My Lucky Catch (University Park #6)

by C. M. Doporto

  A few minutes later, Luke returned with our drinks. “Coke Zero, as you requested.”

  “Thanks,” I said, scrolling the latest feed on Instagram.

  “So, what are you doing tonight?” Luke grabbed a lock of my hair and twirled it around his fingers.

  Placing my phone on the table, I said, “I don’t know. Studying and doing some homework.”

  “Need some help?”

  “No, thanks, I’m good.” I shook my head, even though my body language said yes.

  Luke’s grin turned solemn. “You might not need help, but I do.”

  “You do?” I shifted closer to him and brushed his loose waves with the tips of my fingers. Luke had the messiest, but prettiest hair for a guy. Dark brown with golden tips from the sun gave him the perfect model-like appearance. Not to mention his blue eyes that could undress me with just one glance.

  “Yeah.” Luke’s hand dropped to my leg, and he rubbed it with a vigor that told me what he wanted. “Why don’t you come over tonight around ten?” His head inclined, and his lips lingered on the edge of mine.

  “Okay.” I found myself captured by his charm and agreeing to his request with little resistance. The door opened, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Lexi walk in. I quickly pulled away, hoping she hadn’t seen us nearly kiss.

  “Hey.” I cleared my throat and picked up my phone, trying to act like nothing was going on between us.

  “Hi.” Lexi dropped her backpack on the bench across from us with a loud thud.

  “Hey, Sis.” Luke turned slowly in her direction. I elbowed him when I realized his hand was still on my thigh. If he didn’t want Lexi to find out about us, he was doing a shitty job of it.

  “I was beginning to wonder if you were coming.” I glanced at my phone. “You sent a text about twenty minutes ago.”

  “Sorry, I had to call the writing center. They want me to tutor someone, and we were trying to coordinate schedules.” She pulled out her wallet. “Did you two already order?”

  “Yeah, about five minutes ago.” Luke lifted his hand from my leg and rubbed his chin in a smooth move. The look on Lexi’s face told me she sensed we were up to something. I wasn’t sure how much longer we could hide our friends-with-benefits status.

  “I need to hurry. I have to meet this student in forty-five minutes.” She got up and immediately bumped in to Collin.

  “Lexi.” He caught her between his arms, steadying her.

  “Sorry, I didn’t see you.” She placed her hand on his chest and stared into eyes, as though trying desperately to connect to him. “Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

  He released her from his embrace, not bothering to kiss her. Disappointment painted her faced, and her body slumped forward. For these two to be getting married, they sure were acting like strangers. “Professor cancelled it. I sent you a text, but when you didn’t respond, I figured you might be here. Thought I’d eat lunch with you.”

  “Great.” She smiled, but I could see right through the pained expression. “Unfortunately, I have to be at work in forty-five minutes.”

  “That’s fine.” He shrugged, placing his backpack in the booth. “What do you want to eat?”

  “I’ll have the chicken and roasted green Chile burger, no fries, and water with lemon.”

  “Okay. I’ll be right back.”

  Collin took off toward the back to order, not bothering to say hi to either of us. It didn’t bother me because he rarely talked me when I saw him. I wasn’t sure if he didn’t like me or had something against me. I thought of asking Lexi a time or two, but figured it was just his personality and let it go. Lexi slid into the booth, took in a deep breath, and then released a soft sigh.

  “You okay, Sis?” Luke placed his hand on hers.

  “Yeah,” she nodded, “just a lot going on.”

  “She’s stressing about the wedding,” I said, recalling how Sunday’s dress fitting session went. I felt bad for her. No way would I allow Veronica, or my mom, if she were alive, to tell me what wedding dress I would wear. Luke and Lexi’s parents won the award for Helicopter Parents of the Decade, times two.

  “And school.” He released her hand, and she grabbed a few napkins from the holder. Folding them neatly, she placed one for her and one for Collin.

  “The ceremony is in June. Of next year. Isn’t it a little early to be worrying?”

  “Yes, but there’s so much to do and—”

  “I get it.” Luke motioned for her to stop. “Please, spare me the details.”

  Collin set their drinks on the table and then turned to Luke. “Is she obsessing about the wedding again?”

  “What do you think?” Luke smirked.

  “I told her not to worry about anything. We have plenty of time to get things in order. Delaney, you’ll be helping as the wedding planner, right?” Collin asked, totally catching me off guard.

  “Yes, and I told her this should be fun. But you know Lexi—”

  “She wants everything to be perfect,” Luke added.

  “No, I don’t.” She pounded her fist on the table, and I arched back. “And will you stop talking like I’m not here?”

  Luke shot me a look that said don’t say anything else.

  “I’m sorry.” Collin kissed her cheek, and I did a double take because I swore that was the first time I’d ever seen him kiss her. “I didn’t mean to be rude. I was only trying to be supportive.”

  Apparently, Lexi was stressed about the wedding more than I realized. I’d never seen her so uptight. And Collin’s way of showing support wasn’t what she needed. A weekend alone with him would be the answer to her prayers.

  “I know. Forget about it.” She touched his hand and then skimmed her fingers along the curves of his bicep.

  “Lexi, stop.” He brushed her hand away, and she retracted her arm like a wounded puppy. I immediately covered my mouth, preventing any words from escaping. What the hell was wrong with this dude? Why didn’t he want her touching him? Hell, Luke and I weren’t even boyfriend and girlfriend, and we couldn’t keep our hands off each other.

  The waitress arrived with our food, and I watched Lexi take her plate and move as close to the wall as possible. Instead of these two being close together, they were distant. If they were in love, I didn’t see it. Something was definitely wrong with this relationship.

  “Are you headed to the gym later on?” Luke asked Collin.

  “Of course,” Collin replied, waiting to take a bite of his burger. “I can’t slow down even if it’s the off season.”

  “Me, either. Spring training kicked my butt last year. And Coach will be all over my ass.”

  “I don’t want to see you sitting on the bench again.”

  “Yeah, me, either.” Luke agreed. “But I think taking a little time to get my head together has helped.”

  “That’s good.”

  Collin and Luke continued chatting about baseball, and I thought of how to get my friend away from all this as I ate my burger. I considered a trip to the nearest nail salon, but seeing how her nails were already perfectly shaped and painted with a clear gloss, I knew she’d probably say no.

  “Hey, Lexi, wanna go workout with me tonight, too?” I figured letting go of this frustration would be good for her.

  “Lexi?” I waved a hand in front of her face, but her eyes glossed over as if she was in another world.

  “Huh?” She stopped chewing for a second and looked at me, clueless.

  I shook my head. We definitely needed to have a woman-to-woman chat about Collin.

  “So, do you want to or not?” I said, with a mouthful of food.

  “Do what?”

  “Seriously?” I placed my hand on my forehead. “You didn’t hear me?”

  “Sorry,” she mouthed.

  I took a quick sip of my soda. “I asked if you wanted to go to the gym with me.”

  “You know I don’t like to work out.” She took another bite of her burger, snubbing my question.

&n
bsp; “I know, but I thought you’d like to tone up your arms,” I flexed my bicep, “since you’re thinking about buying that strapless wedding dress.”

  A sudden kick under the table had me totally confused. “Ow!” I yelled, reaching down and rubbing my shin. Lexi was obviously pissed about what I said.

  “You bought a strapless dress?” Collin immediately keyed in on our conversation, and I knew I’d screwed up.

  Lexi smiled. “Well, I haven’t bought it yet.”

  “Sorry.” I wanted to punch myself for blurting that out. I had ruined her surprise. “I just didn’t want to go alone.”

  “Oh, all right. But you and I are going to have a talk.” She pointed a finger at me, and I retreated in my chair, knowing she’d let me have it later. With a quick glance to her phone, she said, “I gotta go.”

  “But you didn’t finish your burger.” Collin commented on her half-eaten plate of food.

  “I guess I wasn’t that hungry.” She stuffed her phone in the pocket of her backpack.

  “I’ll call you later.” Collin placed a hand on her arm and leaned forward.

  “Okay.” Lexi closed her eyes and puckered her lips in anticipation of a kiss from him. Instead, Collin’s lips landed on her forehead.

  I blinked twice, not believing my eyes. Why wouldn’t he kiss her on the lips?

  “You’d better go.” He rubbed her arm, as if that would make her feel better. “You don’t want to be late.”

  She grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder, causing her body to slump forward. I felt so bad for her. Lexi deserved more attention and affection than that. I didn’t understand why he was holding back. Was it because we were there?

  “See y’all later.” She scooted out of the booth and lumbered toward the door.

  “I better go.” Collin glanced at his watch. “I have class in ten minutes.”

  “See you at the apartment later.” Luke wiped his hands on a napkin and tossed on the table.

  “I’ll be at the library studying so I won’t be back until later.” Collin grabbed his backpack and stood.

  “Yeah, okay.” Luke nodded, and I gave Collin a short wave bye.

  Once Collin was out the door, Luke turned to me. “Wanna get started on studying?”

  I pressed my lips together, trying hard to hide the smile emerging. “Sure, why not?”

  Chapter 10

  Luke

  “Damn, that was good Chinese food.” I wiped my mouth and hands before tossing my napkin on the table. “Glad we decided to try that place.”

  “Me, too.” Delaney’s head tilted to the side. “You missed some, right there.” Using her napkin, she cleaned the area under my lips.

  “I was saving that for you.” I winked. “You know, for later.”

  “You were?” Her eyes widened with a hunger that only I could satisfy. Over the past few weeks, things had really changed between us. Although I hadn’t gotten her to open up to me, we were seeing each other more. We started hanging out with Forbes and Jordan since they already knew about us. It definitely made life a little bit easier.

  “Oh, God,” Forbes complained. “Just go to your room already.”

  “Shut up, man.” I shot him the finger as I gave Delaney a quick kiss on the lips. We still had to be careful around Collin and Lexi. I wasn’t ready to tell my sister, maybe because I still had no idea where my relationship with Delaney was going.

  “Leave them alone.” Jordan pulled on Forbes, trying to get his attention. “It’s about time they come out of the closet.”

  “Hey, we haven’t opened the door yet,” I reminded them. “So don’t say anything.”

  Jordan nodded, and Forbes rolled his eyes. “Whatever, man. Everybody already knows.”

  “They better not.” I scolded.

  “I swear I didn’t say a word.” He held up his hands in surrender.

  “Me, either.” Jordan pretended to zip her mouth with her fingers. “But it’s obvious.”

  She shrugged and then picked up her phone and turned on some music. “Hey, what are y’all doing this weekend?”

  “I don’t know.” I glanced at Delaney, waiting for her to say something. “We have practice Saturday and Sunday, but not on Friday.”

  “I think we should get some friends together and go hang out somewhere.” Jordan gathered her and Forbes’ empty plates.

  “That sounds like fun.” Delaney got up, taking our plates. “We can be together.” She bumped her butt against my arm, getting my attention. I gave her a playful slap on her backend. She squealed as she danced her way into the kitchen. I found myself watching her every move. What was it about her? I could barely feel my face because of the constant smiling I did when I was with her. One quick glance at Forbes told me that he was sick of it.

  “If we have a big group, no one will think anything about you two being together.” Jordan elbowed Delaney.

  “Maybe.” Delaney had a mischievous smirk on her face as she and Jordan danced in the kitchen.

  “There’s a really nice bowling alley on West 7th Street. They even have a bar and serve food, too.” Forbes finished off his sake and set the empty bottle on the table.

  “I don’t know how you drink that.” I cringed and shook my head.

  “What?” He shrugged. “It’s not bad, in fact, I want another one.” He got up and leaned over the bar, motioning to Jordan. She opened the fridge and took out a brown bottle and gave it to him.

  Getting up, I strutted my way into the kitchen. “I was thinking we could do a little dancing.” I pressed up against Delaney, giving her some hip action from behind.

  “Hey, now.” She rubbed against me, causing my pants to get tighter.

  “Oh, yeah, baby.” I continued to bump and grind against her. I honestly couldn’t get enough of this woman. Her sensual moves had me ready to take her to the bedroom and keep her there all night.

  The front door to the apartment opened, and Collin walked in. Immediately, I pulled away from Delaney, and she stopped dancing. He looked around, his face stone cold. I knew he was pissed about what happened earlier that day at lunch with my sister. Hell, I was still shocked that she got drunk on mimosas in front of her soon-to-be in-laws and our parents. She was definitely stressed about the wedding.

  “Hey, where have you been?” Forbes asked, as he lifted his sake I tried to motion for him to leave Collin alone, but I couldn’t make eye contact with him.

  “I went with my brother to the batting cage,” he sighed and looked at me for a brief moment. “After church and lunch.”

  “Dude, the World Series game isn’t until next Wednesday.” Forbes took a quick sip of his sake. “And it’s only Sunday night.”

  Collin shut the door and shook his head. “I want to win, unlike you two goof-offs.”

  “Uh, we do want to win, and we went to practice yesterday. Thank you very much.” Forbes shot me a glare, and I shrugged. Collin was known for going the extra mile and then some.

  “You missed some damn good Chinese food.” I glanced over the bar at the white containers on the table. “There might be some left.”

  “Thanks, but I already ate.” Shuffling into the kitchen, he grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

  “We were just talking about getting a group of people together to go bowling this weekend.” I walked out of the kitchen and back into the dining area, creating some distance between Delaney and me. She must have caught on because she stayed in the kitchen with Jordan.

  “Okay, just let me know. I’m sure Lexi will want to go.”

  “We should go Friday night since we don’t have practice,” Forbes added.

  Taking a big gulp of water, he nodded. Everyone seemed awkwardly quiet and uncomfortable as Collin stood in the kitchen. Maybe because we were keeping what was going on between Delaney and me a secret and hoping he didn’t catch on. “Do you mind turning off the music?” He glanced at Delaney. “I have a test to study for.”

  “Oh, yeah, sure.�
� Delaney turned to Jordan.

  “Sorry.” Jordan grabbed her phone from the bar. “I meant to turn it off earlier.”

  “Thanks.” He started to walk out of the kitchen, but stopped. “Hey, Luke, can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Yeah.” My shoulders slumped, and I trudged forward. The last thing I wanted was to hear him lecture me about my sister. I got enough of that from my parents.

  “In private, if you don’t mind.” He cleared his throat a few times, as if he was nervous.

  “Okay.” I followed him to his room, not bothering to say anything to Delaney or anyone else. If there was one thing I was good at, it was keeping a straight face. He turned on the light and shut the door. My stomach clenched, but I managed to stay relaxed. Was this about my sister, or was he about to bust my chops?

  “What’s up?” I shoved my hands in my jeans, waiting for him to say something.

  He set his workout bag on the floor and placed his keys in his valet. “Did you take Lexi home? Was she okay?”

  I released a low breath, extremely relieved this was about my sister and not Delaney. “I brought her back here to the apartment, and she slept it off. Then I dropped her off at the library a little after five. Said she had to tutor someone.”

  “Oh. Did she get sick?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “I think the liquor relaxed her, and she fell asleep.”

  He sat on the edge of his bed. “Thanks for looking after her.”

  “Yeah,” I shrugged with indifference. I wanted to tell him that was his job, especially since he was going to be her husband, but something told me to save that for another time.

  “I don’t know what got in to her today.” He seemed more concerned than mad. “I guess she’s stressed about the wedding, but she’s choosing the wrong path, if that’s the case.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, I’m going to have a talk with your parents.”