Page 22 of Totally Played
I spot Calvin right away, and it makes my stomach flutter the second his gaze meets mine.
“Wooooo!” Rachel cheers. “Go big bro!”
Lyn leans forward.
“Sorry about her, she’s very…spirited,” Lyn says over the noise of the crowd.
“I don’t mind,” I say, and Rachel grabs my arm and pulls me to stand beside her.
“Yeah, he doesn’t mind. Calvin said you like to cheer. Come on, show me what you’ve got.”
The flurry in my gut is now a full-on tornado.
“I… I’m not sure I…”
“Come on, it’s fun,” she says, then cups her mouth and screams, “Go Calvin! Woooo.”
People are cheering from all over the stadium as the players start making their way into the stands, dancing with people as they go.
I spot Calvin holding the hands of a little girl, twisting with her, and then he spins her under his arm. Fuck, can this guy get any sweeter?
I bring my hands up and cup my mouth just like Rachel and cheer.
“Woooo, go Calvin!” He turns toward me right away with a huge smile on his lips, spins the little girl one more time, then jogs through the crowd, giving high fives as he goes all the way until he’s with us.
“You came,” he says like it’s some super happy surprise.
“I said I would.”
“Yeah, but people don’t always do what they say.”
“I do,” I reply, and he’s grinning up at me with those big blue-gray eyes shining bright. It’s almost like the noise of it all quiets for a moment, sound locked out of the bubble that’s formed around us. That is until his sister practically jumps on his back, hugging him tight.
“So, big bro, think you can get a couple of points tonight?”
“I hope so.”
His mom hugs him. “You’ll do amazing, like always.”
“Thanks, Mom. Hopefully, I’ll get a few of them out, too.”
“I’m sure you’ll be great. We’ll be cheering you on the whole game,” she says, and Rachel grabs him in a playful headlock, but he slips free and spins to stand behind me. His hands on my arms, fingers gripping tight as he ducks to either side, avoiding his sister’s grasp.
“Calm down, you two,” Jo says, still sitting in his chair and nursing a beer in his lap.
“I’m not sure I should be in the middle of this,” I say, and Calvin’s chest presses against my back, heat flooding through me.
“Stop hiding behind your new best friend,” Rachel says.
“You’re just jealous because you have no friends,” he teases, pushing up to rest his chin on my shoulder. She goes to punch him, but he pulls away and jogs up the stairs out of reach.
“Too slow, baby sister,” he teases.
A microphone crackles to life.
“Welcome to tonight’s game,” they say, and everyone’s attention moves to the field, but I’m still watching Calvin as he jogs to join his teammates on the stairs. “Let’s get this party started.”
The crowd turns their attention to the team on the stairs now, too, and then the guy up front, who I think is Alan Beaker, starts to mime to the lyrics. The team follows his steps toward the field, waving their arms left and then right in time with themusic. I raise my arms, too, swaying them side to side in time with Calvin. Then he glances my way and winks, and holy hell, my fucking dick twitches.
