When the game ended, her eyes turned to the stands to try to find Cam. Trihn had promised she would bring him down onto the field afterward. She heard someone clear his throat behind her, and she turned to find herself staring up in the most perfect hazel eyes.
She took a step back to give herself some distance and tried to ignore how good Eric looked in his coaching outfit.
“Hey,” she said softly.
There were a lot of people around. Thousands of people. And the only person she could focus on was right in front of her. She had a problem. A major problem. And his name was Eric Wilkins.
“Are you going out tonight?” he asked brusquely.
Bryna tensed. “Yeah.”
“With the new guy?”
“Yeah.”
Eric simply nodded. “Okay.” Then, he turned and walked away.
Bryna looked over her shoulder momentarily to see if she could see Cam or Trihn, but it was still too crowded for them to get on the field. She raced after Eric and grabbed his arm to stop him.
Sparks flew threw her hand upon contact, and she hastily removed it. Touching him was dangerous. “Wait…why?” she asked.
“I was deciding whether or not to stay in tonight.”
“Are you staying in like last year?” she asked. The image of Audrey popped into her head, and she hated herself for remembering that day.
“No. I’m staying in because of you. I told you I was done with her. We’re done. It’s that simple.” He sighed. His eyes silently pleaded with her.
“Why? I’m not giving you a reason. I’m not giving you hope.”
He tilted his head and assessed her. A slow smile crept onto his face. “I have hope. You’re talking to me now, and I remember the way you kissed me, the feel of your skin, that look in your eye—”
“Stop!” she said desperately. She realized how close together they were, and she took a hasty step backward. She hadn’t even known they had moved toward each other like magnets.
“See? There’s still hope.”
“Eric…”
“But I’m not going to torture myself. You said no and stop, and I’m not forcing you into anything, Bri,” he said. “I do have to tell you that I think you’re making a big mistake.”
He walked away before she could respond. Not that she had any idea what she would have said. Things with Eric were…complicated. She didn’t want complicated tonight.
“Hey!” Cam said from behind her.
She nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned to face him. He pulled her into a quick hug. She hoped she had composed herself.
“Hey, you!”
He released her. She noticed Trihn and Neal behind her. Trihn nodded her head and gave her a look that said she had seen Bryna with Eric. She shrugged lightly. Their unspoken communication.
“Who was your friend?”
“What friend?” she asked.
“The guy you were talking to.”
“Oh. Nobody.” She needed to change the subject. “How did you like the game?”
He shrugged. “It was football. Neal is pretty cool though. He filled me in on this Posse situation.”
Oh no! Bryna knew exactly what Neal thought about Posse and their entourage.
Bryna narrowed her eyes. “What exactly did he say?”
“Just that I should expect to drink and dance all night.”
She breathed out in relief. “Sounds about right.”
“Should be fun.”
“I think so.” She smiled as he laced their fingers together. “I have to change, and then we can head out.”
Bryna hurried after Stacia to go into the locker rooms. Trihn jogged after her, leaving Neal and Cam all alone to wait for them.
“What was that all about?” Trihn asked.
“What was what about?” Bryna asked innocently.
“That whole thing with Eric.”
“There’s nothing with Eric.”
“There clearly is,” she said, placing her hand on Bryna’s arm to stop her. “I don’t want you to get hurt again. Talk to me. What’s happening? Do you really like Cam? He doesn’t seem like your type, and I don’t want you to lead him on if you’re not interested.”
Bryna wrenched her arm away. “I’m not leading Cam on. I like him. We have fun together.”
“Then, what is going on with Eric? And don’t say nothing.”
“Nothing,” she said automatically.
Trihn glared at her, and she sighed.
“We slept together.”
“What?” Trihn shrieked.
“Shh!”
“Sorry. What? You slept with Eric? When? Why is this the first I’m hearing of it?”
“It was at the beginning of the school year before I went out with Cam. It was the first time we saw each other since last year, and I don’t know. Things just exploded.”
“Literally.”
Bryna shoved Trihn. “Yes. Literally. Jesus. Then, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I was trying to be this new person, and the person I’d been around him was a lie. Everything got jumbled. I don’t want to be with someone who I was only comfortable around because I thought he was gay for over a year.”
“Are you sure that was the only reason you were comfortable?” Trihn asked meaningfully.
“Yes! I just…” She shook her head and tried to get all her thoughts together. “I want this to be easy and effortless. I want to be strong, Trihn, but it seems like the harder I try to be strong, the weaker and more vulnerable I become.”
Trihn grabbed her and hugged the breath out of her. “I know just what you mean.”
Bryna hugged her back. She was glad she didn’t have to explain any further.
They headed into the locker rooms, and Bryna changed into more appropriate clothing for Posse. When they returned, Cam and Neal were standing with Pace at the entrance to the locker rooms. The sight of them all together made her uneasy.
“Ready to go?” Pace asked impatiently.
Stacia bounded over to him and snuggled up into his arms. “I’m ready.”
Bryna barely restrained herself from gagging. Trihn sent her a sympathetic look. She wasn’t fond of Pace either. She hadn’t witnessed firsthand the bullshit he had put Bryna through, but she’d claimed that she got a bad vibe from him. Bryna couldn’t agree more.
The group proceeded to Stacia’s SUV, which was the biggest vehicle between them. It wasn’t far to Posse. They could have walked from the football stadium, but it was nice to have a car nearby regardless. Pace took the keys from Stacia and revved the engine as everyone else piled in.
She couldn’t believe she was willingly hanging out with Pace. It felt so wrong. Bryna tried to tune out his bullshit about how he should be the new starter for the team after getting playtime on the field. She ground her teeth and leaned into Cam. He put his arm around her shoulders in response.
“If only Coach didn’t have such a stick up his ass for Marshall,” Pace droned on. “Speaking of, you know who has been in a shit mood lately?”
“Who?” Stacia asked, enraptured.
“Eric.”
Bryna jolted slightly and looked up into Pace’s eyes in the rearview mirror. They were mischievous. She knew he had brought up Eric on purpose. Trihn swiveled around to check on Bryna. Bryan’s eyes widened slightly, telling Trihn not to give Pace the satisfaction of a reaction. She didn’t want Cam to notice.
“He has been yelling at everyone and biting our heads off for dumb shit. I think he needs to get laid. We’re all determined to find him a new girl.”
Neutral. Completely neutral.
“Bryna, you’re close with him, right? Maybe you could talk to him.”
“No,” she said flatly.
“Come on. You guys were joined at the hip last year. Maybe you could recommend someone we could hook him up with,” he teased.
“Shut the fuck up, Pace,” she growled.
He had an uncanny ability to get under her skin like no one else.
At her outburst, Cam stiffened next to her. She could see that he was looking at her curiously from the corner of his eye. She couldn’t make eye contact.