Page 48 of Undeniable
Bailey had a permanent smile on her face as she stared at me from the cocoon of Erik’s arms on the floor by the fireplace. She couldn’t stop gushing about Lucas and me in the car on the way here.
She’d never found Erik on the field nor had she been kissed by anyone. But she didn’t care. She was happy that she’d convinced me to go to the pep rally and then down on the field. “You don’t know how seeing you and Lucas kissing on the field made my night,” she’d said. “You two looked so in love.”
That pesky word hadn’t been in my vocabulary for any guy ever. I’d had a thing for a computer nerd, but it wasn’t puppy love or first love. My mom and her many suitors who’d broken her heart numerous times had closed me off to the idea of love.
But my sweaty palms, butterfly stomach, and constant thinking about Lucas combined into a feeling that both terrified and excited me at the same time.
Ajax took a sip from his bottled water. None of the guys were drinking alcohol because of the upcoming game. “Consider me shocked that the two of you found each other tonight. Thank God you did. I couldn't stand to see Lucas pout anymore.”
Vin chuckled. “And don’t forget the number draw. The whole damn stadium lost it when eleven popped up on the Jumbotron. Fate picked you, man.”
Erik added with a howl. “Yeah. Wolfie found his mate. Now we’re guaranteed to crush Hill Country.”
Lucas piped up with a blinding grin. “Fate or not, tomorrow is ours.”
“Damn straight,” Ryker added, sitting on the opposite end of the couch.
Chasity, the brunette tangled around Ajax, giggled. “Football aside, lots of girls wept tonight when the lights came on.”
I’d been too caught up in Lucas and the roar of the stadium to notice any girl crying.
“Didn’t the touchdown bunnies cry when you swept me off my feet?” Haven asked Ryker.
“Don’t know. Don’t care.” Ryker kissed Haven on the head. “And you have it wrong. You swept me off my feet.”
Vin swiped a hand through his dark-red hair as he lounged in the oversized chair. “What I want to know, Lucas, is how you found Mazzie on the field. I mean, she is the girl you’ve been crying over, right? And with hordes of hungry females tonight, the odds weren’t in your favor.”
I perked up at Vin’s question because he was right. The odds had been astronomical that Lucas would find me or the number eleven flashing on the Jumbotron. If I didn’t believe in fate, I think I did now.
“I didn’t tell Lucas where she was,” Bailey said, raising her hands. “I couldn’t see my feet in front of me as it was.”
“I saw Mazzie fighting the crowd,” Lucas said. “I hopped the railing to help her.”
I lifted my head. “You could see?”
“The glow bracelets and dimmed lights helped before the stadium was thrown into darkness,” Lucas said.
“Wait,” Bailey said. “You were in the stands, Lucas?” Then she regarded Erik. “You too?”
The guys chuckled.
“At the last minute, we decided to change the playbook,” Ryker said. “Every year we’re expected to come out through the tunnel. So, half of the team used the tunnel, and the other half of us positioned ourselves in the stands.”
“It was brilliant,” Erik said.
Bailey appeared to be perturbed since she had told Erik where she would be.
I was sure the two would have words later, although it wasn’t like Bailey and Erik were in love or anything, at least not according to Bailey. “He’s just a fun hookup,” she’d said.
I had to wonder, though, because I knew my bestie. She was digging Erik more than she cared to admit.
Lucas was rubbing circles on my arm. “It wasn’t until I was on the field up close to Mazzie when I realized it was her.”
I lifted my gaze. “You didn’t give me a chance to breathe or anything.”
Lucas kissed me on the nose. “That was the whole point of the Wolf Howl. Catch you by surprise.”
“And kiss and run,” Vin reminded him. “Before the gal knows who you are.”
