Wes looks sheepish as he explains, “It’s movie night.”
“Yeah, I got that.” I chuckle. Standing, I begin to gather my things. “I can finish studying at home. I’ve taken enough of your time today.”
“Nah, stay. We can go over it again after the movie.”
He must read my hesitation. “It’s cool. It’s just the roommates. We kick everyone else out for movie night.” He pauses. “You don’t talk during movies, do you? Nathan demands silence.”
“And buttered popcorn, apparently.”
“You in?”
I drop my bag. All that awaits me at home is reminders of David and the shitstorm he’s made of my life. “Why not?”
Wes takes me by the movie room while informing me he’s on snack duty for the night. “Popcorn? Soda? Beer?”
“Soda’d be great.”
“Save me a seat. I’ll be back in five.”
Joel arrives as I’m trying to decide where to sit. “Yo, Blair, you met Nathan?”
I shake my head and stretch out my arm to take the elusive fourth roommate’s hand. “Good to meet you.”
“Nice work on the court today. I thought our boy was gonna lose his shit.” Nathan’s hair is longer, hanging about chin length, and he tucks a strand behind his ear as he speaks.
Joel plops down in a one of three seats in the front row and Nathan hovers next to him. There’s one seat left in the front and four in the back. I take a step to the back row and then hesitate.
“Your boy usually sits in the back by himself. Lucky him. I’m thinking this was his plan all along—leaving room for pretty girls to sit beside him.”
My face flushes at Joel’s playful flirting. Z and Wes enter the room, and I sigh a breath of relief. Wes, for all his arrogance, has a presence that puts me at ease. I’m starting to trust him.
Wes cradles three huge bowls of popcorn. He hands one to Nathan, places one on the empty seat that is presumably Zeke’s, and then tucks the other at his side. Z has five sodas stacked up in his large hands and tosses them to the guys and then walks one back to me with a shy smile. The whole thing is so casual and homey that, when we settle into our seats, I grin at the whole charade. Who would have guessed this is how they spend a Sunday night?
I learn the pick rotates each week, and tonight it’s Zeke’s choice. Nothing could have surprised me more than him picking a Tom Cruise romantic comedy, Knight and Day.
“Seriously?”
Joel tosses popcorn in Zeke’s direction. “Z’s working his way through all of Tom Cruise’s movies and taking us along for the ride.”
“I’ve never seen this one,” I admit.
I recline the seat and curl up. I’m sitting next to Wes Reynolds watching a movie. No big deal, just a Sunday night Netflix and . . . well, there’s no chill, but a girl can pretend.
10
Wes
I sleep through movie night ninety percent of the time, but there’s a zero percent chance of that tonight.
Cameron Diaz should have my eyes glued to the screen, but she pales in comparison to the intrigue I have for the girl beside me. I don’t know what Blair’s story is. All I’ve been able to determine so far is that she’s a sorority girl, driven, and sexy as hell. So, basically, nothing that every other dude at campus couldn’t have figured out with a cell phone and social media account.
Blair yawns and stretches her hands over her head. The movement lifts the hem of her shirt and exposes the creamy, flat skin of her stomach.
I need to get laid before our next study session or I’m likely to embarrass myself with a boner that has nothing to do with my love of probability.
As Tom and Cameron fill the screen, Blair is riveted. It gives me a chance to study her better. Her dark brown hair is pulled up in a ponytail that falls past her shoulders. I like when she wears her hair this way giving me an unblocked view of her small features and delicate neck. The tank she wears shows off her rack, which is the perfect size for her body. They aren’t so big she looks like she’ll fall over but plenty for me to palm in my large, skilled hands, which is as likely to happen as Tom Cruise somehow not ending up with Cameron Diaz at the end of this movie.
I don’t have to ask her to know she isn’t up for a one-night stand. She has complicated and relationship written all over her. And I don’t have time for that. I don’t even have time for the study sessions I now owe her.
I shift in my seat and slam the back of my head into the chair to get my thoughts off sex, catching Blair’s attention in the process.
“You okay?” she whispers.
“Yeah, just wondering when Tom’s going to start kicking ass.” It’s the first thing I can think of, but she buys it.
“Shh.” Nathan’s shushing is louder than our talking, but I don’t point that out. Guy is serious about movie night, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t grown to love our weekly ritual.
“Want some popcorn?” I lean over the arm of the chair to whisper the question.
She nods, and instead of handing her the popcorn, I lift the armrest and scoot closer so I can place the bowl between us. Nathan shoots a dirty look over his shoulder at the noise from our shuffling, and I kick his chair. “Calm your tits, man.”
The rest of the movie is spent in silence. When Cameron and Tom cross the border into Mexico and the end credits roll, Joel jumps up to turn the lights on and the television off. We have early practice on Monday mornings so we don’t usually waste any time hitting the sack after movie night.
“How many left on the list?” Blair asks Z.
He grins. “Everything he’s done since. I’m watching in order.”
Joel groans. “The early years were the worst.”
“I enjoyed A Few Good Men and Risky Business,” Nathan says.
“And Interview with a Vampire,” Blair adds. “Jerry Maguire.”
“Girl knows her Tom Cruise.” Z looks positively impressed.
“You wanna cover probability theory one more time?” I’m gonna be tired as hell for six a.m. practice if she says yes but I’m thinking it might be worth it to spend a little more time getting to know her.
“Actually, I’m exhausted, and my brain is mush. I feel good about what we covered today, though. I think I have it.”
We head up the stairs with the guys, and Blair says good night to them all like they’re tight now. In my room, she grabs her things, and I lead her back down and outside. She unlocks her car and places her backpack in the passenger seat. “Thank you for helping me. You really don’t have to keep—”
I cut her off before she says something stupid like I don’t have to keep tutoring her. Of course, I do. It’s the only way I’m going to figure her out, and that’s become as important as my need to see her succeed. “I have weight training in the afternoon tomorrow, but I could meet you at the library say around seven?”
She looks relieved at my offer. “That’d be great. What’s your major anyway?”
I think about giving her my quip about the Final Four being my major. That’s all most people really want to hear about anyway. But the fact that Blair sees beyond my stats makes me want to be honest. “Officially, it’s business, but basketball is the only thing I’ve ever seen for my future.” I could leave it at that, but I don’t. I keep going. “I’ll deal with the real world when the season is over, find some bullshit job if I have to. What about you? What are you going to be when you’re all grown up?”
“Oh, man, I don’t know.” Her eyes light up, and I feel like I’m seeing my first real glimpse of Blair. “I have one more year and then hopefully my MBA. My end goal is to be an influencer, an entrepreneur, a badass female boss. I want to inspire people and work beside others with the same sort of passion.”
She stops rambling and ducks her head as if she’s just realized how much she’s said. “Anyway, something business related, which is why I need an A in statistics. O’Sean is the program coordinator for the accelerated MBA track, so I need him to like me.”
“Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it, and you’re a good teacher. Maybe you should consider that when you start your bullshit job search.”
She slides into the car seat, and I close her in. She rolls the window down and tilts her head to look up at me, a playful smile sitting on her lips. “And, for the record, you really do smell nice.”
11
Blair
“Sorry. Training ran late,” Wes apologizes as he takes a seat across from me in the library.
I wave him off. It’s only two minutes past, but I’d been so buried under the newest assignments David shoved off on me I hadn’t even noticed.
“No worries. I was just finishing some homework.”
He grabs the programming book in front of me and flips through it, holding my place with a finger. “You’re taking a computer science class? I thought you were business?”
Shit.
I take the book back and shove it into my backpack. “Most businesses run on computer science.”
I think I heard David say that once, so there’s a slight chance it’s true.
“So, I worked through the practice questions in chapter six. I think I showed my work right, but can you take a look?”
He nods as he rummages through his bag, unzipping every pocket and dumping the contents onto the table—two mechanical pencils, a notebook, a folder, and a bottle of Icy Hot. The bag is clearly empty, but he keeps riffling through the pockets.
“You forget something?”
“I, uh, was hoping I had a granola bar or a forgotten pack of trail mix. I didn’t have time to eat.”
Extra points for skipping food to hurry to meet me. The tally is somewhere in the millions at this point.
I check the time and close my laptop. “University Hall is open for another thirty minutes.”
His eyes light up at the prospect of food. “You don’t mind?”
“Nah, I need to stock up on Chewy Sprees anyway. Someone ate all mine.”
He sweeps everything back into his backpack as I do the same, albeit much more carefully.
The sun is setting as we walk, disappearing behind the mountains and taking the daylight with it. The colors that paint the sky with its descent take my breath away. I used to hate sunsets. Hate the signal of another day ending without accomplishing everything I wanted. I preferred the sunrise and the prospect of a new day filled with possibilities.
It was David who made me fall in love with them. He’d told me that sunsets were meant to be shared. That, unlike sunrise, which was about individual reflection, they were a gathering and celebration of a day spent with people you cared about. I’m sure it was a line he heard somewhere, or worse, made up on the spot to win me over, but even if everything else about my time with him had been a lie, the idea of sharing sunsets stuck.
“You lost?” Wes interrupts my thoughts and motions toward the University Hall, which I nearly passed.
I point toward the horizon. “I was just admiring the sunset. Arizona has the best sunsets.”
“Better than wherever you’re from?”
“Well, no. I’m from here.”
He laughs. “So, your data point is one?”
“I don’t need to go anywhere else to know that is the best sunset.”
He looks up as if he’s really seeing it for the first time. “It’s pretty good. I’ll give you that. Better than any I saw in Kansas.”
“Kansas, huh?”
He nods. “Yep.”
“Ruby slippers, Dorothy, tornados, the Wicked Witch, and Todo . . . that is literally everything I know about Kansas.”
He chuckles. “Not a lot else we’re known for, I guess. The Wizard of Oz and the Jayhawks.”
“The what hawks?”
“University of Kansas Jayhawks. One of the best college basketball teams in the nation.” He looks at me like his explanation should jog my memory. I’m not about to tell him I know next to nothing about college basketball, let alone which teams are the best.
“Why’d you decide to come to Valley instead of being a Jayhawk?”
“According to my father, I did it purely to piss him off.”
“Did you?”
He smiles sheepishly. “No, not entirely, but it was an added bonus.”
“So why Valley?”
He holds open the door for me as we enter University Hall and runs the other hand over his chin. “Got Z to thank for that. I played against him my senior year of high school in an AAU championship. Coach Daniels recruited Z hard, everyone did. When he signed with Valley, he put in a good word for me. Never even talked to the guy off the court. Anyway, I owe him. It’s been incredible playing alongside him. Players like Z don’t come around very often. He has the kind of talent that people will still be talking about in twenty years.”
“I heard he’s going pro next year.”
“Yeah, definitely. He should be a first-round pick, but it depends on how the season goes. If I can get us to the final four, he has a shot at a top five spot. Joel could go, too, if he doesn’t screw it up with the partying and women. He has another year yet, though.”
“What about you?”
“Nah, doubtful. I could maybe get drafted in a late round, probably spend some time on their minor league teams, but I’m just focused on the next five months.”
“I’m surprised,” I answer honestly. “I can tell how much you love it, and you’re obviously talented enough to play with guys who are going pro, why wouldn’t you want to go for it or at least try? You might be surprised, and worst-case scenario is that you don’t make it and you can fall back on your business degree.”
He grins, which is not at all the reaction I am expecting. “You have spunk. I like that. I just need to focus on getting the team to that national championship. Z and I have been working toward it for four years, and it’s so close I can taste it.”
We go our separate ways to get supplies for our study session and then settle into a table where I sip coffee and Wes devours a sandwich and chips. He quizzes me on binomial distribution between bites, and I find I mostly know the answers. I’m picking it up faster now, whether because it’s clicking or because Wes is that good, I don’t know. I’m leaning toward the latter.
I’m able to concentrate more too. It isn’t that his looks don’t affect me anymore, he’s still mind jumbling hot, but as I learn more about him I realize the outside isn’t even the sexiest thing about him. He’s intelligent and polite and just . . . nice.
When they dim lights at University Hall signaling closing time, I’m reluctant to leave but I know Wes has other things to do. Guilt for tricking him into helping me gnaws at my conscious. I should probably let him off the hook now and tell him I can finish preparing for midterms on my own.
“Same time tomorrow?” He asks as he scrolls through his phone and then taps out a message.
“Uh, yeah, sure. I work at the café until four, but I’m free after that.”
“Shoot,” he says and stops on the sidewalk.
“What’s wrong?”
“Joel has a late class tomorrow night.”
I stare at him trying to figure out how Joel’s schedule impacts his.
“He’s my ride,” he finally says as he stares down at his phone. “I can’t drive yet with the boot.”
“Oh, right. I’m sorry. I completely forgot. I could come to the house again if that’s easier?”
“Yeah, that’d be great.”
“How are you planning to get home tonight?”
He shrugs. “Joel’s coming to pick me up.”
I laugh, something about Joel playing chauffeur makes me adore their friendship even more. On cue, Wes points to a black sports car pulling into the parking lot behind the library with no regard for the speed limit. Joel pulls up to the curb and grins up at us through the open window. “I feel the need . . .”
Wes
shakes his head, but I don’t miss the big smile on his face as he finishes the quote. “The need for speed.”
He looks over sheepishly. “Top Gun.”
“I should have guessed.”
“You need a ride, stat girl?”
“Nah, it’s a short walk.” I point in the direction of the sorority house.
Both men look at me stubborn and hard. “You are not walking across campus at night by yourself.”
Valley isn’t exactly a hub of violent crime, but I can see any retort I could make would be in vain. They aren’t letting me walk.
Wes holds the door open for me, and I slide in to the back of the car that still smells new and expensive. It fits Joel, who I haven’t gotten a good read on yet. He’s flirty and playful and seems to be so different from Wes and Z, but they’re close. I can tell their friendship goes beyond ball.
“What kind of car is this?” I ask as I run my hands over the soft leather. A large screen rests in the middle of the dashboard and Joel taps it to set the music for the drive.
“Tesla 3.” Joel turns to me, mischief in his eyes. “Ever gone zero to sixty in three seconds?” The way he says it sounds positively dirty.
I shake my head slowly, afraid what my answer means.
Joel’s eyebrows raise, and he smiles wickedly. Before I can brace myself, he speeds off so fast I forget to breathe. Holy shit. Wes careens his neck back to check my expression, and the wolfish smile he gives me only speeds up my already racing pulse. Zero to sixty. Yep, I’m falling just that fast.
12
Wes
I barely get the threadbare Valley basketball T-shirt pulled over my head before I hear Blair walk up the stairs toward my room. Her footsteps are tentative and soft, a definite distinction from the heavy ones of any of my roommates.
She knocks on the doorframe as she peers in. “Hey.”
The Assist (Smart Jocks #1) Page 8