Pure loathing flashed over Derek’s features before he said, “Doubt you’ll find anyone who wants to drink with you while you’re home.”
“We aren’t in high school anymore, Watson.” Danny took two steps toward the sidewalk. “Your threats are as empty as you are.”
In horror, I watched Derek’s fists flex. That was all Danny would need, to mess up his precious hands in a fight on his first night back right before he was set to walk on to the Wildcats team.
Mike must have decided he didn’t want to deal with a mess because he wrapped a hand around Derek’s bicep and tugged him toward the still-idling truck parked at the curb. I couldn’t hear what he said, but whatever it was had Derek nodding and taking a step in the right direction.
“Fuck you, Chambers.”
On that super-original parting shot, Derek spun on his heel and stomped around the front of his pickup. After he climbed inside, he slammed the door hard enough to shatter glass. Good thing for him the window was rolled down. He jammed the vehicle into gear and slammed on the gas. A noxious cloud of black smoke cloaked Danny’s car and made us cough as it wafted across the porch and over the house.
Tina stepped out the front door and wrinkled her nose at the choking odor of diesel smoke. “What the heck was that all about?”
“Derek Watson,” I said as Danny shuffled up the steps and back to his chair.
She rolled her eyes. “That asshole will never grow up.” Fanning the wisps of smoke from her face, a conspiratorial grin tipped up the corner of her mouth. “You heard he lost his scholarship, didn’t you?”
Danny and I exchanged a look.
“I did not hear that. Do tell,” I said.
“Some scandal involving an accusation of sexual assault.” She leaned against the deck railing, facing us. “I don’t know all the particulars, just that he wasn’t getting much playing time, so he wasn’t a big enough asset to Wyoming to keep him around with the accusation hanging over him.”
“Can’t say I’m surprised.”
Danny shook his head. “All that talent wasted on a spoiled, entitled attitude.” Giving me a long look, he added, “I hope the girl is okay.”
I breathed a tiny sigh of relief. Danny’s “friendship” with Derek was based on a love of football, not some shared dark side. Unlike the other players on the team, he’d never defended Derek when that jerk made my life hard in high school, but he’d defended me when Derek turned his ugly loose the second he saw me sitting on my parents’ deck. I shouldn’t have entertained thoughts of Danny having a dark side, even for a second. From the moment we met, he’d treated me with respect and friendship. I doubted Derek knew the meaning of either word.
“After he graduated, I heard rumors about what he did to girls at parties. A couple of girls in my class really hated football players after going to those parties,” Tina said, eyeing me.
Being two years younger, my sister was a freshman when Derek was a senior.
“It’s an old story, sis. Senior boys chasing freshmen girls who want the social status of dating an older guy. I don’t think any of them truly know the price they have to pay for it or that it’s only going to last for a minute.”
Tina slid Danny a sly look. “You didn’t try to date any of the girls in my class—even the ones who threw themselves at you.”
Answering her with an indulgent grin, he said, “I couldn’t take all the giggling.” He clasped his hands between his thighs. “Plus, I had more in common with girls my age.”
Something shifted in his tone, and I dragged my eyes from his big beautiful hands to his handsome face. The intensity of his silver-gray gaze threw me. Why was he looking at me like that?
?Chapter Four
?Danny
Out of necessity,I’d friend-zoned Taryn five minutes after I met her. In hindsight, that move had smacked of utter stupidity, but at the time, I couldn’t see any other way. Being new to town and desperate to fit in, especially on the football team, I’d taken Ronnie Boone’s advice and not crossed Derek Watson.
Moving around the country and changing schools three out of every four years had taught me how to read people fast—a necessary survival skill. On the first day of practice for the Central Valley High Scarlets, I’d sized up the team. QB Watson was the boss. He commanded more fear and deference from the other players than the head coach. The rest of the team pretty much followed his lead. Ronnie Boone, the middle linebacker, captained the defense. His steady presence kept the team from imploding when things didn’t go Derek’s way.
Derek was the guy I had to play the game with; Ronnie was the guy I could trust.
At the end of the first week of practice, a bunch of us players, including Ronnie and Derek, happened to stroll past the cheer squad who were practicing on the sidelines of the field. A gorgeous brunette with killer legs and a smile to light up the universe immediately caught my eye.
“Who is she?” I’d asked Ronnie.
“Someone you want to stay away from,” Derek had answered for him.
“Why? She yours?” I’d asked.
