Page 2 of The Love Playbook

Hence why I’m hiding. Well, part of the reason.

Because even though Autumn has never really indulged in uninvited touching—with the notable exception of the kiss on the cheek and pat on the chest she gave me when she offered to be my love tutor—I’m just as afraid of being cornered by her now as I am of the other unattached women.

I still don’t know how serious she was. Or if I want to take her up on the offer.

I mean, come on? A love tutor? Just the words mashed together sound ridiculous.

But given Naomi’s reaction to my question and thinking back over all the encounters with girls I’ve had at parties and game nights over the last couple of years … maybe it would be a good idea to take her up on the offer.

Which is why I’m so nervous about her appearance tonight.

She told me to call her if I was interested. But it’s been months … is she still willing? Will she offer again? Or will I have to suffer the indignity of bringing it up myself?

Lost in my thoughts, I don’t realize she’s arrived until she’s standing in front of me, that smile on her face that makes it seem like she knows all my secrets. And I guess, in a way, she kinda does. She’s figured out that I’m hopeless with women, though she maybe hasn’t figured out why.

Yet.

“Hey, Jackson,” she says, slipping her arms around my torso and pressing her face into my chest.

Surprised, I hold my arms out to the side for a second before awkwardly patting her back and eventually letting my arms rest around her. You’d think I’d never hugged anyone before with the way I’m acting. I have. Plenty of times. I’ve even hugged Autumn before, in fact. Just … usually I knew it was coming because she’d given out hugs to everyone else and I was next in line and could mentally prepare myself.

I can’t deny that I enjoy the feel of her body pressed against mine, though. Maybe I should let her tutor me like she’s offered …

She doesn’t seem to notice any awkwardness, though. “I’m glad you guys are hosting these again this year.” Her voice is still muffled by my chest. “And I’m also glad that we’re the same year, so I won’t have to worry about someday facing school without game nights at Eli and Jackson’s.” She pulls back, squinting as she looks up at my face, her brown eyes sparkling with mischief and her lips curved in a tiny smile. “You’re going to keep doing this until you graduate, right? I hope so. Because it’s become one of the fixtures of my routine, and since there are so few, I don’t want any of them to disappear on me.”

With her hands gripping my waist, I awkwardly pat her shoulder again, my face heating from the cumulative embarrassment of my existence. “No plans to stop at this point. I’ll be sure to keep you posted if that changes.”

“Yes. Do.” She turns to face the counter laden with snacks and drinks, her long wavy hair fanning around her shoulders. She’s changed the color since last semester. It used to be kind of a pinky lavender and now it’s a light turquoise streaked with pink. “What are we drinking? You guys are still early in the season, so I’m guessing we’re still being good boys and girls and sticking to the nutrition plan?” She glances back over her shoulder, raising one eyebrow. “Are you on drink duty? Is that why you’re back here?”

“Nah. I’m just …” My mouth hanging open, I trail off, not sure how to finish that sentence. Hiding is the word I’m looking for, but I can’t say that. Not to her.

“I see,” she murmurs, and my cheeks heat again. Because she really does. And that’s both exciting and terrifying.

As the quiet one, I’m easily overlooked. Not many people take the time to see me. And the fact that she does … I’m not sure how I feel about it, to be honest.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I look away, breaking the moment we seem to find ourselves suspended in. This would be the perfect time to bring up her offer from last semester. See if she’s still open to the idea. Let her know I’m interested after all.

But what if she has a boyfriend?

I’ve never known her to have one before, but anything’s possible. If nothing else, last year was proof of that with several of the players who no one expected to settle down finding long-term relationships. Cal McAdam, for example, the newest quarterback for the Colorado Bison. I never would’ve expected him to find a steady girlfriend, especially not when he was going in for the NFL draft.

But he met Piper and ended up falling hard, despite the fact that he only went after her to mess with her brother. I saw them together enough times to know that what they have is serious, even if I’ve never experienced anything like that myself.

I don’t even know how to get from where I am now—an entirely inexperienced virgin who’s far too acquainted with his right hand—to something like McAdam and Piper have, even if they are long distance since he got drafted.

Autumn’s poured herself a drink, though I was too lost in my own thoughts to notice what, and now she’s studying me again. Her smile’s gone, her eyes sharp and cataloging me the way she always seems to do, her incisive expression so at odds with her pixie-like face with its pointy chin and upturned nose.

My gaze can’t help snagging on the creamy expanse of skin she’s showing off tonight, my eyes drawn by the pendant dangling between her breasts, the clear crystal sparkling against the rust colored tank she’s wearing paired with little black shorts and her favorite flip flops. The first time it was warm enough to wear flip flops last spring, she told me all about how she discovered them and how she’s had them for three years already. Looks like she hasn’t walked through the soles yet.

She’s so pretty and fun to look at that it distracts from the fact that she can see right through to my soul.

“Have you thought any more about my offer?” she tosses out like she’s asking what I think about the weather.

I almost choke on my own spit. Which is ridiculous, because I was hoping she’d bring it up so I wouldn’t have to. But now that she has … it’s just as embarrassing as it was the first time.

Coughing into my fist, I thump myself on the chest and clear my throat a few times before I manage to get myself under control. Autumn’s still watching me, her eyebrows slightly raised, her lips quirked in that knowing smile.

“Um, uh, yeah, actually.” God, I’m sure I’m beet red. “I, uh—” I rub the back of my neck. “Um, I actually wanted to talk to you about that.”

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