“Hey, you.” She gives me a smile. “It’s been a while.”
“Grace, hey. Where you been hiding?” I give her a one-arm hug, and she wraps her arms tight around me. Grace used to date one of the backup quarterbacks who graduated last spring.
“I’m around, you just can’t see me when you’re surrounded by fans and wannabe girlfriends every time you leave the house.”
“Wannabe wives is more like it these days. Millionaire status is so close I can taste it.”
Grace laughs. Like most girls, she loves my cockiness. “Please never change.”
“Why would I?”
It’s never been much of a mystery to me what girls want. The mystery is whether they realize how obvious they’re being or if they’re being obvious on purpose. Because in that first instant of quiet between us, Grace’s eyes settle heavily on me, and I know what she wants. She wants to fuck me, preferably tonight. And she’s not going to make me work for it. Which means if I don’t want to go home alone tonight, my work is done.
Grace is cute with her long red hair and freckled nose, and I’m not proud of it, but I like a girl who makes things easy. The chase is a fucking blast—there’s nothing like finally getting what you couldn’t have—but I don’t have time for that in my life, not just for the sake of a one-time hookup. And a hookup is the only place a girl can occupy in my life right now.
I buy Grace a beer, and she leans closer and starts telling me about a trip she just got back from. While she talks, I glance around the room and take a quick inventory of my teammates. It looks like the football outing is basically done, as most guys have grabbed either drinks or girls, which is good because itmeans I can focus on Grace. I’m not sure I want to take her home tonight—I can’t tell yet if she’d be cool with a one-and-done deal—but I haven’t hooked up much this fall and this girl can definitely scratch that itch.
Then I spot a head of pink hair by the door. Jade Kelly, of course. The one and only.
She looks damn good, and I don’t fight the irritation I feel at being so attracted to her. It doesn’t matter how sexy those catlike eyes are or how luscious her long, slim legs look in the little skirt she wears to work. Jade’s a waste of my time.
“So now my parents are threatening to cut me off if I ever spend that much again,” Grace is saying.
“Yeah, I bet,” I say absently.
Hopefully Jade doesn’t notice me. I could just see a wicked smile forming on her face when she notices I’m chatting up a girl and her walking over here and talking shit, maybe telling the story about my fuckup with the wine cork the other night. Jade would have zero qualms about trying to embarrass me. An unfamiliar feeling comes over me. Intimidation? I swallow it down. No way. Not by a girl. Not by anyone.
A few minutes later I look up at the same time Jade glances in my direction. Our eyes meet and something rips through me. Anticipation. Curiosity. What’s she gonna do? But other than locking eyes with me for an extra second, she does nothing. She turns her back, flicking her hair over her shoulder. She doesn’t even glance at Grace.
I try to refocus on Grace, asking her about school so I can get her talking, but I can barely concentrate on her now. I tell my eyes to stay on her face, but I keep glancing around the room, looking for Jade. I don’t see her anywhere. I can’t believe it, but the fact that she hasn’t come over here to give me shit has me disappointed. Not that I wanted her to make a scene, but no doubt I’d have had plenty to say back to her, and Jade isfun to fuck with. I’ve never known anyone who got so shamelessly pissy so fast.
And just when I’m thinking Jade must have left as suddenly as she came in, I spot her weaving between the pool tables. She’s in tight black-and-pink-checked pants and white combat boots, an outfit I’d make fun of if she didn’t pull it off so well. Her long-limbed body could pull off anything. I can’t tell who she’s with. Lenni’s nowhere in sight, though neither is Cam; maybe they’re out on the back patio dry humping. I follow her with my eyes, but she’s definitely not headed this way.
As soon as I look back at Grace, I know I’m in trouble. I’ve been glancing around the room way too much. So I double down.
“Sorry, sweetheart, I just spotted someone I need to talk to. Give me a minute?”
Grace looks annoyed, but she nods.
I find Jade standing near the pool tables, a drink clutched in her hand as she watches balls roll across the red felt tables.
“Hey. It’s my new trainee.” That’ll get her fired up.
Sure enough, her mouth purses and one eyebrow rises. Pure bitch face. “What do you want?”
“Just wanted to find out if you’re ready for our big night together.”
“If you’re referring to you training me, don’t get too excited. That arrangement is the unfortunate result of Cecily’s hatred for me and her terrible lapse in judgment of you.”
“Not the big night I had in mind,” I tease. “But we can work up to that.”
She snorts but I spot it—the flicker of a smile she has to rein in. “You mean the night hell freezes over?”
“Something like that.” It’s true. Jade and I could never happen. The thought hits me with a weird pinch that I ignore.
“Don’t you think you should get back to your future babymama over there? She looks cold and lonely without King Reeve shining down upon her face.”
“Is that why you get so hot when I’m around?”
