I’m so awestruck that she’s here, I’m not watching where my feet are taking me. I grunt as I walk into a wooden column, clipping my side. Pain flares in the shoulder that Donnelly slammed against the boards earlier while I stumble to regain my balance, nearly knocking over a bar stool.
The guys bust out laughing, but it barely registers. I don’t care. How the hell could I care about anything else?
Nothing else matters right now. My eyes remain locked onher.
TWO
EASTON
There’sno mistaking that the beautiful girl swaying her ass to the music on top of the bar is the same one I locked eyes with during the final period.
Her Elmwood jersey is gone—thank fuck.
My gaze drags over her, captivated by every move she makes. She flips her hair to one side, grinning as she lifts her arms into the air and rocks her hips back and forth. The strappy black top beneath her flannel that crisscrosses over her chest rides up to flash the bar a peek of her stomach. Snug jeans hug her soft curves, and?—
“Dude.” Cameron claps my shoulder, sputtering through his amusement. “You almost ate it.”
“Yeah.” My answer is distant and I brush him off absently.
“You good?” He waves a hand in front of my face when I don’t answer. “Hello? Earth to East.”
I’m not listening at all.
The girl dancing owns my focus.
She wore Donnelly’s number to the game, but I want her beneath me tonight while I make her scream. Hell yeah, she’s exactly the girl I need.
“Guess I’m finding another lucky lady tonight,” Noah says.
That gets my attention. I bunch my fists and ride the hot wave of jealousy that slams into me at the thought of her with him. This is a first. I’ve never been one to clash with my friends over a girl. A moment ago we were both admiring her before I recognized her, but now I’m gripped by an unfamiliar sense of possessiveness.
Noah holds his hands up. “Relax, man. She’s all yours. Not really my type, anyway.”
“Every girl is your type,” Cameron says wryly.
He shakes his head. “Not my friends’ girls. I’ve never slept with someone any of you have been with.”
The others follow us over as my feet continue carrying me closer to the crowd watching the girl on the bar. Half of them bob and sway with her, singing the seductive tune as a group.
“You’re missing the show,” Madden says gruffly.
He grunts behind me as if he’s been jabbed in the stomach.
Elijah mutters under his breath, “Don’t say anything or they’ll make me keep dancing for the whole song.”
Noah chuckles. “Our captain’s found a much more appealing performance.”
Some guy starts to climb up to join her. She shakes her head with a sexy little smirk and nudges him down with the toe of the knee-high boots encasing her long legs. When another guy tries his luck, she says something to Reagan and accepts the drink nozzle attached behind the bar. Sinking to a low pose as the chorus hits, she squirts him with a quick spray of water, earning the cheers of the rest of the Elmwood players.
She’s a firecracker. I find myself smiling, my shitty mood over the loss gone.
It falls when someone else moves in on her, planting his hands on the bar at her feet. I recognize Donnelly, even from the back of his head. I can’t hear what he’s saying but it’s clear he’s bothering her.
I’m moving again before I’m aware of what I plan to do.
She doesn’t listen to him. Rolling her eyes, she moves out of reach.
“Don’t just watch, you numbnuts. She’s still off-limits.” Donnelly searches his nearest teammates’ faces. “Help me get her down.”
