Page 11 of Flame After the Fumble

“Valiant effort, but oh so much to learn.” Mason smacks my back with a thud once I’m back at my teammates’ table.

“Yeah, yeah, let me hear how I struck out with her.” I laugh, brushing off the fact that the sunshine girl spun my head on its axis.

“Are you ready?” Ryan huffs as he leans his back against the exposed brick of the old bar.

“Are you kidding me? We just got here!” I shoot back.

“Whatever.” He reaches into his pocket to pull out his phone. His fingers tap aggressively across the screen.

I take that as my opportunity to escape the fun police and dash around the bar to get a glimpse of Liza. After a moment of scanning the packed dance floor, I spot her. It’s impossible not to. The girl radiates light in her every move. A permanent smile plastered on her face and that laugh does funny things to my chest that I don’t want to dig too deep into at the moment. All I know is that I needmoreof her.

The roar of chuckles from my teammates vibrate through my ears as I shuffle through the crowd of sweaty bodies, for the second time, to get closer to her. Once I’m within arm’s reach, I tap her shoulder to gain her attention. She whips around and flutters her eyes.

“Miss me?” I whisper in her ear.

“Didn’t think I could get through the night without you.” She rolls her eyes, but leans in slightly.

“Where’d your friend run off to?”

She points across the bar to a lone high top. Her friend taps on her phone and doesn’t dare lift her eyes to meet the crowd. The table she chose is within arm’s reach of the football team’s table. I notice Mason’s eyes drift to the petite loner. He grins before turning his head back to our friends.

“Does that mean I have you to myself for the rest of the night?” I hook my thumbs through the loops in my pants as tightly as I can.

Taking me by surprise, she takes a step closer to me. “You can have me for a dance. You couldn’t handle this chaos if you tried.”

“Funny that you think your crazy outweighs mine.” I pull her closer and her cheeks flame at my words. “I’m up for a challenge.”

Before I can continue, she places her hand on my chest and locks those dark eyes with mine. Her bright smile flips into a frown, and her brows furrow as she bites her bottom lip with her top teeth.

“Sorry. I. . . I. . . need to get out of here.” She turns on her heel and hightails off the dance floor and into the brightly lit space toward the exit.

“Liza, wait!” I squeeze through the crowd once again, but my thick body doesn’t move as agile as her petite one. “Stop running!” Finally catching up to her before she leaves the bar, I gently grab her elbow. “Can we talk?”

She makes no comment, still getting out as fast as she can. Once we’re a far enough distance to not hear the thumping music, she slumps down and criss-crosses her legs on the cement. I join her on the cool ground and patiently wait for her lead.

“I probably came across as a psycho back there.”

“You didn’t.” I chuckle. “If I did something to make you uncomfortable, I’m sorry. I act before I think.” My eyes shrink to slits. “The last thing I want to do is scare you off. I’m a lot for people.”

“No. No. No.” She waves me off. “You did nothing wrong. If anything, I liked ittoomuch.” She releases an awkward laugh before jetting her eyes to the ground. Tossing her head back, she gives me the perfect view of her soft neck. “I barely know you, so I have no clue why I’m about to tell you this, but I want to tell someone.”

“Tell me.”

“Before I left for college, my ex cheated on me and broke my heart.” A lone tear travels down her cheek and glistens in the moonlight. I reach out and wipe it away before tucking her hair behind her ear. “He’s an athlete, and. . .”

I try my best not to expose the fact that her comment paper cut my heart. “I remind you of him.”

“Not necessarily, but in full transparency, you seem like someone I could fall hard for.” She shoots me a sympathetic smile. “And I can’t take another blow.”

“Don’t boost my ego too much, now.” I grip her knee and squeeze, laughing in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Another laugh escapes her, coming deep from her chest and shooting straight into mine. “I’m not saying that’s what you want, anyway, but I need to find myself again.”

Tilting her chin up with my thumb, I say. “Me too.” Those two words relax the crease in her brow and allow her shoulders to ease.

“Friends?” She reaches her hand out to shake mine as I drop my hand away from her soft skin.

“Friends.” I place my large hand in hers and shake it a few times. “Come on. We have a bar to shut down.” I stand from the ground and reach my hand out to help her up. I throw an arm around her shoulder and guide her back into the building. She grabs my fingers on the side of her shoulder and whispers, “Thank you.”

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