CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
Lorelei
“Youslept with him?” Mack‘s mouth hung open, a bit of salsa on the side of her face. “Luca Monroe. The guy we thought hated you?”
My face heated as I nodded. “That’s the one.”
“Wow.”
“It was…unreal.” I blew out a long breath, fanning myself with my hand. It was Friday night, and while I had seen Mack every day, I couldn’t quite tell her. Maybe it was easier now because the guys were at their game, off campus and away from overhearing?
“Why the fuck did you not tell me immediately? What’s the point of our friendship then, ma’am? This is top-tier shit.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin, her posture straight. Where I was messy and loud, she was clean and respectful. Unless she had a few drinks. Two Modelo Mack was fun.
I stared her down, the words almost spilling out.Oh, like you don’t share your massive crush on my brother?I wouldn’t do that to her. Instead, I sipped my water and went with the truth. “I thought I’d be over it, and it’d be no big deal. Something to share anecdotally.”
“But that’s not the case?”
“Nope. Not at all.” My face flushed, and the uncomfortable pang grew in my chest. It was strange to know I was setting myself up for heartbreak,again,and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. Not until I moved out of that damn house and stopped smelling him or seeing him or hearing his voice or watching his muscles ripple under his shirt. Hm, that was a great point. I should be looking for places to move into. I made a mental note to research apartments the next morning. “We both can’t get involved with each other and agreed it’d be a one-night thing, but Mackenzie, it was wild.”
Amusement danced on her face. “Better than Eric?”
I about spat out my drink. “Different universe than Eric.”
“Atta girl. Proud of you.” She held up her vitamin water and cheered my bottle. “How daring of you, Lorelei Romano. Having a filthy, sexy one-night stand was something we aspired to do freshman year.”
“Oh, god, we had that dumb list, didn’t we?” Groaning, I pictured one drunken night and a lot of promises. “Didn’t I dance on a bar or something?”
“Sure did. Where I wanted to streak on campus and kiss three strangers in one night.” Mack laughed, pink covering her cheeks. “Maybe notthree,but the thought of kissing someone in a crowded room, not knowing their name seems fun.”
I nodded, just because thatdid notsound as appealing as it would’ve pre-Luca. This was new territory for me; caring about someone when I knew I shouldn’t and refusing to cut off all communication with him because he needed a buddy. Yes, the team was great, and my brother would give Luca the shirt off his back, but emotionally? Nah, there was no way they realized how much Luca carried around with him, the worry always lurking underneath his massive shoulders.
It didn’t matter how many times he looked at me like I hung the moon, he couldn’t afford the distraction, and I couldn’t afford the pain.
Mack scrolled her phone as I finished my dinner, her knee bouncing up and down and causing the table to rock. “Mack Attack, what’s going on?”
“We should go out.” She set her phone down, a frown line between her eyes. “Let’s hit up the bars, dance, kiss strangers.”
I narrowed my eyes, trying to read her. “I thought we were going to watch the game?”
“Yes, but let’s go out and watch. Meet people, flirt.”
I did have a nervous energy all day, the thought of going back to the house alone unsettling me. Mack agreed she’d come too, but it was just so damn empty without the guys there. Plus, if they played well, they’d be partying it up all night, and I knew Luca would let loose.
Did I wish he would let loose here? With me? Yes. Mygodyes. But it wouldn’t happen, and thinking about him hooking up made my stomach twist.He did get jealous though….No. Not helpful. We couldn’t be jealous of others when we were nothing.
“I’m in. Let’s do it.”
We texted Alejandra and GraceLynn, who reached out to Alicia and Gloria, and soon enough, ten girls from the team showed up at the football house to get ready andshit.My brother was gonna kill me.
Thirty minutes turned into an hour, then another. I was three drinks in, and we glammified the place. It smelled like perfume and hairspray, and makeup lined the bathroom countertops. Music blasted from someone’s portable speaker, anddamn this is fun.
“Why don’t we have a soccer house?” I shouted.
Everyone cheered, and a lazy smile overtook my face. This was the life. The girls and I hanging out. Sure, the guys would be furious at me, but they were away doing football shit, so I could do my team shit. I’d have to clean like hell in the morning, but Mack would help me. I’d force her since this was her idea.
“It’s already game time! We should go!” Mack yelled, pausing the music. “The Lazy Palm is like, a whole mile. We can’t be late!
By some miracle, I got everyone out of the damn house and locked the door. I triple-checked to make sure every hair product was unplugged and took pictures of them. I knew, even in my tipsy state, I would forget that I did things right.Look at me being smart.
