Which I didn’t get to hear because Finn’s timing and his big mouth sucked.
“Hey, Bax. This your unicorn?” He gave Piper an appreciative once-over. “You gonna introduce us?”
“No.”
Piper’s brows shot to her hairline. “Unicorn? Are you still on about that?”
Wait. When did she meetFinn?
“Yeah.” Finn laughed. “When Bax said he’d hooked up with a hottie, we were pretty sure he meant a fantasy. You didn’t confirm nor deny that day at the Union.” He eyed her hair. “Him dedicating that sweet pick-six to you a couple weeks ago only proved his wishful thinking about hooking up with such a smoke show.” Ignoring my scowls, he extended his hand. “In case you forgot, I’m Finn, Bax’s roommate. Your name again?”
“Unicorn, apparently.” She laughed.
Finn let out an awkward chortle and tried again. “Okay, Unicorn.” He gestured to my T-shirt. “You’re voluntarily drinking with a guy wearing that?”
I hadn’t paid much attention to what I’d put on after the game. When I glanced down at my shirt, I had to grin. Lucky for me, so did Piper when she saw “Nice pants. Is there room enough in them for me?”
“Looks like I am.”
Finn blinked. “But you’re gorgeous.”
“That she is. What’s your point?”
My teammate danced from foot to foot—not that it mattered. He’d already stepped in it. Guess he figured that out too, so he kept on going. “How can someone so pretty share Bax’s warped sense of humor?” The genuinely perplexed expression on his face cracked me up.
“One of life’s beautiful mysteries, Finnegan.” I tipped my beer in Piper’s direction and smiled. “As you can see, unicorns do exist. And they’re fun to hang out with.”
“I take it I need to catch a ride with Fitz.” His tone was oddly glum.
“That’s probably in your best interest, yeah.” I sneaked a glance at Piper who shot me a sly wink. Immediately, the front of my jeans tightened, and I had to work hard to keep from reaching down to adjust my fly and give myself away.
Letting out a long-suffering sigh, Finn dropped his head and sauntered a few steps back in the direction of our booth. Then he turned to me. “How is it you go out on a random Thursday night and end up with the hottest girl in the bar?” Shaking his head, he said almost to himself, “It doesn’t make sense.”
“Finnegan,” I said, my tone patient. “You’re only a jock by day. At night you turn back into a science nerd who could playCODprofessionally. You haven’t kept your eyes open for unicorns.” My hand found its way back to Piper’s knee, and I gave her a tiny squeeze. If I wasn’t so tuned into her, I might have missed the whisper-soft hitch of her breath at my touch.
“Your roommate, huh?” A speculative expression came into her eyes as she watched Finn amble back to sit with our crew. “He doesn’t look like a science nerd at all.”
“He’s a bio-chem major. Has plans to find the cure for cancer when he grows up. Do not ask him about it unless you have hours of free time to kill.” My brow went up for emphasis.
A smirk settled over her features as she eyed my chest. “Is that a general sentiment, or were you hoping to find a hookup tonight?”
“I’ve been hoping to see you again.” I glanced down at my T-shirt and back up. “This was just good timing.” I gave her knee another little squeeze and casually let my palm slide up a bit higher on her thigh.
“I came here tonight on purpose.” Pink tinged her cheeks as she cleared her throat, but her eyes never left mine. “I’ve seen your Stromboli’s commercials on local TV, thought maybe you hung out here.”
Even if my life depended on me being stoic, I couldn’t have stopped the grin that sprung to my lips. A thought struck, and it faltered. “You lost my number, huh?”
Shaking her head in the negative, she said, “I’m still not looking for anything more than a hookup. Calling seemed like a date.”
“Not opposed to that, you know.”
“Yeah, but—”
“You’re not ready. I’m respecting that. But don’t think for one second I’m not going to try to change your mind.” I leaned in and brushed a kiss over her jaw to make sure she knew I meant business.
She covered my hand on her knee and whispered, “Is your truck nearby?”
“It’s in the parking lot behind this building,” I whispered back.
