“Calling Tory Miller beautiful is a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?” She sipped daintily from her glass and wiped her napkin over her mouth.
“You know what I mean.”
“Is that why you went after her so hard when she lived on your floor last year?” Saylor pushed her plate with its uneaten crusts toward the middle of the table.
“Nope. I didn’t ‘go after’ her at all,” I said with air quotes. “From the moment I met her, I picked up on her entitlement and decided not to engage. But in case that little scene just now didn’t alert you”—I nodded toward the empty space where Tory and her girls had stood—“the girl enjoys attention.Allthe attention.” I sipped the foam off the top of my now overfilled glass of beer before picking it up for a proper drink. “She pushed and pushed until she left me no choice but to do what I had to do.”
Finn’s gorgeous baritone voice interrupted our conversation. “Hi, Chessly. Um, everything okay?”
Why does the guy have to have such a pretty voice?I glanced up at him.And those shoulders? Andthose eyes?It wasn’t fair, especially when he wanted to waste all that delicious manliness on a human wrecking ball like Tory Miller.
“We’re great, Finn. But I guess I might have ruined your evening, huh?” I shrugged. “Sorry about that.” My tone conveyed the lie in my words.
He shoved his hands into his pockets, drawing my attention to his perfectly proportioned body, all shoulders and chest tapering down to his hips—and his package. It was difficult to dismiss that with it right there, a touch below eye level. I coughed over the sigh that escaped me and snapped my eyes back to his face.
“Tory and her girls like to hang out with the team. I don’t think they’re as bad as Callahan says they are.”
My brow shot up. Across the table Saylor let out a derisive snort.
“But I could be wrong about that.” His face expressed a combination of consternation and worry.
“On Homecoming we established you definitely could be wrong about that,” I said.
He let go of an uncomfortable chuckle. “Well, you probably saved another bouncer’s job tonight. I doubt Stromboli’s will let Tory back in before she’s a senior.”
“So I did ruin your evening.” My lovely dark beer turned sour in my mouth.
A ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Not even a little bit. Seeing you here made it all kinds more interesting.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Saylor’s smirk, and I shot her a glare. She burst out laughing.
“This”—she waved her hand between Finn and me—“is certainly interesting.” Shoving her outstretched hand at Finn, she said, “I’m Saylor Davis, one of Chess’s bestest friends.”
Under the table my toe connected with her shin. The wretched woman didn’t even flinch. If anything the gleam in her eyes ratcheted up from naughty to wicked. I absolutely did not appreciate her glee at what shethoughtwas going on between Finn and me.
With a smile, Finn shook her hand. “Finn McCabe.”
“Oh, I know who you are. Starting defensive end for the Wildcats. Up close, you’re pretty cute, nothing at all like the animal you are on the field.”
A dull red spread over his high cheekbones even as he smiled that smile that revealed his one endearingly crooked incisor. “Thanks. I think.”
Nothing was going on between Saylor and the too-hot-for-his-own-good football player standing beside our table. Nothing.
So why did the green-eyed monster punch my stomach when he smiled at my friend?
Chapter Four
Finn
From the firsttime I set eyes on her sitting in our players’ booth at Stromboli’s weeks ago, all I’d wanted to do was impress Chessly Clarke. Judging by Saylor’s comments, I’d impressed her friend, but the scowl on Chessly’s face said I’d missed the mark with her—again.
Guess my friends were right. I was a glutton for punishment. “Are you coming to the game this weekend?” I asked, and I couldn’t stop the hope that rose in my voice.
“We’re definitely going to the game—right, Chess?” Saylor answered.
“Can’t pass up an opportunity to tease Piper about her sudden interest in a certain Wildcats player,” Chessly deadpanned. “Speaking of Piper, I should probably go check on her, make sure she didn’t fall in.”
“Didn’t fall in where?” The purple-haired hottie who’d turned out not to be a figment of Bax’s imagination appeared beside me.
