Page 33 of The Cheerleader

I snort. He’s not much with vocabulary. I would have told her she was like a magnificent sculpture, breathtaking and untouchable with otherworldly beauty. But I keep my mouth zipped.

Liz laughs at Eldy, who’s half-glowering at me—because his good nature doesn’t allow for a full glower. “What’s wrong with that?” He talks over Susie’s head, and I can see her trying to stifle her laugh.

“Nothing, Dane,” she answers for me. “Thank you for the compliment.” Susie puts a hand on his arm, and I wish to hell she hadn’t touched him. To her, it might be an innocent gesture, but to Eldy, it’s like a gold-plated invitation to—never mind. Mind your own business, Granger.

He flashes Susie his lady killer smile, and I roll my eyes, though I’d actually prefer to punch that smile off his face. I’m not sure why I’m so determined to protect Susie from him, but I most definitely fucking am.

“What’s your major, Dane?”

“I like that you call me Dane.”

She almost looks puzzled and shrugs. “You’re easy to please, aren’t you?” She keeps playing with her glass, running her fingers up and down the sides with no intentions of drinking the beer and with no idea how sensually provocative the gesture is. And I keep watching, becoming mesmerized all over again.

Turning away toward Liz to distract myself, I find she’s engaged in a discussion about football with Chuck on the relative merits of fullbacks versus wide receivers. At least she’s paused her drinking. I slide a slice of pizza in front of her and hope she’ll eat it.

Grabbing another slice for myself, I back my chair away from the crowded table and wonder if I can get away with ordering a pizza to go and getting out of here.

When I see Eldy handing a slice to Susie, I know he’s serious about flirting. I also know he has a one-track mind, that flirting for him doesn’t end until the object of his flirtation ends up in his bed. He plays to win that game every single fucking time. Fuck.

He and Susie are talking with their heads huddled close, voices low enough so that I can’t hear what they’re saying, but I hear her laugh. The sound sends a zip of something like adrenaline skittering along my nerves, confusing me. I don’t know if I’m worried about Eldy taking her home or… feeling things I have no business feeling.

What makes her so special? Why do I feel this way about her? I’m no kind of romantic and don’t believe in the cliché love at first sight or Cupid’s arrow. That’s all bullshit.

When Eldy snakes an arm around the back of her chair, I reach over and grab it, tight.

Leaning in, I tell him in a low growl, “Stop it.”

Susie looks at me, surprised, and then she flushes, probably with embarrassment because I’m way out of line. Shit. What the fuck is wrong with me?

Eldy laughs, of course. “I thought you were off girls?”

I mouth fuck you behind Susie’s back before she turns to see my response, looking curious.

“You’re off girls?” she asks.

“Training. This is an important season for the team.” Why the fuck am I explaining to her when I almost never feel compelled to explain myself? Except to people who matter.

Eldy returns his arm around her shoulders, stealing her attention back. “He means we have NFL scouts watching our team after our winning record last season, and some of us—the ones named Bryan Granger—could have a chance at the NFL draft.”

She shoots her head around to look at me, dislodging Eldy’s arm, thank god. “Is that right?”

I take her question as rhetorical.

“Never mind him. He’s a lost cause,” Eldy says, turning her head, literally, to face him again. “On the other hand, I’m very much interested in girls.”

“I bet you are. I hear you’re the team’s star player—off the field.”

I like her sense of humor as she essentially shuts him down. Because even Eldy can see that she’s not into players.

Leaning in, I grab a fresh glass from the middle of the table and pour myself another beer like I’m getting ready to watch round two of the bout between Eldy and Susie. But before I finish pouring, Eldy blows out a loud whistle, getting everyone’s attention.

“Hell has just frozen over, guys. Bryan fucking Granger is having a second beer.” He starts clapping. The guys join in with the clapping, adding whistles, shouts, and hoots of laughter like they’re celebrating my supposed lapse in self-discipline.

I flip Eldy my middle finger and don’t bother explaining to him that Liz drank half my first beer. I take a long sip as if I don’t care what he thinks. Because I don’t.

“I take it you don’t drink much?” Susie shifts closer to me in her chair, sandwiched between me and Dane. I remain silent while the guys give me shit, raising their glasses and congratulating me like I’ve won the Heisman.

She watches me, apparently waiting for an answer.