I stride over. “You’re not fooling anyone. Keep your head in the game. Play like that next week, and we’ll wear the crown.”
Ace rolls the bottle in his hand and then glances over my shoulder. “We’re not all made like you, Masters. Some of us have a life outside the game. Some of us want a life outside the game.” He tips his head back and drains his bottle.
I set the drink someone shoved into my hand in front of him. “Then go get that game. Don’t sit on your ass waiting for it to come to you.”
“Is that what you’re doing?” Ace mocks. “Pursuing your objective? Because I haven’t seen Campbell’s sister tonight anywhere.”
It stings a little, but not so much that I can’t provide an even response. “That’s why I’m leaving.”
“Or maybe she doesn’t want to be with you.” He tips his head toward the front of the bar, where Ellie stands wearing a shirt that must be too big for her, because the shoulder keeps slipping down to expose a golden circle of skin. A circle of skin that some dickhead is staring at.
Ace grabs me as I start to stalk toward them. “Be gentle. We need that dickhead.”
I must’ve said something out loud. I shrug him off. “We never reach that far into the wideout depth chart anyway.”
Hopefully he only needs one hand to catch the ball, because the one he laid on Ellie's shoulder is getting ripped off.
“Mother o’ God, who’s the smokeshow?” Matty whistles near my ear.
“Ellie Campbell,” I say abruptly.
“No shit?” he asks, following close behind as I cut a swath through the bar patrons. “I don’t remember her being so, ah, fit. The whole makeup thing and big hair really looks good on her.”
“Go away, Matty.”
“Gone.”
The freshman leans close to her, his eyes bright with excitement as he uses his height to leer down the front of Ellie's shirt.
“Hey, Emma, right?”
“Close…I’m Eliot.” She dips her shoulder down until the dillweed’s hand falls away. But that motion only serves to drop her shirt farther down her arm. The fabric of the top clings to the tops of her breasts and the big hoop earrings she wears flash in the light. She’s wearing a lot of smoky eye makeup and red lipstick and all it says to me is fuck me, fuck me hard. “This is my roommate, Riley.”
She tugs her tiny roommate’s arm forward.
“Riley? Eliot? Are you two...guys?” Asshole frowns.
“That’s right. We’re two guys.” She looks at Riley, who smothers a laugh behind her hand.
“Hey, Knox.” Riley waves. “Enjoy your book?”
“I did, thanks for asking. Need something to drink?”
“Sure. I’ll have whatever is light on tap.”
I tip my chin toward the bartender to get his attention and then turn toward Ellie, but before I can take her order, the dipshit starts talking again.
“Ah, right. We met at Hammer’s party. The Coke drinker.”
I can almost hear her eyes roll in her head but she gives him a courtesy smile.
“You planning to have some fun tonight or drink your Coke?”
Somehow, despite being a few inches shorter than the idiot, she manages to look down her nose at him. “I plan to have zero fun tonight and you’re doing a good job of making that happen for me.”
He scratches his nose in confusion because he apparently can’t make out whether she insulted him or complimented him. “Did you watch the game today? I play the slot receiver. Number 87. Maybe you saw me on the field?”
If you looked at the sidelines.
“I don’t go to the games,” Ellie tells him.
He doesn’t give up because she’s the hottest, brightest thing in this room. “So you wanna dance?”
“Not with you.”
Because she’s with me, you chode. I keep that to myself.
“Ellie, you want something?” I step in between them, tired of watching the exchange like a bystander.
“Sure, Knox. I’ll take what Riley’s having.”
I don’t miss the emphasis she puts on my first name. I hold up two fingers and the bartender gets to work.
“I didn’t know if you would come.”
She shrugs. “Riley wanted to see what a postgame celebration looked like. I tried to tell her she’d have as much fun as getting magic marker drawn on your face at a slumber party, but she didn’t believe me.”
“I haven’t had this experience at Western before.” Riley grins widely at me. I find myself smiling back.
The bartender delivers two beers and a water. I hand them out.
“Then you need to have a full Western experience.” I look around for Matty, who would be more than happy to introduce Ellie’s roommate to all the benefits of being with a Warrior player—at least for tonight.
Before I can hail anyone, Riley gasps. “Oh, there’s my Facebook crush! I’ll be back.” And she slips through the crowd before Ellie or I can say anything.
A cough at my back reminds me that the dick koozie must still be here. “Hey, Knox. Great game, huh? I was telling Emma here about how she should come watch the Warriors.”
“Yeah…” I pause as if I can't remember the name of the wideout. I know he runs fast, but runs a sloppy route and catches the ball too close to his body despite having baseball-sized mitts. He scowls as I leave him hanging but since he can’t even bother to get her name right, I don’t care. “Greer giving you a bad time?” I say to Ellie.
She does a subtle eye roll that Greer misses. “Took you long enough.”
I’m not sure if she’s talking about how long it took me to get to her side or how long it took me to pretend to remember Greer’s name.
“I’m saving my energy for later.”
Her mouth drops open into a perfect circle that gives me plenty of filthy ideas. And then, because I don’t want to deal with anymore Greers in the world not understanding how the teams are currently set up, with Ellie and me on the one side and the rest of the peckerheads on the other, I grab her around the nape of the neck and plant a deep, wet kiss on her perfect lips. Her mouth opens and I take full advantage of this by sliding my tongue inside. I lick her hot tongue, the roof of her mouth and then the sensitive spot behind her teeth. She trembles beneath my hand and blood rushes to my dick.
Greer gets shoved aside but I’m not sure if me or Ellie did the pushing. She backs away, lips swollen and red as cherries.
I turn to Greer. “Go away.”
He shows his remarkable speed and disappears into the crowd.
“Want to sit down somewhere?” I ask her. Every time the door opens, more people come in, and while I’m grateful to be pressed close to Ellie's hot-ass body, I’d like to be able to apologize to her without screaming.
She arches an eyebrow because there isn’t any seating evident in the room.
“I forget this is your first time.” I plaster her to my side and make my way toward the back. Down at the end of the bar I see Jack watching us with narrowed eyes. Brother, I’m sorry you had to watch me maul your sister, I apologize silently, but it was either kiss her in front of everyone or piss on her leg.
I lead her down a short dark hallway and out into the back that opens onto a tiny patio the size of a postage stamp. There’s a couple of people out here. Telly Green sits with his longtime girlfriend, along with Clifton Knowles, another offensive lineman. Their girlfriends are sorority sisters. I give them a nod of acknowledgement and go to the opposite side of the patio, where there’s a cropping of uncomfortable looking rocks.
“Just think, Ellie, once you graduate you’ll never go to a place this classy again,” I joke and brush my hand over one rock until it’s as clean as I can get it.
She sits. “Rocks are hard to find in other establishments.”
“Right?” I crouch down in front of her. She looks shy, which is not how she’s appeared before. I clear my throat. “I’m glad you’re here. Thought you might not come.”