My Lucky Catch (University Park #6)

by C. M. Doporto

  “That’s a nice camera.” She eyed it for a moment. “May I?” Her hand extended, and I placed it in her palm.

  “Sure.” The second I handed it to her, my stomach dropped. What if she asked me to turn it on? Luke and I had taken photos of each other last night. Naked ones. My entire body covered with a thin layer of sweat. Knots formed in the pit of my stomach, and a wave of nausea hit me.

  She lifted it to her face, squinting one eye through the viewfinder. “I’ve always wanted to take a photography class,” she handed me the camera, and I released a silent sigh. “Just to learn how to use a camera.”

  “That’s not a bad idea.”

  “But with school, work, and internships,” she lifted a hand, “I don’t have time.”

  “I understand. Ya know, I could always show you.” I made sure the screen was off and set the camera on my desk, away from her.

  “That’d be great. Another time, though. I have all this stuff to unpack.”

  “Yeah, of course.” I released another breath of relief. “Did you still want me to take your engagement photos?”

  “Yes, and I definitely want them outside.” Her eyes darted to the floor, and I cringed when she saw my torn panties on the floor. I prayed she wouldn’t be able to tell since they were thin and lacy. “Wild night?”

  “Um, yeah.” I quickly picked them up from the floor. “I guess you could say that.”

  She glanced at my bed that was in shambles. “I can only imagine a night like that with Collin.” She sighed, and her eyes dropped.

  “Oh.” I scurried to grab the rest of my clothes from the floor. I wanted to ask her if she wanted to talk about it, but was afraid there might’ve been more evidence in my room. “Since it’s hot as hell outside, do you want to wait until next month to take the photos?” I quickly changed the subject, knowing it was her brother I had the best sex with, and that made it awkward.

  “I guess.”

  “We could take them at the Japanese Gardens or at the Botanic Gardens, which isn’t too far from campus.” I tossed my dirty clothes in my hamper and did a quick scan for anything else.

  “I’ve never been there.” Her eyes averted away from my bed. “Is it the right venue for engagement photos?”

  “Most definitely.” I threw my comforter on top of the sheets. “The foliage is beautiful in the fall. Hues of red, orange, and yellow.”

  “Oh, that’s perfect.” Her expression shifted to a happy one. “Since I’m getting married next June, engagement photos in autumn will be perfect.”

  “The best of both seasons.”

  “Aside from the class, how was New York?” She leaned against the dresser and through the corner of the mirror I noticed a box of condoms on my nightstand. I thought Luke had taken them with him. I needed to make sure I did a better job of picking up after he left. Otherwise, I was just asking to get caught.

  I moved in front of my nightstand, hoping she didn’t see them. “New York was good. Visited all the tourist attractions, like Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty, and the Empire State Building . . .” I rambled, trying to think of anything to say.

  “I’ve never been to New York, but I’d like to go one day. I heard the people are rude, is that true?”

  “Um, they’re a little abrupt, but not too bad.” I shifted from one leg to the other, hoping there was no other signs that her brother had been here. “The people in my class were cool, though.”

  “That’s good.” She crossed her arms and smiled. “Did you meet any hot guys?”

  I laughed, recalling how I thought my summer would go. “I did.” I turned around and grabbed my phone from the nightstand, quickly shoving the box in the drawer. With my phone in my hand, I brought up my pictures. At least my phone was free from naked pics of Luke and me. “These are the girls I roomed with.” I showed her a selfie we took in our room. “Miranda was from Ohio, and Shay was from Rhode Island.”

  “Do they attend PHU?” She took my phone and scrolled through the rest of my pictures.

  “No. They go to school somewhere else. There were two guys from PHU, juniors, I think.”

  “Oh, I thought it was only PHU students.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “There were students from all over.”

  “I see.” Her brows arched, and her finger lifted from the screen. “And who are these two hotties?”

  Slipping the phone from her fingers, I zoomed in on the picture. “The one on the left was Franklin, and the one on the right was Taylor. My roommates and I hung out with them the whole time.” I quickly flipped to the next picture, showing her another selfie we took at the coffee shop we met at daily.

  “Did you sleep with them?” Curiosity laced her voice, and I sensed a little change in Lexi.

  A laugh belted from me. “I would’ve, but they were gay.”

  Her lips twisted to the side. “Too bad.”

  “I know.” I petted the screen. “They’re so damn pretty.”

  “They definitely are.” She ogled at my phone.

  We both jumped when my phone rang, and Jordan’s picture flashed on the screen, indicating she was trying to FaceTime me.

  I hit the answer button, and she quickly appeared. “Hey, Jordan.”

  “Laney, girl, what are you doing?”

  “Here at the dorm with Lexi. She just got here.” I positioned the phone so Jordan could see her.

  “Hey, Lexi.”

  Lexi gave her a quick wave. “Hi, Jordan.”

  “Why haven’t you called me?” The video feed shook as she talked. “You said you’d call me as soon as you got on campus.”

  “Sorry. When I got in town I had to go the store, and it got late. I was busy um . . .” I widened my eyes at her, hoping she caught on that I was with Luke.

  “Oh.” Her brows shot up. “Okay, you’re off the hook. There’s a party tonight at the Kappa Sig house. Let’s go.”

  “Oh, I hadn’t heard about it,” Lexi commented.

  “Hey!” Ali and Gaby phone bombed our call. “Let’s party!” They shouted and screamed, throwing their hands up in the air.

  “I’m in!” I turned to Lexi. “You have to go with us.”

  Lexi quickly retracted from the phone. “That’s okay. I have all of this stuff to unpack. It’s going to take me all night.”

  “What? What did Lexi say?” Jordan asked.

  “She said she can’t go. Has to unpack all her stuff.” I eyed Lexi, trying to make her feel guilty. Knowing her, she’d have everything in order by tonight.

  “Whatever.” Jordan rolled her eyes. “Tell her she can do that tomorrow. It’s our senior year, and that means party time!”

  “Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.” Ali and Gaby chanted in the background.

  “Thanks, girls.” Lexi leaned over my phone, looking at the screen. “But I’m going to stay here, and um, Collin’s going to come over and help me.” She smiled a simple smile that looked too innocent for a night alone with her fiancé.

  “Oh, okay.” Jordan gave her an approving nod. “You two love birds want to be alone.”

  “They sure do.” I nudged her with my elbow and winked.

  The small smile quickly vanished from her face. “We didn’t get to see each other much this summer since I was student teaching, and he was at a baseball training camp. We need some time alone.”

  The longing in her voice indicated there was more to that story, and I made a point to ask her later about it. “You don’t have to tell me. I get it,” I said, not calling too much attention to her remark. “But next time, you have to go with us.”

  “Okay.” She darted to the door of my bedroom, as if ready to flee from the pressure of our request.

  “You have yet to party with us.” I reminded her as she turned her back to me. For whatever reason, Lexi was determined not to upset Collin or her parents. I don’t know how she did it because God knows I couldn’t. I could only image what it would be like for her once they got married. Poor thing.

  She glanced ove
r her shoulder. “You girls have a good time.” The yearning in her eyes was in direct conflict with her voice. Her head bowed, and she ducked out of my room.

  “Be ready by nine. Okay?” Jordan said. “We’ll come pick you up.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll be ready.”

  I hung up the phone, and a text message from Luke appeared.

  Luke: Party tonight at the Kappa Sig house. Wanna go?

  Plummeting to the bed, I knew what I had to tell him. If I was going to keep my emotions in check and under my control, I had to keep some space between us. I was okay hooking up with him, but there’d be no more spending the night with each other. That only made things worse when morning came, when I woke up in his arms.

  Me: Hell yeah. I hesitated for a second and then typed what my heart didn’t want. I’ll see you there.

  It didn’t take him long to respond.

  Luke: Can I pick you up?

  I stared at his question. Of course, I wanted him to pick me up. But that was the emotional side of me talking. Shaking off those feelings, I replied.

  Me: Thanks, but I’m going with Jordan, Ali, and Gaby.

  Luke: Okay. Can’t wait to see your beautiful face and your sexy body. By the way, I had a great time last night and loved waking up next to you. Can’t wait to do it again.

  I pressed the phone to my chest. What was I going to do? Luke was definitely showing all the signs of getting too close to me. And if I continued to let him, it would result in one thing—disaster.

  Chapter 9

  Luke

  “Man, you’re really packing a punch today.” Forbes let out a long whistle as he shielded his eyes from the afternoon sun. “Too bad they’re foul balls.” He and Coach Ruiz shook their heads. “Everything okay, man?” he asked as I brushed by him.

  “Yeah, I guess.” I rolled my shoulders and dropped the bat to my side. Fall practice was underway for the next six weeks before our big purple and white day, where we split the team in half and played each other. It was a fun way to end the fall practice season.

  “I’m not buying it.” Forbes swung his bat around and around before steadying his arm in hitting position.

  “No?”

  “Absolutely not.” The automatic pitching machine shot a ball, and Forbes hit it, sending the white cowhide past center field and over the wall. “Yeah!” He chanted, giving his bat a shake in the air.

  “That’s how you do it.” Coach Ruiz patted him on the back.

  “Thanks, Coach.” Forbes displayed a satisfying smile and then continued hitting a few more balls, driving each one in outfield.

  “Good job, Forbes.” Coach clapped.

  Forbes tossed his bat aside and then turned toward me. “Your face says something else.”

  “Really?” I rubbed the scruff on my chin, as if that would help erase the frustration I’d been feeling. No amount of rubbing or denying it would help. Sitting on the far end of the bench in the dugout, I adjusted my ball cap, allowing it to partially cover my eyes. Talking about girl problems wasn’t something I normally did, but keeping it in was really jacking me up.

  “Wanna talk about her?” Forbes sat next to me.

  I released a half laugh. Leave it to Forbes to know exactly who the culprit of my problems was. Taking off my hat, I said, “It’s the same shit over and over. I see her at party with some guy, and she does everything to make me jealous. Sometimes she goes home with these guys, and other times I take her drunk ass home, hoping my sister or Collin doesn’t see.” I did a quick check, making sure he wasn’t nearby. “It’s getting old.”

  “Just tell Collin and Lexi, and quit sneaking around.”

  “It’s more than that. I’m tired of seeing her hanging all over guys. It’s always a different one, and I know she’s fucking them.” Thinking of the guy I saw her with last night at a bar on West 7th Street made my stomach turn. He had a long beard, was covered in tattoos, and looked like he belonged with Smokey Bear, chopping wood or stopping forest fires.

  “But you’re not with her, so what does it matter? Unless you’re in love with her.” He did a double take, his eyes going wide. “Oh, shit. Are you in love with her, dude?”

  “Fuck no.” I wiped my head and put my hat back on. “I just like her.”

  “Whatever.” He pushed me to the side. “Has to be more than liking going on. I mean, you’ve been seeing her for how long?”

  I had to think a moment. “Since the start of fall semester, last year.”

  “Shit. It’s been a whole year, and you guys are still fuck buddies?”

  “Shh.” I looked around, hoping no one heard us. I didn’t like the guys on the team meddling in my business. “Someone’s going to hear you.”

  “It’s the truth, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, but everyone doesn’t have to know.”

  Riley caught my line of sight. “What are you two doing? Making out?” He started kissing his hand, running his tongue over it and petting it like it was a hot girl.

  “Fuck you.” I told him and looked away as Forbes shot him the finger.

  Riley knew how to rub me the wrong way. What pissed me off the most was he had an interest in Delaney. Every time he saw her without me, he was right next to her, flirting with her. What could I tell him? She wasn’t my girlfriend, and we almost got in a fight at Mateo’s birthday party.

  “Look, just because you and Jordan are a couple, doesn’t mean Delaney and I have to be.”

  He inclined his head. “Then why does it bother you if she’s with someone else?”

  “I don’t know.” Despite what I said, I couldn’t explain the agonizing pain in the center of my chest.

  “Yes, you do.” He took off his ball cap and rubbed his short crew cut with the palm of his hand. “Think about Steph.”

  “Why?” A cold shiver shot up my back.

  “Exactly. So when it comes to Steph, do you care who she screws?”

  “Hell no. She can do whatever the hell she wants.”

  “And that’s my point. You don’t have any feelings for Steph, but you do for Delaney. That’s why it hurts you,” he pointed to the center of my chest, “right here.”

  I had a feeling I was going under fast. Forbes was right. There was no denying the feelings I had for Delaney and what they were turning into. The truth was that I had felt them a long time ago, but when I tried to tell her, she refused to acknowledge them. I went along with doing things on her terms and buried my true feelings.

  But things can only stay buried for so long.

  “You need to tell her, dude. Quit being a pussy, and just tell her how you really feel.”

  “Easy for you to say.” I flipped my hat around, sending the bill to the back. “Jordan is the exact opposite of Delaney. Delaney’s tough, with no emotions. Almost like a dude.”

  “No girl can be that cold. She’s not a robot or alien. Women need love. They need attention and want to be spoiled.”

  “Not Delaney.”

  “That’s what she tells you, but I guarantee she wants someone to love her.” He winked. “There has to be something bothering her or preventing her from wanting more from you.”

  “I guess, but she won’t open up to me.”

  “That’s your task.” He placed a hand on my shoulder, giving me a hearty shake.

  “I know she’s holding back. The question is why?”

  “Exactly.” He grinned. “Find that key to her heart, and unlock it.”

  ***

  Delaney

  “Is she coming?” Luke glanced over my shoulder getting a glimpse of the text message between Lexi and me.

  “Yeah, she just got out of class.” I set my phone on the table.

  “Ok. Did you want to order now or wait until she gets here?” Luke’s hand inched closer to mine. His fingers skimmed over my skin with light feathery strokes, causing me to squirm in my chair.

  “I guess we can wait.” I pulled my hand from under his and dropped it under the table, giving his crotch a ni
ce little rub.

  “Hey, watch it.” Luke shifted to the right, trying to escape my wondering hand.

  “I want to do more than watch it.” I dragged my palm away slowly, giving his thigh a nice squeeze.

  “You’re such a tease.”

  “Maybe so, but I deliver.” I latched on to my bottom lip, allowing my eyes to survey him purposely. I was playing with fire, despite knowing I shouldn’t be. When I was next to Luke, he was just too irresistible.

  “You sure do.” He reached over and tickled my crotch, causing me to squeal.

  “Luke, stop.” I pleaded, latching on to his arm.

  “Are you sure you want me to stop?” His warm breath spanned across my face and down my neck while his fingers searched for the zipper on my jeans.

  “What if your sister walks in?” I eyed him, even though I didn’t want him to stop. He had me too excited, and I was ready to mount him right there in the booth and ride his ass. I hated that I couldn’t get enough of him. Because when it came to Luke, I kept finding myself giving into what I wanted most.

  Him.

  I continued my rotation of guys so I wouldn’t fall completely for him. It was the only thing I knew to do because as much as I hated to admit it, I was falling in love with him. My head just hadn’t accepted what my heart already knew.

  “I better stop while I’m ahead.” His fingers pulled away, and he increased the space between us.

  “I guess you’d better.” I agreed verbally, even though my body protested silently.

  “Let’s go ahead and order.” Luke reached over and grabbed a menu stuck between the saltshakers. “What do you want to eat?” He opened it and skimmed over it.

  Without glancing at the menu, I said, “I’ll take a cheeseburger and fries.”

  “And to drink?”

  “Coke Zero or Diet Coke, whichever they have.”

  “Alright.” He laid the menu on the table and adjusted himself before getting up. “I’ll be right back.” I released a slight giggle, feeling bad for leaving him that way. “You’re laughing now, but just wait.” He pointed at me. I watched him pensively as he got up and headed to the order line. His ass looked perfect in his tight skinny jeans, and I was anxious to run my hands under his shirt. Taking a few deep breaths, I calmed my raging hormones.