Players of Marycliff University Box Set, Books 1–3

by Jerica MacMillan

  “I’m just asking for an hour for coffee. You can manage that and still have plenty of time for homework.”

  Hannah sighed again. “Okay, fine. One hour.” She reached for her book as Elena pulled out her phone and started texting, her brown eyes dancing with excitement, her French-tipped nails flashing as her thumbs flew over the glass of the phone’s screen.

  After a few minutes Elena looked up, a triumphant smile on her face. “Done. We’re on for tomorrow at eleven at the Literary Bean.”

  Hannah wrinkled her nose. “That was fast. Do you have a whole lineup of these guys just waiting to be set up with me or something?”

  Now Elena shrugged. “No. But my friends all think they need to meet you. Everyone knows everyone in the poli-sci department and on the debate team, and you’re this mysterious person to them because they only hear stories about you from me and the couple of people who’ve met you. So it’s like a status thing for them to meet you.”

  Hannah’s mouth turned up in a sardonic grin. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  Elena shook her head, her dark hair brushing her shoulders with the movement. “No joke. Crazy, huh?”

  Laughing, Hannah leaned back against the couch, letting her book close again with her finger holding her place. “So what’s the deal with this guy? Is he a debater or a poli-sci major?”

  “He’s on the debate team with me. His name is Josh, and he’s my debate partner’s roommate.”

  Hannah’s mouth twisted at that. “Isn’t your debate partner a freshman? You’re setting me up with a freshman?”

  Waving a hand in dismissal, Elena went on. “He’s a theatre major and a real sweetie. He’s cute too. I think you’ll like him.”

  “You’re coming too, though, right? I’m not just supposed to meet him and hold a rose or something so he knows who I am?”

  Elena rolled her eyes again. “No. I wouldn’t do that to you. Adam and I will be there too. It’s just a friendly get-together over coffee. You can meet him and see what you think. No pressure or anything.”

  “I can’t believe I’m letting you talk me into this.” Hannah shook her head and took a drink of her soda before opening her book again.

  Elena got up from the couch and started for her bedroom opposite the couch. She stopped and turned with her hand on the doorknob. “Just see how it goes. If you don’t like him that much you won’t have to see him again. And you’ll make his day regardless because he’ll get into the in-crowd of people who’ve met my roommate.” Elena threw a smirk over her shoulder before going into her room and closing the door.

  Chuckling to herself, Hannah returned her attention to her textbook. If she was letting Elena set her up on dates now, this would be an interesting semester on all counts. The guy she gave her virginity to at work, and a whole string of guys to check out through her roommate. All she really wanted was to lay low and get through it with minimal damage. From the looks of it, that didn’t seem likely to happen.

  * * *

  Climbing into her car to head to her internship, Hannah shook her head as she relived the last hour. She’d just finished coffee with Elena, her debate partner Adam, and Adam’s roommate Josh. Josh lived up to Elena’s description—sweet and cute—but in more of a baby-faced way than Hannah preferred. And while he was tall, which she appreciated, it seemed like he hadn’t grown into himself yet, all gangly long limbs and a little clumsy, like a puppy who thought he was still tiny and hadn’t gotten used to his own size. Which made sense, as he was only eighteen, his nineteenth birthday still a month away.

  Elena had been right that he’d been eager to meet her, calling her “the fabled roommate,” like she were some mythical creature. Maybe that was what had put her off. Or maybe it was the sum of all the parts. While they’d had a pleasant conversation, and she spent the hour with them like she’d promised, she didn’t feel the connection that Elena had hoped for.

  Her phone buzzed in her cupholder, and she glanced down at the next stoplight to see a text from Elena. Twisting her mouth in a rueful grin, she called her back and put the phone on speaker.

  “So, what’d you think?” Elena asked as soon as she picked up.

  Hannah chuckled. “He’s a little young.”

  “He’ll be nineteen next month. That’s only two years younger than you. That’s not that bad.”

  “It’s not just that. He looks like he’s fifteen. People would think he’s one of my younger brother’s friends if we ever went out.”

  “So you’re thinking about going out with him?”

  That provoked a full-on laugh. “Not even close.”

  “Why not?” Elena protested. “He’s sweet. I thought you were enjoying yourself.”

  “He is sweet,” Hannah agreed. “But I’m not attracted to him.” No sense beating around the bush. Elena was a champion debater. If she tried to give more reasons, Elena would see it as an opening and start debating with her. Hannah had learned a long time ago that she couldn’t possibly beat Elena in a debate so it was best to just stick to clear statements of fact and repeat them until Elena gave up.

  “You promised to give him a chance.” Elena almost sounded like she was pouting.

  “No. I promised to meet him for coffee. I promised an hour. I never promised to go on a real date with him. If you want to set me up on a date, find someone who looks like he’s old enough to vote.”

  Elena snorted. “Fine. We’re going out this weekend. We’ll find some hot guys to take us home and make us feel like the beautiful women we are.”

  Hannah rolled her eyes. “You want to go out trolling for men?”

  “You don’t like any of the guys I’m friends with enough to date them, so that doesn’t leave many options. And I still remember how wrecked you were after you spent time with Matt before. We don’t need to go there again. You’re in the danger zone, chica, and we need to get you with a new guy before the old one reels you back in.”

  “He doesn’t even remember who I am,” Hanna grumbled. “I don’t think that’s likely to happen.”

  “Even so. You guys both liked each other before. Unless he’s morphed into a disgusting hairy guy who doesn’t bathe regularly, you still find him attractive. And you’ve only gotten hotter in the last few years. I’ve seen the outfits you wear to work. Your tastes haven’t changed much over the last few years. I doubt his have either.”

  Hannah couldn’t help laughing at Elena’s assessment of the situation. “Okay, fine. But if you know my tastes then why did you set me up with Josh? He’s not even close to my usual type.”

  “I figured it was worth a try. Most of the guys I know are in long-term serious relationships or they’re freshmen. The choices are limited.”

  “Alright. I’m here, so I gotta go.”

  “Stay away from hot surfer dudes at work, and start psyching yourself up for Friday.”

  Hannah rolled her eyes again and shook her head. “Right. I’ll remind myself of all the reasons you’re my best friend so I don’t want to kill you when we’re at a club getting groped by random old guys.”

  Elena clicked her tongue. “There’s no pleasing you, is there? They’re either too young or too old. Quit being Goldilocks. We’re not trying to get you hitched, just have some fun and enjoy being young, me entiende?”

  “Sí, pues. Alright, I really have to go or I’m going to be late.”

  “Fine. Later.”

  Hannah got out of the car, locking it behind her and stuffing her hands in her pockets, chuckling to herself as she walked into the building. Elena did have a good point about avoiding Matt, though. Memories from their summer together had been playing in her head since yesterday. If she didn’t want to go there again, and with the way it ended she didn’t think she did, then she needed to be sure to stay away from him as much as possible.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Matt watched Hannah walk into the building from the third-floor window overlooking the parking lot. Seeing her again had all the memories of their summe
r together rushing back—her innocent blushes paired with occasional bursts of confidence, watching her run through the waves, her skin chilled from the icy waters of the Pacific, how he’d warm her up after. He shook his head to dispel the memories of her skin under his hands and mouth, the way she shivered when he touched her, the look on her face when she came. Those memories had been haunting him since yesterday. He still hadn’t come to any conclusions about how he wanted to handle the situation. She hadn’t given any indication that she’d recognized him, so maybe he should let it go.

  Despite telling himself that he shouldn’t seek her out, he decided that a good manager would check on his new interns to make sure they’re settling in okay. He made his way to the various departments—IT, engineering, accounting, sales, and finally, marketing. He put off visiting marketing—visiting Hannah—until last. He’d wanted to go there first, but forced himself not to, hoping that checking in with everyone else would give him some time to get a grip on the feelings that rioted inside him whenever he thought of her—a mix of shame, hope, and lust. In any case, those feelings couldn’t lead anywhere good. He needed to learn to ignore them, lock them away behind a neutral face, and do his damn job.

  The receptionist in the marketing department directed him to the cubicle in the back corner where Hannah had a desk. He tapped on the soft sided wall to alert her to his presence, looking down at her with one arm resting on top. “How’s it going?”

  She glanced up, her blonde brows wrinkled in confusion, then relaxing as recognition and something else took over. “Oh, hi. Good. Thanks.” Her answers were stilted. Did the look on her face mean she recognized him from yesterday or from before? He wanted to ask, but couldn’t bring himself to. Instead he contented himself with taking her in as she was now—short blonde hair loose today, no clip holding it back. As he watched, she pushed some of it behind her ear, and he had a visceral memory of how soft her hair had felt running between his fingers. Did it still feel as soft he remembered?

  “Did you need anything else?”

  Her words brought him back to the present. He cleared his throat. “Um, no. I was just going around and checking on all of the interns, making sure you’re settling in okay and that they’re treating you right around here.”

  She smiled, a polite smile that didn’t reach her green eyes. Her eyes were wary. “That’s nice of you. Yeah, I’m good. Everyone’s been helpful. They have me familiarizing myself with the social media pages and looking through our strategy. I’m going to be helping with those—scheduling posts, monitoring and responding to comments, tracking what’s working and what’s not, how our targeted ads are performing, stuff like that.”

  Matt grunted in response, enjoying the way her eyes lit up when she spoke about what she was working on more than the wariness that had been there at first. “Good. Sounds like you’re happy to be interning here, then.”

  “Definitely. I think it’s going to be a great semester. I’m already learning a lot, and it’s only day two.”

  He smiled, a genuine smile that worked its way past his neutral business-face mask. “Good. Glad to hear it. Let me know if you need any help or if you run into any problems here, okay?”

  The wariness crept back into her expression. “Sure.”

  “I mean it, Hannah. My job here is to make sure the interns are getting an educational experience and not just being a gopher for the department. If you need help, come find me. My office phone and email are in the paperwork you got from me yesterday.” That wary expression pissed him off more than it should. The other interns had given the same neutral sounds of agreement, and he’d just smiled and said okay before moving on. For some reason he felt the need to impress upon Hannah that he had her back.

  Her expression morphed into one of confusion at his intensity. “Okay. I’ll let you know if I need anything, I promise.”

  He gave a firm nod. “Good. Okay. Well, I’ll be going now.” He took a step back, and she watched him, not saying anything. He could feel her eyes following him as he turned around and walked away from her cubicle.

  His emotions about having her here, working underneath him, hadn’t calmed any by seeing her and talking to her again. If anything they were more confused. The next few months were going to be rough while she interned here. He could only hope that it wouldn’t extend into a summer internship as well. He didn’t know if he could take having her here for that long.

  * * *

  The delicious smell of food hit Matt in the stomach as soon as he walked in the front door. Mouth watering, he tossed his coat on the couch and his keys on the coffee table before heading to the kitchen. Megan stood at the stove stirring something in a pan. He came up behind her and stuck his head over her shoulder, the rap of the wooden spoon on his knuckles keeping him from snagging a vegetable from the stir-fry in progress and popping it in his mouth.

  Her brown eyes narrowed in a mock glare. “Dirty fingers out of the food, Matt. It’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

  He grinned at her, taking a step back. “Where’s Chris?”

  She gave the food one final stir before turning off the burner and dumping everything into a serving bowl. “Shower. He just got back from his practice and workout about fifteen minutes ago.”

  “I’m surprised you’re not in there with him.” His tone came out more disgruntled than he intended.

  Megan shot him a look over her shoulder, her mouth curved up in an impish grin. “Have you ever tried to fit two people in that shower? It doesn’t work so well.”

  Matt shook his head, leaning against the counter in front of the sink as he watched her put the rice in another serving bowl and bring the food to the table. “TMI, Megan. I hear enough that I don’t really need details.”

  With a shrug, she moved past him to get plates out of the cabinet and set three places at the table. “You brought it up, dude. Don’t ask if you don’t want to know.”

  Running a hand through his hair, he chuckled, his crappy attitude dissipating somewhat from joking with Megan and the prospect of a good meal that he didn’t have to do anything for. Which was strange. Megan didn’t cook for all of them very often. And she usually had a reason for it. She’d cook for them the night before a game or to celebrate something. Football season ended in November, though you wouldn’t know it from the way Chris was still practicing and working out, but he had the Regional Combines in about a month, so he needed to be ready. Matt had never seen Chris as focused and disciplined as he’d become in the last couple of months. It was weird, but in a good way. He and Lance helped Chris work out and run drills on Saturdays, and Coach Hanson worked with him a few times a week.

  “So what’s the occasion?” Matt lifted his chin in the direction of the table, catching Megan’s attention while she passed him to get the soy sauce and silverware.

  She froze for a second, then continued back to the table, not answering while she placed forks on precisely folded napkins. “What do you mean?” She kept her face down, her dark brown curls hiding her expression. Matt narrowed his eyes. Megan was generally an open book and didn’t hide from him. Her openness about her and Chris’s sex life a case in point.

  “Are we celebrating something? You made dinner and are setting the table all nice. You haven’t even asked me to help. So what’s going on? You don’t go all out like this for no reason.”

  She straightened up and looked at him, tugging down the hem of her red sweater in back where it had ridden up while she bent over the table. “I have a favor to ask both of you.”

  “Oh, buttering us up, huh?”

  She grinned in answer to his teasing tone. “Something like that.”

  “What’s the favor?”

  She shook her head, eyes twinkling. “Nope. We’re waiting for Chris. And he’s starving, so you’ll have to wait until we’ve eaten.”

  Matt let out a put-upon sigh. Megan patted his shoulder and laughed at him, and he grinned back.

  A few minutes later Chris walked in rubbing
his hands through his short, sandy-blond hair, still wet from the shower. He wrapped Megan in a hug, kissing her thoroughly until Matt cleared his throat. Smirking, Chris looked up at him, completely unrepentant. Yeah, he really couldn’t wait to get his own place. Especially now that seeing Hannah again had him off-balance, wanting something he couldn’t have. Having it rubbed in his face like this didn’t help anything.

  Chris’s smile slid off his face. “Dude. Who pissed in your corn flakes?”

  Forcing his grimace into a neutral expression, Matt shrugged. “What? I’m fine. Megan made dinner to bribe us into doing something for her. Let’s eat.”

  Megan shot him a look that was equal parts confusion and concern, but didn’t say anything, her attention diverted by Chris squeezing her ass. “Babe, you know there are better ways to convince me to do something for you than making me dinner.”

  Sweet Jesus, could he not catch a break? “On second thought, I might be losing my appetite.”

  Megan pushed Chris’s hands away and glared at him before turning to Matt. “Come on. Eat dinner with us. You should be used to Chris acting like that by now.”

  Matt ran a hand over his face. She was right. This wasn’t anything new. But that didn’t stop him from feeling kinda sick of it. “Fine. I’ll eat.” He pointed at Chris, “But seriously, dude, keep your hands to yourself until you guys are alone, got it?”

  Holding up his hands, Chris pasted a “who me?” look on his face. “Whatever you say, man. No need to get your panties in a twist.”

  Matt flipped him off, and Chris laughed.

  Silence descended as they settled in their seats, passed around the food, and started eating. Their schedules were much more erratic than they had been during the fall semester, so they were rarely all three home at the same time anyway. He had a lot more time to himself these days, which probably contributed to why he got so annoyed with Chris’s constant displays of affection when they were around.