Page 143 of The Love Playbook

I shrug, my smile growing. “What can I say? I’m in love with my girlfriend.”

“Mm-hmm.” She leans closer, her lips hovering above mine once more. “Well, you’ll get to relive exactly what it feels like tohave me in your arms later,” she says, pressing a soft kiss to my mouth. “But first, we celebrate.”

Bradd’s is packed, more so than I’ve ever seen it, and the energy of our big win is humming in the air. I tighten my grip around Charlotte’s waist as I steer her toward the bar with Jace and Brynn behind us. I can already see Damon, Brandon, and West, our kicker, who clinched the win with a last-minute field goal, waiting at the bar with Elizabeth and Samantha.

I tilt my chin toward them, leaning down to whisper in Charlotte’s ear, “What do you think about Liz and West?”

Charlotte blinks up at me, then back at her friend. “West?”

“He’s kind of a closet nerd. A little introverted. Bookish. Super smart and kind of clumsy off the field.” The moment the words leave my lips, West fumbles the drink Damon hands him and spills half of it on the bar.

Charlotte chuckles, then bites her lip. “That’s adorable.”

I frown down at her when she notices and laughs. “So jealous,” she says, then grabs my shirt and yanks me toward them. “Don’t worry, I only have eyes for you.”

“Hey, man!” Damon’s eyes brighten as he sees us approach.

“What are we drinking?” I ask, eyeing the cups in their hands.

“Everything,” West answers with a goofy grin that tells me he’s had quite the head start.

“Drinks for Griffins are free tonight.” Brandon punctuates his statement by slapping what looks to be a rum and Coke in my hands, then waving the bartender down for another.

“In that case, you’ll be ordering all my drinks for me tonight,” Charlotte says as she steals my glass and takes a sip. I watch herlips wrap around the straw, mesmerized, before Damon slaps me on the arm.

“They roped off a VIP area just for us.” He points to the corner of the bar furthest from the dance floor, and sure enough, there’s a small roped off section of booths where I already recognize a few of our other teammates. “I guess there’s a waitress assigned to us and everything.”

“Damn. I can’t wait to see what happens if we win the championship,” I mumble.

“When.” Jace slaps me on the chest. “When we win the championship.”

After each of us has a drink in hand, we cross the bar, making our way to the VIP section at a crawl. Patrons and students stop us on the way, offering their congrats or recapping their favorite parts of the game with Damon getting the bulk of the attention until we’re finally able to duck beneath the ropes and cram into one of the booths.

Tucking Charlotte into my side, I peer down at her and place a peck on her head as she smiles up at me. “Love you.”

“Love you too.” She grins, her gaze slipping to my mouth.

Damon groans across from us, loud enough to draw my attention. “I think I speak for all the single people at the table when I say, can we at least keep the PDA to a minimum until we’re too fucked up to care?”

Charlotte flips him the bird before I can, and we all laugh.

“Speaking of PDA,” I say, turning to Brandon. “I’m surprised Tatum isn’t here tonight.”

“For the millionth time, Tate and I aren’t even—”

“Hey guys,” a cheerful voice calls out beside me.

I glance up into the soft hazel eyes of Tatum and grin. “Speak of the devil,” I say as Brandon punches my thigh beneath the table.

Tatum’s gaze jumps between us, a furrow creasing her brow. “Did I miss something?”

“Nope.” Brandon clutches his cup and motions for her to take the spot beside him. “Just the usual.”

“I barely found you guys, it’s so crowded in here,” she says in a rush as she takes a seat.

“Which means,” I say, pointing at her with my cup, “it’s the perfect night to find Damon a chick. I mean, that is, unless you’re game.”

Tatum just laughs good-naturedly while Brandon’s face puffs up like a pufferfish ready to explode.

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