Page 22 of Unforgettable
For someone who wanted to blend in, I was doing a bang-up job.
I turned to address the crowd. “My father is Senator Hale. I’m not rushing for a sorority. Ryker James is a jerk. And I am not up for sale.”
A few phones flashed, and I noticed one girl holding her phone up, hopefully videoing my outburst so my father could see that I hadn’t violated any agreement.
I turned to Beverly. “Make sure that gets back to my father.”
Ryker’s eyes went wide.
“I’ll meet you back at the dorm,” I said to Vicki.
Then I carried myself out with grace as I’d been taught to do when I was in the public eye.
7
Ryker
As soon as I stepped away from the podium, a swarm of women crowded around me. I felt like one of the dudes from that showThe Bachelor.
“Ladies,” Beverly said into the mic. “Head downstairs. Music is on, drinks are flowing, and the guys will hang with us for a while.” Beverly pierced me with her blue gaze. “Right, boys?”
I hadn’t planned on hanging around, but I just might if Haven was lurking somewhere nearby. Man, seeing her squirm and stomp out of the room like a four-year-old who hadn’t gotten her way had put a smile on my face. I liked her spunk. I was also finding I liked messing with her, which was new for me when it came to the opposite sex. Normally, women were only in my bed, not in my head. And Haven in my head was better than thinking about the funeral, which was coming up on Sunday.
I eyed Lucas, Erik, Vincent, and Ajax. They all gave me a nod.
“We’ll be right behind you,” I said to the sea of women, who were chomping at the bit to sign up to be in the auction.
One look at Haven, and my mouth had gotten in the way of my brain. Man, those legs of hers had appeared silky, and her breasts… I hadn’t been able to think straight. The woman was small, and now that I wasn’t drunk or hadn’t just woken up, I’d noticed her tits were bigger than I remembered.
Not only that, her old man had come to mind the minute I’d laid eyes on her, and that had fired me up. The more I thought about the senator and how he’d made my dad’s life hell, the more I wanted to do the same to Senator Hale.
Beverly touched my arm, pushing her chest into me. “You really shouldn’t consider the Hale girl.”
I knitted my brows. “And why is that?”
The five of us guys waited eagerly to hear her answer.
“She won’t bring in much money. No one in this state wants to piss off the senator.”
I did.
“I beg to differ,” Lucas said. “She would bring in more money than Ryker alone.”
Beverly laughed. “I doubt that.”
No question I would bring in some dough for the charity, and so would my brethren. But I had to side with Lucas. A senator’s daughter would bring in a lot, especially one who was beautiful, fun as far as I could tell from my interaction with her so far, and carried herself well except for the childish exit she’d shown us earlier. Plus, she didn’t seem uptight like Beverly.
“So did you take the picture of Haven and me the other night?” Not that I cared as much as Haven, but it would be good to know who Beverly really was just in case she decided to throw me under the bus. Plus, I was curious what the senator was up to. Maybe he’d had someone at my party to get dirt on me. Maybe he was campaigning to have Coach remove me from football.
She deadpanned. “I’ve done no such thing.” Then she wiggled her ass toward the exit, her heels clicking on the wood floor. “Don’t be long, boys. We have many hors d’oeuvres to choose from tonight.” She sounded like a well-trained madam.
When it was just the five of us guys, Lucas pulled out his phone. “She’s lying, or she knows something.”
No shit.
“You need me to get the truth out of her?” Erik panted. “I’m ready to tap that. She’ll talk.”
I plastered on a half grin as I glanced at Erik. Our tight end was big and wide, and if he didn’t have a woman in his bed every night, he had the shakes. He lived for football, booze, and sex—in that order. He was also a loyal team player and friend.
