“What’s the deal with you and her? I figured out pretty quick that night she doesn’t like you either.”
Her gaze slid out to the front yard. “My job is to make sure people follow the rules so everyone can live together in some sort of compatibility. Tory believes the rules don’t apply to her. At. All.” Her eyes found mine. “The girl goes out of her way to make trouble wherever she goes.” Someone opened the door, and loud music and laughter almost drowned out her next words. “I almost lost my job because of her.”
I stood straighter. “Come again? Did you say she almost cost you your job? Your RA job?”
“Yes.”
Shaking my head, I said, “I thought she didn’t live in the dorms.”
“She doesn’t anymore. But when she was a freshman, she lived on my floor. It didn’t take her long to figure out I had her number.”
Pulling my brows together, I inclined my head toward her. “What’s her number?”
A tiny grin tipped up the corner of Chessly’s mouth. “Spoiled rich girl who thinks her daddy’s money can buy her out of any trouble she manages to get herself into.”
I blew out a breath. “Yeah, you’re probably right about that.”
Chessly crossed her arms over her chest. “Yet you hang out with her anyway.”
“Not recently.”
Her brows tried to meet her hairline.
“Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the flattery, you know? When cute girls keep telling you how much they love to watch you play, it strokes the ol’ ego.” I blew out a breath. “Guess I needed a reminder about staying humble. Bax and ’Han have been riding me pretty hard about staying away from her and her little band of freshmen.” I rubbed my hand over the back of my neck again. “So I’ve been making a point of studying in the science building instead of the library and being too busy to answer her texts.”
“Huh. You gave her your number.”
The disgust in her tone had me scrambling not to lose her. “Not one of my better decisions. My friends accuse me on the regular of being clueless about women.” I kicked the heel of one foot against the toe of the other. “They might be right sometimes.” I stared directly into those eyes I wanted to drown in. “But I’d like a chance to figure you out.”
She drew her pretty legs up inside my sweatshirt, resting her heels on the edge of the chair. “Here’s your first clue. I’m a woman, not a puzzle.”
A laugh snorted out. “Chessly, all women are puzzles to me.” Noticing the way she hugged her knees to her chest, I said, “But I think I’ve figured out that even when wearing my hoodie, you’re cold.”
“A bit.”
“I could sit in the chair and you could have my lap, share body heat while we talk,” I offered.
For a second she hesitated, and hope flashed through me that my silly gambit might have actually worked.
Then she shot me down. “This is okay.”
Yeah, sometimes I misread the play. But I never stop working. “If you change your mind, the offer stands.”
With a smirk, she said, “I’ll remember that.”
“What did you think of the game?” Of course, what I was truly asking wasWhat did you think of my play in thegame?
“The Wildcats are fun to watch. Definitely a draw for recruiting people to attend Mountain State.” The twinkle in her eyes told me she was messing with me. “Those sacks you had today were impressive.”
At her praise, I might have puffed up some. “Thanks. I’m glad you enjoyed them. They’re the second most fun play to make.”
“What’s the most fun play to make?”
“Forcing and recovering a fumble.” I grinned. “Let me amend that. A strip sack where I recover the fumble is the most fun play.”
“You like being a superhero, huh?”
Shrugging, I smiled at her. “What can I say? I like making life hard for the quarterback. It’s what they pay me the big bucks for.”
