Page 4 of Love.V2
“You heard me. Brass. Fucking. Balls. I’d never have the nerve to roll up to a party where I didn’t know anyone and then steal the show.”
“I didn’t steal the show,” she sputtered, but my smile widened into an out-and-out grin.
“You’re the Beer Angel now. Tell me that’s not going to follow you around campus. And you’re talking about trying new things and putting yourself out there? That’s fucking vulnerable. Ballsy as hell.”
“I-I mean maybe,” she stuttered. “I guess I’d never thought of it like that before. The list…I mean, it just seems like experiences I need to have.”
“That’s badass.”
She clutched her drink with both hands and stared at me like I’d said something perfect. I wanted her to look at me like that forever.
“Mac,” I yelled without tearing my eyes away from her. I wasn’t sure I could. Her irises sparkled, sunlight on water.
“Yeah, boss?”
I nodded at Tess. “Meet your Beer Angel. She’s an artist.” Tess’s eyes widened at the descriptor, but I barreled on before she could try to correct me. “Tess, Mac is my pledge brother. He’s also the lead in the University’s all-male a cappella choir. Voice like an angel, himself.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re in a choir?”
“You can draw? I’m thinking about getting a tattoo. Could you mock one up?”
“Maybe?” Tess’s eyes flickered between me and Mac, looking cute and bewildered and excited all at once.
“What do you know about Dungeons and Dragons?”
With Tess’s attention occupied by my brother, I could stare at her without it being weird. That glossy blonde hair had to be natural. If Tinker Bell was a co-ed, this is what she would look like. That is, if Tinker Bell secretly had a spine of steel.
She was an enigma wrapped in silky skin and fairy dust. Every second I spent with her made me more interested.
Finally, Mac put Tess’s number in his phone to talk about “the tattoo shit,” then pulled me in for a bro hug, one hand pounding my back. “You got dibs on the Beer Angel?” he muttered into my ear.
“Mine,” I answered, pounding him harder. He slipped out of the kitchen without a second glance. I fucking loved my brothers.
“So, you met a nerdy frat-dude-choir-boy. Bet you don’t have anyone like him hanging around your hometown. Check.” I mimed checking something off her list, soaking in the smile that split her face.
“Oh, my God, he’s amazing. You are amazing!”
“Well, at least now you know someone else at this party. Don’t do that again, by the way.” I pointed at her, joking, but not. I couldn’t imagine her on her own anywhere else but here, where I could keep an eye on her.
“Hey, I knew you!” she corrected, leaning in closer.
“You could know me better,” I challenged, stepping into her space. She didn’t back away. “Youshouldknow me better. Ask me out.”
“Ask you—”
“I swear I’ll say yes,” I interrupted, already seeing the denial on her lips. But she’d handed me a golden opportunity, and I was going to take it. “I know a sushi restaurant that sells dollar rolls after ten on Fridays. We’ll have sushi, then come back here to a party. Bring Vanna, get shit faced. It’ll be totally safe.”
“You can’t…I have other things on that list! We can’t check them all off in one go.” Her chin had one of those little dimples in the middle. I wanted to lick it.
“Try me. What else is on your list, Angel?”
I wasn’t sure if it was the nickname that got her or what, but she arched her eyebrow, taking the bait.
“Skinny dipping,” she said, like it was a challenge. A gauntlet thrown. I couldn’t wait to pick it up.
“I can make that happen, too,” I murmured, low enough for only her to hear. She shivered. I watched her lick her lips, the blue of her eyes intensifying as we stared at one another.
She broke first, glancing down at her almost-empty drink. “We can’t finish my whole list in the first few weeks of classes. Then what will I do?”
