Shaking my head, I didn’t bother to hide my grin.“Where are the plates?”
Dally gave me a quick tour of the kitchen, which the guys had set up in a fairly standard fashion: plates, bowls, cups, and glasses in the cupboard to the right of the sink; utensils in the drawer below them; pots and pans in the lower cupboard beside the stove; hot pads in the drawer above the pots and pans; napkins, Solo cups, and paper towels on a shelf in the pantry in the corner of the room, beside the door to the back yard.
We set plates and napkins beside the pizzas, and by silent agreement, the four of us loaded up, grabbed napkins and a beer each, and returned to the living room.
“Mario Kart,COD, orMadden—pick your pleasure,” Taco said as he gestured to a game controller on the coffee table in front of my recliner.
“I’m not drunk enough forMario Kart.Let’s playCOD,” I said around a mouthful of succulent meat lover’s pizza.
My teammates exchanged a look before Dalton said, “You know we can play the drinking-game version to help you with yourMario Kartproblem.”
“Or Dally and I can kick your asses inCall of Duty,” I offered.
The last time Dalton and Taco invited me over, before I’d moved in, Dally and I had wiped the floor with our teammates inCOD.As expected, once I’d tossed the gauntlet down, neither of them could resist the challenge.A couple hours later, the pizza and beer were distant memories, as was Dalton and Taco’s dignity after the way Dally and I had creamed them.
Dally stood and stretched.“Well, boys, I’ve got a shit-ton of calculus homework to finish this weekend.Think I’ll try to knock some of it out tonight.”
Taco stacked the used plates on the coffee table and walked them into the kitchen.“Think I’ll see what’s going on over at the SCR house.You two wanna join me?”
“Yeah.Maybe some pledges are in the mood to lose a little money in a friendly poker game,” Dalton said with a smirk.
The mention of poker put Saylor’s face front and center in my mind.Thoughts of that girl had been simmering right under the surface of my consciousness since she dropped me off last night.
“I think I’ll pass,” I said, stifling a yawn.
“Scared we’ll beat you at cards?”Dalton challenged.
“Nah.I need to spend some time planning an epic date—something that’s going to make sure I get a second one.”
“Seriously, dude?With who?”Taco asked as he walked back into the living room.
“The girl whose identity neither of you clowns would give up no matter how nicely I asked.”
“Aw, damn, Cash.You’re walking into a store you can’t afford.”The genuine look of sympathy on Dalton’s face pissed me off.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Saylor’s pure class, and not because she comes from a rich family.That girl is out of everyone’s league.”Taco’s sympathetic expression mirrored Dalton’s.
“Well, she agreed to go out with me, so I guess that puts me in my own league.”
Two pairs of big eyes stared at me.
“All my life I’ve had to compete.I haven’t won every time, but I bat way above average.Saylorisclassy.She’s also fun, and I aim to show her such a good time she won’t hesitate to say yes to me twice.”
Chapter Eleven
Saylor
“Yeah, not abig fan of you throwing me at Cash the way you did,” I said to Piper as the four of us—Piper Maxwell, Jamaica Winslow, Chessly Clarke, and I—met for our bi-monthly brunch date.We used to meet every Sunday, but since the three of them were so “busy” these days (read: hanging out with certain football players), we hadn’t brunched for the entire month of May.With only a week left until finals, we’d been in danger of not brunching again until fall semester, which would have been a tragedy.
Or not.
“I did notthrowyou at Cash,” my friend drawled.“I made an executive decision to cheer for Wyatt, which turned out to be a good move for the outcome of the tournament.”She swirled a bite of poached eggs and English muffin through a puddle of hollandaise sauce on her plate and lifted her fork to her lips.“I would have thought you’d be ecstatic at the outcome of Wyatt and Dalton’s win.”Her eyes twinkled as she chewed her bite of breakfast.
“The way they were playing, they would have won even if you hadn’t been ‘cheering’ for them.”A grumpy tone accompanied my air quotes.
“Yeah, but Cash needed a partner, and the way he was looking at you, like you were a unicorn or something, gave me the idea his partner should be you.”My so-called friend was sweetly unapologetic.
