to me about anything. Right?”
It took her a minute, but she eventually nodded.
I waited for her to get out of her own head before I braved another topic.
“How are classes going?”
“They’d be perfect if I didn’t have to deal with the nonsensical BS of Philosophy.�
��
I snorted. “You’re eighteen and in college, Sam. Don’t you know you’re supposed to be contemplating your own existence and the meaning of life?”
“I don’t need to pay a thousand dollars a semester to contemplate my own existence, thanks. That’s what alcohol is for.”
A laugh rumbled around in my chest. I always felt…lighter when we hung out.
“Speaking of, how’s work? You have any more problems with customers since that one drunk guy?”
I didn’t need to think about that motherfucker. When I’d seen his hands on her that night, cornering her, I’d about gone nuclear. The only thing that stopped me had been her calm expression, imploring me not to overreact. Easier said than done.
“Not bad,” she said. “I’ve gone on a couple of dates with that guy from the bar that asked me out a few weeks ago.”
My Gatorade bottle froze halfway to my mouth.
A couple of dates? What the hell?
I vaguely remembered her saying something about someone asking her out, but she never mentioned she’d agreed to it.
Why did hearing that make the liquid in my mouth suddenly taste like fucking antifreeze? Why was I grinding my teeth at the mere thought of another man having what I’d always wanted? I guess I just answered my own question. I should have been used to this by now, after the whole Trent thing.
Not that it changed anything. I was still with Robyn.
But this felt different somehow.
“Really?” My throat felt like sandpaper. “I didn’t know you guys had gone out yet. Who is he?”
She stretched her legs out, propping them up on the coffee table. Of course, my eyes were instantly drawn to them. Damn, but she could wear some skinny jeans.
“His name is Heath. He’s a rep for the beverage distribution company the bar gets its beer from.”
I frowned. “He’s older?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, a little. He’s twenty-four.”
My hands tightened around the Gatorade bottle. This was getting worse. “And he’s okay with you only being eighteen?”
That finally shifted her attention over to me. “Why shouldn’t he? I’m legal.”
Duh. No sane guy would have a problem with her being eighteen because Sam was fucking gorgeous. In fact, her age only made her more appealing to a lot of guys.
The Unforgettable Kind Page 19