The door slid open, and music and moving lights beckoned us down the hall to the open double doors. We were fashionably late, and the room was already full of people as we walked through the doorway.
Balloons, streamers, and twinkling lights in golds and blues were hung around the room, the panoramic windows giving a beautiful night view of the campus lights. A bar was set up on one side of the room serving mocktails and sodas, and on the opposite wall were long serving tables full of appetizers and desserts, with several round tables set up nearby for seating.
Straight ahead, surrounded by the floor to ceiling windows, was the dance floor, with a DJ in the corner. They even had a photo backdrop area with an elaborate balloon arch and different New Year's Eve props to add to the photo.
"Are you going to be okay tonight being in the same room as your stepdad and Rush?" Olivia said to me as we walked through the room.
"This isn't the first time we've all three been in the same room," I answered. I'd still done the press conferences after the home games, and we'd been able to act like there was nothing going on between us.
"Yeah, but you weren't at a party, and you weren't wearing that dress," she said pointedly.
I bit my lip. "I know."
Thiswasdifferent. I had tried to tell myself that it was no big deal, but sitting at a press conference and dancing at a party were not comparable. Rush would have to work extra hard to not look at me all night, and he would probably have to lay it on thick, enjoying the company of lots of different women. I'd also have to work on not staring at Rush all night and not looking sick about how he would be covered in football groupies.
Ugh. Why had I even come tonight? This was going to be torture. And when everyone was kissing and ringing in the new year, I'd be standing there wishing I was kissing Rush with the stark reminder that he and I could never be together in public.
I'd come because everyone atThe Wolf's Printhad been invited for all the great coverage during the football season, and I hadn’t wanted to hang out by myself all night.
Olivia and Wilder spotted each other at the exact same moment, their eyes locking and everyone else disappearing. They started making their way toward one another like they were magnets. When Wilder reached her, he took her hand, said hello to me, and then had us follow him to where he'd been hanging out next to the bar.
When we reached the group, I saw that Rush, Slate, Brayden, and Ryan were all there, each with one or two girls hanging around them. Standing the closest to Wilder was Rush. He looked incredibly hot in his navy button-up with the sleeves rolled up, showing off his veiny forearms, and when he saw me, his eyes lit up, his mouth parting slowly.
I gave him a shy smile, happy at his reaction.
I stood next to Olivia so that if Ian saw me over here, he wouldn't think I was favoring one of the football players. Plus, keeping space between Rush and me was probably a smart idea. Wilder and Slate still didn't know that we'd been dating for the last two months.
We all made small talk for a while before I turned away to lean against the bar, hoping to catch the bartender's attention.
Someone came up on the other side of me, and I instantly knew who it was.
"What are you doing, Rush?" I asked in an amused but also reprimanding tone.
"Can't a guy order a drink?" he said, feigning innocence.
"At the exact same time as me?"
"I'mverythirsty," he said, his voice low and sensual, looking me up and down like he was more than thirsty.
Heat flooded me at his words and at the way he looked at me. I was pretty sure he was undressing me with his eyes, thinking about what he wanted to do with me later tonight.
He took a step closer, leaning his head down as he said in almost a whisper, "I love how I'm the only one in this room who knows exactly what you will look like as I take that dress off you, who knows exactly what sound you'll make when I–"
"Miss, did you need something to drink?" the bartender said, interrupting the moment.
I blinked, feeling flushed, and I was sure my cheeks were red.
The bartender was dressed in all black and looked at me as he waited to get my order. His timing couldn't have been better. Rush and I had been in dangerous territory.
"Oh, um," I said, fumbling over my words. "Can I get a virgin margarita?"
"Sure thing," he nodded. "And for you, sir?"
"Can I get two Cokes, please?" Rush asked.
The heady fog that Rush had put me in was instantly cleared. I cocked an eyebrow. "Two?"
Giving me a sheepish look, he said, "One's for Natalia."
