Not as badly as it did when I thought about last night and what I’d said.God.Could I have been more ridiculous? I winced, my hungover mind replaying everything I’d said to Lorelei like amost embarrassingmomentsreel of my life. I called her a goddess! To her face! I rubbed my head and groaned.
“Drink this.” Oliver pushed a red sports drink at me. “We need electrolytes, boys. Lots of them.”
Red was the worst flavor, and I shoved it back.
“Coach will be pissed if we smell like beer.” Dean chugged a water bottle, then crumpled it up before tossing it into a trash can. “But man, last night wassick.”
“Say less, man.” Callum hadn’t opened his eyes yet as he leaned back on the couch. Coach wanted us back at the field midmorning to reflect on the game, to make sure we iced or were tapped, and some of us would do a light workout if we needed to.
I would opt out of that today. My mind felt like a freight train and a tornado had a love child, and I blamed Callum for the damn shots. “Why did you insist on bringing the bottle of tequila?”
“Because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Obviously.” He moaned, the sound like a dying animal, and it echoed in our living room. Dean was the only one capable of eating real food, and even he struggled to swallow it.
Oliver changed the channel to put on another college game from the west. I took some aspirin earlier and needed it to kick in ASAP. At this point, it was a waiting game until I felt human again. We stank, and a shimmer of shame coursed through me. Was all the partying and letting loose worth it to feel like this the next day? Maybe, maybe not, but it was the only time I could.
Soft thuds came from the stairs, and my breath caught in my throat. Unless one of the guys had a houseguest and forgot, that meant it was Lorelei.
She rounded the stairs, and a smile broke out across her face when she saw us. “Morning, boys. How we feeling? Ready for a run or want me to make mimosas?”
“Shut up, Lo,” Dean groaned.
“God you all smell.” She scrunched her nose and avoided looking at me. I knew because my gaze hadn’t left her once. She wore a navy crewneck sweatshirt and loose shorts, and her legs were shiny. My fingers twitched. I wanted her, badly.
And now she knows it.
“Wasn’t there some agreement when I let you live here about making us food?” Dean asked. He shoved his fork to the side of his plate and paled. “This tastes like vomit.”
“I could’ve told you that.” She walked up toward the back of the couch so she was about four feet from me, and I swore I could smell her lotion.
It reminded me of summer days, flowers, and sunshine. I closed my eyes, breathed it in, and when I opened them again, she stared at me. Her large doe eyes filled with heat for a second before she masked it.
Shit.That flicker of heat had my body sparking to life. What did that mean? That she wanted me too? It was one thing to see women attracted to me, but having it come from her made everyone pale in comparison. I was used to people wanting me for football fame, but with her? She didn’t give a crap, and it was sexy as hell.
Her last name is also Romano.
Lorelei sneezed twice before saying, “I have an hour before I’m heading to the union for a bit to work on this project idea with Mack.”
“Mack’s meeting you there?” Dean asked, a bit more oomph to his voice. “Why not come here?”
“You for real?” Lorelei’s eyes blazed. “YouinsistedI couldn’t bring friends here or else because of your teammates.” Her gaze flicked to me for a second. “That they would be too much of an annoyance.”
“Dude, I didn’t say that. I want females here. Mack, especially. Please,” Callum said, the dude still keeping his eyes closed. “She’s the blonde, yes?”
“Yes, but I’m going to stop you right there, Callum. Mack is off-limits from you.” She narrowed her eyes and pointed her finger at him real aggressively. “I’ll shave your eyebrow off while you sleep.”
He peeked one eye open. “Bet.”
Her face flashed with victory, and Oliver laughed.
“I mean, shit,” Dean said, wincing. “I did say too many distractions were bad, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, you were a real dingus about it,” she fired back.
Dean said that because of me.God, he was a good friend. Gratitude washed over me, right before a flash of guilt for the thoughts I had about his sister. He knew what my life meant and that having people over here messed with my routine and plan. The fact he hadn’t thrown me under the bus with it meant a lot, and my stomach tightened with unease. What would Lorelei think if she knew it wasmethat had almost prevented her from moving in?
Dean sacrificed having his sister be upset with him for me, and I was thinking about kissing her and how she’d taste.
Was I that much of a selfish asshole?
