揧eah, maybe.?
I don抰 really know why I haven抰 gone before. It抯 just one more thing I抳e passed on for safer, quieter options. Plus, Violet has sworn off sporting events unless it抯 for Dahlia, and all my friends are friends with her.
The rest of the class passes with more small talk, and the three of us finish the assignment before anyone else.
揥e work well together,?Liam says as he hooks his backpack over one shoulder.
揧eah,?I agree a little breathlessly. My heart races like it did earlier. 揟hanks for letting me join.?
揙f course. Have a good day, Daisy.?
I suck in a breath at my name on his lips.
揧ou too, Liam,?I chirp back.
Jordan hangs back a second, and when I don抰 say anything, he chuckles. 揧eah, great. I抣l have a good day too.?
I speed walk to the caf?to meet Violet. She抯 already sitting with a coffee, her sketchbook in front of her. When she sees me, she looks up and breaks a smile.
揥hat happened? You look way too happy.?
揑 talked to him.?
揥ho??
揕iam.?I pace in front of her, waving my hands wildly. 揂nd he talked to me. Like a lot. He was so nice, Violet. Like not just polite, but friendly. He asked me questions, and he invited me to come to a hockey game.?Or maybe he just said I should go to a game. Whatever. It抯 as close to an invite as I抦 ever getting.
揥hoa. Seriously??
I nod my head quickly like a bobblehead.
揙h my gosh. I can抰 believe it. What spurred you to do it? Was it all the Pride and Prejudice? Women knew how to speak to dudes back then梒ut them with words without even trying.?Her eyes widen. 揙oooh, or was it the dress??
揗y lab partner was absent again, and I got moved to their group.?
揟heir??
揕iam and Jordan,?I grumble the second name a little. It would have been a perfect two hours if it weren抰 for him.
揂h, the bad boy to your good guy crush.?She takes a bite of her sandwich. 揙ne of them is faking.?
揑 don抰 think it抯 Jordan.?
揟hen maybe Liam isn抰 really that nice.?
揌e is, Vi.?I finally sit and remember dreamily how considerate he was. No one else would have welcomed me into their group like that. He was everything I hoped he would be. No, even more.
揂ll right, if you say so.?Violet leans her elbows on the table. 揧ou finally talked to him. Now what??
Now what, indeed.
3
JORDAN
The mood in the locker room is thick with frustration. My shoulder blades rest against the back of the wooden stall, and my breathing still comes in quick, ragged gulps. Sweat pours down my face. I haven抰 moved yet, but I can already feel the burn of my muscles in my quads.
揊uck me. That was brutal.?Even talking is painful.
Liam grunts beside me. He hunches over, elbows on his knees and a towel draped over his head. A glance around at the rest of the team tells me everyone is hurting as bad as we are.
It抯 a month into the season, and we look like shit. We only lost two guys to graduation and transfers at the end of last year, but our conference champ record is taunting us as we struggle to put the puck in the net. Coach decided we needed a little motivation in the form of skating our asses off for two hours.
My buddy curls up into a sitting position and lets out a long breath that puffs out his cheeks. 揥anna grab a beer at The Hideout??
揅an抰。 I have to finish that paper for tech writing.?
揧ou still haven抰 done that??The disbelieving grin he tosses my way doesn抰 have any judgment in it. 揑 thought you were doing that last night when I crashed early.?
揘ah. I ended up playing video games with the guys across the hall. Then some girls from the volleyball team brought up a bottle of Malibu.?
揟hat explains the high-pitched noises coming from your bedroom when I got up to shower this morning. I thought you were singing along to Celine Dion again.?
揌ey, Celine抯 got great pipes. So did Abby, or was it Anna??
He gives his head a playful shake and then gets to his feet. 揊inish it and then meet up with us.?Liam struggles to get his practice jersey over his head. We all look like we took a dip in the swimming pool after practice without removing our gear.
揑 thought you said a beer??He hardly ever drinks, especially during the week.
揑t feels like a pitcher kind of night.?
No freaking shit. 揇oubt I抣l make it but call me if you need a ride.?
He tosses his jersey in the laundry bin. 揑抦 not staying out that late. I抣l be home before you finish that paper, probably.?
I snort a laugh. 揕ater.?
Back at the dorms, I pull a half-eaten sandwich and a blue Powerade from the mini-fridge and sit at my desk. I scarf down the food while I pull up the document due tomorrow.
One sentence梩hat抯 how much I抳e written on the three-to-five-page paper assigned two weeks ago. Damn. I knew I was going to regret putting it off as long as I did.
I turn on some music and twirl in my desk chair, hoping an idea comes to me. I can bullshit for three pages no problem, but I need some inspiration.
A knock at our suite door snatches my attention, and I shoot up, glad for a distraction.
揕eonard,?I say as I pull the door wide. 揥hat抯 up??
Stepping back, I give him room to duck his head to enter. At six foot six, Gavin Leonard抯 a good five inches taller than me and towers over the general population.
揥here抯 Price??he asks.
揌e and some of the guys went out after practice.?
揂nd you stayed in??He scans the suite I share with Liam, his gaze stopping on my open bedroom door. His voice drops to a whisper. 揧ou got a girl in there??
揇o you really think I抎 be answering the door for your Gumby ass if I did??I take a seat on the couch, and he drops into the chair. 揥hat are you doing slumming it with us dorm-folk??
He leans back with a smirk. Gavin lives at The White House with three other basketball players. It抯 a palace. They have their own gym, pool, and media room. Must be freaking nice.
揥arren lives downstairs,?he says of one of his teammates.
揢h-oh. What抎 he do to deserve a visit from the team captain??
A devious smile pulls at his lips. 揟oday抯 his birthday. The guys took him out to dinner, and we filled every inch of floor in his room with cups of water for when he comes back.?
I bark a laugh at the image.
揊or real,?he says. 揥hat are you doing tonight? There抯 a party at Sigma and a bunch of people at The Hideout.?
I rake a hand through my hair. 揑 have a paper due tomorrow.?
揝o finish it and let抯 go out. I抦 meeting the guys in twenty.?
Indecision wars inside of me. 揑 shouldn抰。 Practices have been awful, the team isn抰 meshing, and we have a game on Friday.?
揝taying in while the rest of your guys are out isn抰 going to magically make it come together.?
He抯 probably not wrong about that. Still, I hesitate.
揥hat time is your first class tomorrow??he asks.
揙ne I抦 actually planning on attending??I ask with a laugh. 揘ot until one.?
揚ractice or workouts??
I shake my head. Coach gave us the morning off to recover from the brutal conditioning we did today.
He stands tall. 揥hat are we even talking about then? Come on. At least come say happy birthday to Warren, and then you can come back and finish it and still get a full eight hours of beauty sleep in.?
揧eah, of course.?I stand. Warren came out for my twenty-first celebration. It抎 be shitty not to go and at least have one beer with him.
When we walk up to Sigma, the scene is insane. I can barely see the front door with all the people standing in the front yard. And the party is in the back.