Evie frowns in confusion. “I don’t get—”
“Tessa!”
I turn at the sound of the male voice and grin when I see Connor heading towards me. “How’s it going?” he asks with a grin. He leans forward and kisses my cheek, and I smile up at him.
“Good. Are you ready for that quiz tomorrow morning?” I ask.
He groans. “Don’t remind me.”
“If we get there early, we can quiz each other.”
He grins at my words. “Sounds good. I’ll see you there. Bye.”
“Bye.” I turn back to Evie who’s staring at me in shock. “What?”
“Who was that?” she asks, looking back at Connor.
“Oh, that’s Connor. He's my first-hour study partner.”
She frowns. “I think he’s more than a study buddy.”
I grin. “Study buddy. I love that; I’m totally using that.”
“Seriously, Tess, I think he’s really into you.”
I can feel my nose scrunch up. “Really? I don’t think so; we just study together.”
Evie raises an eyebrow. “Do all your study buddies kiss you on the cheek?”
I wave off her concern. “He’s just an affectionate person.” She doesn’t look convinced, but we move past it. “Now, come on. Let’s grab something to eat before they put it all away.”
“I’ll grab us a plate of fruit and juice. You grab the carbs and protein.”
“Deal.” Evie turns to walk towards the hot bar, and I make my way over to one of the fruit bars.
“Hey, Tessa.”
I grin at my friend Jenna. “Hey, Jenna, how’s it going?”
“Good. You?”
I smile widely. “Great.”
She returns my smile. “See you around.”
“See you.” I head over to the juice station, but the orange juice is empty and needs to be refilled. I make my walk over to the other juice station halfway across the room because I’m really in the mood for OJ. By the time I finally make it back to where I left Evie, I can’t find her anywhere. I figure she’s at thetable we usually sit at, so I head there. She’s not there either. I drop off the fruit and cups of juice. I glance around the huge room, wondering where she’s at. I see the tall soccer player before I see her.Slater Thorne. My heart speeds up a moment at the thought of running into him again. But I take in his stance and frown. He's leaning over my friend in an aggressive way. Suddenly, I’m moving fast. Evie told me what a jerk he is. I didn’t want to believe her, but I have a feeling I’m going to have to. I have no idea what he’s saying to her, but he does not look happy. Neither does she for that matter. I wonder absently where Zane is; normally, he’s her permanent shadow. His head snaps up right then, and he looks right at me, even though I’m still quite a ways away. His eyes narrow, and he watches me with somewhat of a predatory look. Honestly, it’s terrifying. “Are you okay?” I ask Evie when I reach her, ignoring the intense gaze of the tall soccer player standing next to her.
Evie frowns. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” I point out. I turn to Slater Thorne and force myself to stay levelheaded and not think about the fact that this man is one of my most favorite players in the world. I take a steadying breath. “I don’t know what your deal is but leave Evie alone. She didn’t do anything to you.”
“Oh, Tessa,” Evie starts, but she doesn’t get to finish because suddenly we’re joined by three more of my favorite, and FMU’s most popular, athletes. Reid Marshal—top scorer for FMU’s basketball team, Zane Blackstone—FMU’s very popular and incredibly talented quarterback and also Evie’s boyfriend, and Quint—FMU’s wide receiver who’s already broken records in his sophomore year. I sort of lose myself a moment at all the sports royalty that’s around me.
“Oh boy.” I take a breath and then meet Evie’s eyes. “This is so much.”
Quint steps forward and sticks out his hand. “Tessa, on behalf of our group and as the most social of all of us, I’d like to say—” He doesn’t get a chance to finish because Slater knocks his hand away. Quint just laughs, and I wonder if I’m missing something. I brace myself and then look at Slater Thorne once again. He really is something both on and off the field. He's tall and lean and tan from soccer and has a mostly shaved head, but you can see the dark black of his hair if he were to let it grow. When you add in the permanent scowl and tats, he’s one really intimidating guy. He turns back to look at me, and I take in his eyes. They’re dark, but not. They're almost...gray when you look closely. They just add to the full package that is Slater Thorne.
“We need to get going,” Zane says, breaking the awkward silence and snapping me out of my Slater trance.
