by Natalie Rios
“Like I said, it doesn’t matter.”
Wait, what? “What does that mean?”
She shrugs, spreading out her hands in a vague gesture. “Just forget it. There’s less than a week left on our bet anyway.”
I don’t like that answer. Like she’s counting down the days. Like this bet is all that’s between us. “I thought we were friends.”
“We are! Seriously, we’re good.” Something’s wrong. She’s being overly bright and cheery.
“So...Kappa party later this week?”
“I find it interesting we went from going to strip clubs to pool parties and parties in your frat’s basement. It’s like you’re not even trying anymore.”
Ah. Sassy Allie is back. Maybe the phone sex reminder made her uncomfortable. I decide to drop the issue for now. Truthfully, I don’t know what to say, besides can we please do those things to each other in real life.
And I don’t know how she’ll react to that request at all.
“I’ve already shown you boobs and cocks,” I say instead. “Not much else for me to shock you with.”
“It was one cock,” she corrects. “And that was incidental.”
“It was one cock,” I agree, “but it was one hell of a cock.”
“Arrogant.”
“Cocky. When you’re being arrogant about your cock, the correct word is cocky.”
Allie rolls her eyes before reaching for her bag. “That was awful. Fucking lame, actually. Please work on your puns, Theodore. Here.” She hands me a pen. Her pink glitter pen.
“My favorite,” I grin, twirling it in my hand. “So. Kappa party?”
“Sure. Text me the details.”
It’s 10pm on a Wednesday night and I’m drinking water at a frat party. Standing at the sidelines, holding up a wall with Allie. We’re not even looking at each other, mostly because I can’t look at her. She’s wearing leggings again, a solid black pair that clings to every inch of her perfectly curved ass. Her shirt’s not long enough to shield my view so I’ve spent the better part of the last twenty minutes forcing myself not to stare at her ass.
“Is there anything decent to drink around here? No offense, but this beer tastes like piss.”
I can’t help it. I grin. The mouth on this girl. “Yeah, this is the cheap stuff we serve for free. We keep our stash of the good stuff hidden.”
Allie’s hand pauses, red plastic cup just inches away from her mouth. “You guys buy this beer and serve it for free?”
“Yeah. How else would we get hot girls through the door? Offer them free beer and voila!” I gesture to the crowd in front of us. “The place is crawling with babes.”
“That’s disgusting. So you ply these girls with alcohol and then what?”
I raise my hand, making the universal stop sign. “Not what you’re thinking. We both know I don’t need alcohol to get laid.”
“Arro-” she starts, then pauses. We exchange a look before both saying, “Cocky.”
“Speaking of your cock,” she deadpans and I nearly choke on my water. “How’s he doing? All this time with no action, I’m surprised he hasn’t fallen off yet.”
Ah. The phone sex incident hasn’t killed our inappropriate sex talks. Good. I love those.
“You sound worried about him,” I say.
“Not worried, per se. More like a scientific interest.”
“Anytime you want to conduct an experiment...” I waggle my brows as she watches me toy with my zipper.
“If I wanted to experiment, I would buy anal beads.” This time, I do choke on my water. Allie has to give me two hardy slaps on the back to get the water out of my pipes.
“Jesus fuck,” I wheeze between coughs. “Anal beads?”
“Contrary to what you believe, I’m familiar with dicks. I know what they can do. But anal beads? That’s new territory for me.” She shrugs, like we’re talking about riding a bike or swimming and not fucking anal sex.
But I’m used to her sense of humor by now. We’ve come a long way from the time she was able to convince me she was a stripper. “You don’t need the beads to experiment with anal. My offer still stands.”
“Hard pass. You don’t start with an eggplant and then downgrade to a baby carrot.”
I start to laugh, but then realize what she’s implying. “Did you just say I have a large dick?”
She shrugs, expression nonchalant, except for her pink cheeks. Those are a dead giveaway. She’s so cute when she’s embarrassed. Fucking adorable. I just want to scoop her up in my arms and hold her close while I press a kiss against her flush skin. “It’s an empirical fact. I’m not stroking your ego.”
“That’s too bad. I never turn down a good stroking.”
She rolls her eyes. “Hand jobs are so sixth grade.”
“Your sense of humor is kind of weird.”
“And yet it doesn’t freak you out. Too bad. I love throwing you off your game.”
“Is that code for torturing me?”
“Beats waterboarding, doesn’t it?”
I look into her eyes, find hers dancing back at me. A strand of hair falls into her face and it takes everything in my power not to reach out and tuck it back into place. “No need to put in the extra effort, Allie Cat. Just you standing there is sweet torture.”
She licks her lips in a way that has me imagining them wrapped around my cock. “Nice line.”
I hate those two fucking words. Hate. Them. “It’s not-”
“Hey, T. Pizza’s here.” Jackson slaps my credit card against my chest. “Thanks again. You the man, T.”
“No problem.” Taking the card, we do a quick fist bump before he walks away.
Allie clears her throat. “Let me get this straight. You give away free beer and pizza? I need to go to more frat parties. Save a ton on groceries.”
“First of all, you don’t even eat pizza.”
“Not true. Vegan pizza exists. Did you order any?” Her tone is hopeful.
“No, because no one on the team is vegan.”
“You bought it for the team?”
“Yeah. Guys on the team can’t work. I mean, I guess they can. There’s no rule stopping them or anything, but...you’ve seen my schedule.”
She nods. “Workout, class, meetings, practice. Rinse, wash, and repeat for forty plus hours a week.”
“Exactly. Add homework and studying and there’s hardly any time left over for work. It’s not an issue for me because...” I flush, a little embarrassed by this part. “Well, because my family has money. But some of the other guys aren’t so lucky. So I pay for extra food sometimes.”
Allie frowns up at me. “Don’t you guys get meals included in your scholarship?”
“Yeah, three a day, plus one training table meal per day. But a lineman can need over 5000 calories just to maintain weight. We’re not allowed to accept additional food from the coaches or any university staff, that would be a violation.”
“That sounds...ridiculous.”
I tap my cup of water against her beer. “Welcome to the world of student-athletes.”
“You’re very generous.”
My heart fucking races at her words. “Why, Perez. A compliment. And it wasn’t about my cock this time.”
“Never have I ever paid a compliment to your cock. Now, what’s a girl gotta do to get a real beer around here?”
We both pause and exchange a look.
“Don’t say it,” she groans, another flush creeping up her neck.
“Oh, Perez. The things I can do with that.” But I decide to play nice. And because I can’t help myself, I tug on the ends of her hair. “I’ll get your beer. Be right back.”
The second I hit the stairs, I have my phone out. I’ve got a quick errand to run first.
Unfortunately, my quick errand takes longer than expected. I shoot Allie a text to let her know where I am, but she doesn’t respond.
When I finally, finally, have everything, I head back to the basement. Only to be delayed once
again.
“Hey, Theo.” A blonde stops me on my way down the stairs and I try not to groan when I take in her outfit. She’s wearing my jersey. But it does nothing for me. All I can think is that Allie would look better in it.
I offer her a tight smile. “Hey.”
“Good game-”
“Can you excuse me?” I hold up both of my occupied hands. “I’ve got to set these down.”
She reaches out a hand. “I’m happy to take the beer off your hands-”
“No!” Her mouth gapes open and I grimace, realizing how rude that sounded. “Sorry, but these are already spoken for.”
“Oh, well, no worries! I have a beer anyway.” She holds up a plastic cup and I try not to roll my eyes. If she already had a beer, why did she try to take mine? “So, are you going to enter the draft this year?”
My jaw clenches. Not only do I not want to talk to this girl, but I especially don’t want to talk about the draft. There’s more to me than just football, damn it. “Would love to chat, but I have to get this to my friend before it gets cold.” I try to step around her, but the blonde just follows me.
Fucking hell, have groupies always been this persistent?
“Okay, how about later then? I can give you my number,” she purrs. Maybe it will be faster if I just take her number. I’m not going to call her, but she doesn’t know that. Path of least resistance and all that.
“Sure.” Tucking the beer bottle under my arm, I hand over my phone. Craning my neck, I scan the basement for Allie. It doesn’t take me long to spot her across the room. She’s tied her hair up into a bun, but a few strands have fallen around her face, framing her rosy cheeks with inky waves. A smile spreads across her pretty face, those plump lips lifting into a sexy grin. For a second, I think she’s spotted me, that she’s happy to see me.
But no, she’s not looking this way. Her smile isn’t for me, it’s for him.
“Earth to Theo. Did you hear what I said?” A hand waves in front of my face, snapping my attention back to the blonde at my side.
“Uh huh, I’ll talk to you later.” I snatch my phone back, anger raising from my gut without warning.
The blonde’s next words get lost in the crowd as I march towards them. Fuck manners. I’m too busy trying not to squeeze this beer bottle so hard it shatters.
She’s with that asshole Sunshine again.
16
Allie
“WHAT’S A PASSING YARD?” I ask, gingerly sipping my new beer.
“A passing yard?” He scrunches his nose. “It’s a yard gained by the offensive team on a completed pass.”
I nod, pretending I understand. “And is 1500 a good number to have?”
“Well, 1500 passing yards at this point in the season puts you right up there with T-Rex. He has the most passing yards in the conference.”
Of course he does. Damn arrogant bastard. Arrogant, talented, generous, hardworking, and gorgeous bastard. Anything less would make this situation entirely too easy.
The skin at the back of my neck tingles and when I look over, I spot the object of my distraction descending the stairs. It’s weird how in sync with him I am. My body just knows when he’s in the room, my heart skipping a beat before I even see him.
I have a smile ready for him, a snarky comment about how he’s never on time on the tip of my tongue, when I spot the blonde. Wearing his jersey. Number sixteen, Montgomery, stitched clear as day on the back.
He smiles down at her and I’m having a hard time breathing, a tightness growing at the center of my chest. Why? Why do I have to be attracted to such a manwhore?
“Are you okay?”
I snap my attention back to the guy in front of me. Taylor. Taylor, who caught me when I rolled my ankle at the pool party. Taylor, who was nice enough to keep me company while Theo disappeared to flirt with groupies. Taylor, who got me a fresh cup of the good stuff himself after it became obvious Theo had forgotten about me. Taylor, who is a nice guy and doesn’t deserve to be ignored in favor of Theo the Playboy.
Catching his eye, I struggle to give him an easy smile. As if I don’t care about what’s going on behind us. As if I didn’t see Theo pass the blonde his phone.
“Absolutely. Do you play football?”
“No, baseball, actually.”
The enthusiasm in my smile is genuine now. “I love baseball. What’s your favorite team?”
“The Yankees.” Shut the front door. What are the odds?
“Are you from New York?”
He arches a brow at me. “No, why?”
“I’m trying to determine if you’re a real fan or a bandwagoner.”
A huge grin splits across his face, flashing me the largest dimples I’ve ever seen and okay. Taylor’s actually attractive. Not as hot as Theo, but he’s also not a manwhore so that’s a plus. “Real, baby. I’ve met up with people at the ‘bat’, sat with the Bleacher Creatures of section 39, and participated in a roll call.”
“The Bleacher Creatures sit in section 203,” I say, testing him.
“Yeah, at the new stadium. I sat with them in 39 at the old stadium.”
My jaw drops. “Holy shit! You’re legit. I saw them play the Red Sox at Fenway last week.”
Taylor snorts in disgust. “I refuse to step foot in that place. Fenway is the ninth circle of hell. Matter of fact, it’s the first eight too.”
“That goes without saying. But the tickets were free and the Bronx is a good four hours away. How often do you get down there for a game?”
“At least once month in spring. Hardly ever in summer. My family lives in California,” he explains.
“Ah. Well, I’m there practically every week in summer. My grandmother lives in the Bronx.”
“Maybe we can catch a game together sometime.” He’s looking at me expectantly, like he’s waiting for an answer.
I tilt my head back and study him. He really is cute, in a tall, lanky, long-hair-don’t-care California surfer kind of way. And he’s looking at me with genuine interest. Polite and attentive, Taylor is everything Theo isn't.
So why do I keep itching to search the crowd for Theo again?
I clear my throat. “Like a date?”
Taylor’s smile widens. “I would love to take you out on a date.”
“Too bad baseball season’s over,” I stall and what the fuck am I doing? There’s a hot guy who doesn’t appear to be a manwhore blatantly hitting on me and I’m hesitating?
“We can practice by going out for coffee first.”
“We need to practice before going to a game together?”
“Of course. Baseball games are long and quiet. Big commitment for a first date, don’t you think?”
Cute and kind of funny, too. So why are you still hesitating?
“Here’s your beer, Allie Cat,” Theo cuts in, thrusting a beer bottle in my direction. “Corona, 100% vegan.”
“Wait. There’s a such thing as vegan beer?” Taylor asks.
“Yes. Beer and wine are sometimes processed using animal by-products,” Theo says, reciting a fact I shared with him over the phone weeks ago. Ugh, I really hate it when he listens to me. Okay, I don’t. I love that about him. But he’s making it hard for me to stay mad at him.
“Thanks, but Taylor already got me a beer.” I hold up the cup in my hand. “Blue Moon, which is also vegan.”
Taylor holds up a hand. “I’m confused. Are you a vegan?”
“Afraid so.”
“No way! I’m vegan too! Well, newly vegan.” Looking sheepish, Taylor bites down on his lower lip. “I didn’t know about the beer thing, but I love the new soy fro-yo they serve in Beckman.”
“So it’s good? I keep meaning to try it, but I’m never on that side of campus.”
“You’ll love it, trust me. Hey, have you ever been to the vegan café in town? They have the best black bean burger in town. Maybe we can check it out sometime-”
“Sunshine,” Theo’s sharp voice cuts in. “Mo was looking for you upsta
irs. Says he tore your glove or some shit.”
“He did what!” Flashing me an apologetic smile, Taylor shakes his head. “Sorry, Allie. I have to rescue my mitt from my dumbass roommate.”
“That wasn’t very subtle,” I say the second he’s out of earshot.
But Theo ignores my swipe. “You’ve been busy.” He sounds mad and seriously? He’s mad?
“Excuse me for entertaining myself while you collect phone numbers.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?” He looks genuinely perplexed, which makes me even angrier.
“Where have you been?”
“Getting you a slice of pizza.” He holds out his other hand and I finally notice the small triangular box he’s carrying. “Took me a while to find a place that serves vegan pizza by the slice and then I had to wait for a fresh pie to finish baking.” I stand there, gaping like a fish, while he lifts the lid. “But here it is, fresh out of the oven. Hopefully it’s still hot. But if it’s not, just let me know. I can reheat it upstairs for you.”
Ah, hell. This. This is why I can’t stay mad at Theo.
“Thank you.” Setting my cup down, I take the slice and eat.
I have no reason to be angry. It’s not like I have a claim over him. But the longer we stay here, surrounded by girls either shooting me dirty looks or whispering behind our backs, the more melancholy I become.
“I’m going home,” I say, polishing off my beer.
“I’ll take you.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s cool. You stay here. I’ll take the-”
“If you say the b word, I swear I will grab one of those ping pong paddles and paddle your ass.”
There’s an easy joke in there somewhere, but I’m not in the mood to bicker like we usually do. Still feeling down for absolutely no rational reason, I quietly follow him upstairs and into his car. The entire ten minute drive to my apartment is silent, save for the radio. Theo shoots me concerned glances, but he doesn’t say a word until we’re parked.
“I’ll walk you to the door.” He’s rounding the hood before I can tell him otherwise.
“Yeah, you never know when you’re going to be assaulted walking the ten feet from the curb to the front door.”