He stuck his hand in the middle of the huddle and every man in it covered it.
“On three. One. Two. Three.”
“Wildcats!” we shouted, forcefully dropping our hands and stepping out of the huddle right as the special teams unit trotted onto the field for the kickoff.
Though he was only a freshman, Dalton Sneed had one hell of a leg. He boomed the kickoff into the back of the end zone, leaving the Tigers no chance for a return. We lined up on the Tigers’ twenty-five, and I heard Fitzy start razzing the Tigers’ center. To his credit, the center didn’t move early and incur the five-yard penalty for doing so. But he couldn’t hold Fitz either.
Bax shot through the hole Fitz opened up and leveled the running back behind the line. In no time, we’d left the Tigers no choice but to send their punting unit onto the field.
Though our fourth roommate, Danny Chambers, was a freshman walk-on at wide receiver, he was the same age as the rest of us in our house. While the other three of us had redshirted our freshman year and played the past three years, Danny had served a stint in the Air Force. At the halfway point of the season, his four years away from the field didn’t show at all. He ran the best routes of anyone on the team and didn’t drop Patty’s passes. That meant on the next offensive series, Coach gave him a chance, and his heroics matched Callahan’s.
By halftime we were up by ten points. By the end of the game, we’d made our point about deserving our ranking in the top ten teams in the nation and as the top seed in our conference. With the way the four of us had played, everyone on the team expected the after-party to be at our place.
For once I was determined not to fuck up when the girls arrived.
Chapter Three
Chessly
Settling myself intothe oversize recliner that took up most of Jamaica’s dorm room, I left her no doubt that I planned to stay until she’d given me all the details leading up to the lip-lock she’d shared with the Wildcats’ star tight end in front of Hanover.
“I honestly can’t figure out what it is about Callahan O’Reilly that makes me forget all my personal rules and common sense.” Jamaica sighed and dragged her sweater over her head, tossing it over the back of her desk chair. A second later her leggings joined it.
With her back to me, she perused the contents of her closet.
“Stop stalling. Put on your favorite hoodie and your rattiest pair of leggings and tell me everything.”
We’d known each other since freshman year when we lived on the same floor. I was roommates with Piper Maxwell, and Jamaica had roomed with Saylor Davis. Why the university decided to put two scholarship girls with two rich girls still mystified me, but as it turned out, the four of us had become best friends. Sophomore year, Piper and Saylor both moved off-campus while Jamaica and I joined forces to become two of the youngest resident assistants in the dorms.
Since my dad ran a hardware store and could help me with some of my expenses, I didn’t need an extra job to supplement my scholarship, and room and board were offered by my RA position. Jamaica didn’t have my same luxury. She’d be heading off soon for her Sunday shift at the Sweet Shop in the Union, which meant she needed to start talking. Now.
“Jamaica,” I drawled.
She threw herself onto the bed and stared at me with consternation warping her features. “I truly did not expect to get tangled up with Callahan. But he’s so dang charming.” Sitting up and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she added, “And freaking smart. I’m a sucker for smart guys.”
“Doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes.”
Her cheeks echoed the bright pink hue of the flowers in her headband.
“So?” I circled my hand for her to continue.
“Nothing happened, Chess. I swear.”
“Which totally explains you making the walk of shame into the dorm a few minutes ago,” I said, laughing.
“I was over all the noise and ridiculousness of the party, but we couldn’t find Axel to give me a ride, so Callahan had me wait in his room while he went looking for them. The next thing I knew, I was waking up this morning in Callahan’s bed.”
“Fully dressed, of course.” The sarcasm lacing my voice added another layer of color to my friend’s cheeks.
“We were in our underwear. Nothing happened.” She squeezed the mattress on either side of her thighs. “He said he doesn’t put out before the third date.”
I cracked up. “And you weren’t happy about it.”
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Chessly Clarke.” Her expression turned sly. “A certain other football player was asking about you.”
Rolling my eyes, I said, “I can’t imagine why.”
She leaned forward, rocking a bit on the edge of her bed. “Funny how you didn’t ask which one.”
