I feel Elizabeth’s hands grab the back of my jeans and what sounds like a tiny growl. The redhead and her two friends walk away giggling. When we take the seats just vacated, Elizabeth sits down in my lap, wrapping her arm around my shoulders, and I rest my hand on the side of her hip. She starts massaging the back of my neck and playing with my hair. Such an innocent touch but one that’s monumentally significant. It’s a touch of familiarity. A touch that couples who are comfortable with one another do. I settle back with my girl in my arms, and for the first time in over a week, I relax.
“Where’d you go last week?” Fallon asks me. I guess Elizabeth hasn’t said anything to him.
“Family stuff.”
“You’re an asshole.” He chuckles, and I take a swallow of my water. “So, kitten. What do you think?” he says, spreading his arms wide and looking around as if he’s showing off his kingdom. More cheers go up from the pool area. I crane my neck to see what the ruckus is all about.
“For the king of CU, it’s not too shabby.” He snorts and finishes his beer. A guy passes by us heading inside. “Chris! Get me another beer,” Fallon shouts.
Chris runs inside and comes back out, beer in hand like he’s offering it as a tribute to a god.
“Anything else, sir?”
Fallon tells the guy no and dismisses him.
Elizabeth bursts out laughing. “Is one of your talents ordering people around? You’re really good at it.”
“Nah, kitten. He’s a freshman pledge. He has to do whatever I tell him. Just part of the initiation.”
“And part of the reason why I will never join a frat,” I tell her.
A silky voice interrupts us. “Hey, Fallon.”
A tall girl with long brown curly hair sits down on the wood deck flooring at Fallon’s feet. He pats her on top of the head and she literally purrs. Fallon introduces her. Her name is Becca and she’s the sister of the VP of Fallon’s frat, and from the way she sits at his feet, another of Fallon’s groupies.
Several guys walk over and soon we are surrounded by a group of people. Becca and Elizabeth start chatting and a few of the new guys ask me about racing. It seems that word has spread that I’m here, so all the racing fanboys are making their way to where we are. A piercingly loud squeal erupts behind us and Meredith pops up next to Elizabeth.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming out tonight?”
“Hey!” Elizabeth happily replies, then frowns and looks around. She crooks her finger at Meredith to come closer. Since Elizabeth is still in my lap, I hear their conversation. “Is Trevor here with you?”
“Yeah. He’s inside.”
“Meredith, this is Fallon’s frat,” she tells her, cocking her head to indicate where Fallon’s sitting.
Meredith looks over. “Oh, shit!”
Oh, shit indeed. I already had to stop Fallon from attacking Trevor in the cafeteria. No telling what will happen here if they come face to face. Trevor seems to know a lot about his little brother, so I have no doubt he knew this was Fallon’s frat. Which begs to differ, why is he here?
“What should I do, Elizabeth?”
Too late. The air charges and shifts around us. Trevor walks out of the house and stops short when his gaze lands on Elizabeth. I look over and see Fallon stiffen, his lips pulled back in a half-snarl.
“Fallon!” Elizabeth calls over to him. “Not tonight.” I don’t know what kind of voodoo magic Elizabeth has over Fallon, but his snarl turns into a smirk. He gives her a small salute and relaxes back into the couch.
Trevor watches this play out and cautiously walks over. “Hey, Wildcat.”
“Hey, Trevor.”
Trevor passes a wine cooler to Meredith.
“This is actually really cool. All of us together at a party,” she says. The music from the house changes from hard rock to pop. It’s awful, but Meredith seems to like it because she’s dancing around the sofa. When she makes it to Trevor, she says, “Want to dance, big guy?” He looks at Elizabeth again and my inner caveman comes out.
“Fal, I’m taking my girl to dance,” I tell him and pick Elizabeth up. She giggles as I practically carry her inside to where everyone is dancing in the living room. I don’t look to see if Trevor and Meredith follow us. The beat of a Top 40 song is pounding and colored strobe lights flash around the room. As soon as we join the throngs of moving bodies, sweat prickles down my spine in response to the collective heat being given off. I set Elizabeth down and she turns around in my arms. There’s not much room to move, let alone dance, but that doesn’t stop my girl from twisting and writhing against my body.
I hear Meredith somewhere, but she’s so tiny, I can’t make out where she is among the dancing bodies. I do see Trevor. He’s looking right at us.
Elizabeth turns my face so I’m looking directly into her eyes. “That’s better,” she says and loops her arms around my neck. “Thanks for coming with me. I’m having a great time.”
