She’s got beautiful golden blonde hair and a beautiful smile, and she’s laughing at whatever he just said.
And they look good together.
Which is fucking annoying.
But he seems into the conversation.
And she seems into him.
“Fuck me.” I take a handful of pretzels and jump onto the counter.
I need to get out of here soon, or else I’m gonna sit here all night and eavesdrop on Fletcher and this girl. Who knows, I might even go over there and make a complete fool out of myself. It wouldn’t be the first time my emotions got the best of me while Fletcher was off doing something he had every right to do.
“Hey, T.” Jeremy opens the fridge and grabs a water. “Where’s Fletch?”
“I don’t know.” I lie. “I think Marcus took him somewhere for wingman duties.”
Jere takes a sip of his water, but his eyes stay on me. “He just left you?”
Jere knows better than anyone that parties aren’t my thing. I go to them because Fletcher loves to hang out with people. His house was practically a party every day of his life. So, it’s no surprise heenjoys the chaos. Honestly, I think it’s one of the reasons he was so stoked to live with the guys.
I, on the other hand, am the complete opposite. I grew up in a calm that most people never know in their lives.
So, even though I can be pretty outgoing, this is not my thing. Especially when I don’t have enough time to prepare.
“Yeah.” I shrug. “It’s whatever. I’m probably gonna leave soon anyway.”
“Isn’t he your ride?”
Right. That’s why I’m still here.
“I was just gonna Uber or something.”
Jere gives me a soft smile. “Come on. I’ll drive you home.”
“No, I couldn’t—”
“Don’t argue with me, T. You’re gonna lose.” He holds out a hand to help me off the counter.
“Thanks, Jere.”
He wraps an arm over my shoulder as we walk toward the front door.
“Anytime.”
seven
Fletcher
Becca’s pretty cool. We’ve been talking for nearly an hour, and she’s told me all about how her brother started playing for the Blue Jackets even though he went in as a free agent.
And this is all working in Marcus’s favor because it took no time at all for him and Becca’s friend Logan to start making out in the corner of the party.
“I still can’t believe your brother istheBenji Davis.” I open up a High Noon and hand it to her. Then, I grab a beer for myself. “Tate and I still talk about that crazy fucking goal he scored on the Hawks two seasons ago. He was wild for that one, especially since it was only his second year in the league.”
“He still talks about it, too.” She laughs, taking a sip of her drink. “It gets brought up so much when our family gets together that every time he mentions it now, he has to add five dollars to a jar. We thought it would help him not bring it up as much, but I guess when you’re making what he makes, five dollars every now and then isn’t a big deal.”
“Not to side with your brother, but if it were me, I think I’d bring it up all the time, too.”
