Page 20 of Scoring the Player
“I don’t think so.” She stands taller and cranes her neck.
I fidget with my hair, moving it off one shoulder and then pulling it back so I can partially hide my face behind it. I’m not ready to face him. This was such a bad idea. He’s going to take one look at how overdressed I am and say—
“Wow.” Felix’s voice freezes my movements from head to toe. He steps through the crowd, eyes locked on me.
“Dahlia, you look…wow.” He clears his throat. “I’ve forgotten all other adjectives.”
My friends break into a chorus of “aww” and then giggles.
“Thank you.” There’s a one-hundred-percent chance I’m blushing all over. He’s in his standard jeans and T-shirt, this one navy blue. The way it stretches across his chest and matches his dark hair is…well, he looks phenomenal. “You too.”
“Do you want to get something to drink?” he asks, nodding his head toward the keg.
Daisy nudges me forward.
“Okay,” I tell him, and then say to my friends, “I’ll see you guys later.”
They’re all smiling so big and nodding their heads like I’m the kid sister going on her very first date.
Felix walks slowly, allowing me to keep up with him. I notice he doesn’t have to push through the crowd the same way others do. When people see him coming, they move. That’s the power of Felix Walters.
At the keg, he pours me a beer and then refills his cup. I take a tentative sip. His gaze is on me, which does not help my nerves.
“You really look great,” he says. “I kind of feel like I swallowed my tongue.”
Even if he’s just messing with me to make me feel more comfortable, it works.
“Thank you. I’m sorry we’re later than I said.”
“Are you?” he asks and takes a drink. “I didn’t even notice.”
Of course, he didn’t.This isn’t a date, I remind myself. When the keg is kicked, I’ll go back to my life, and he’ll go back to his. But for the next few hours, I’m going to do my best to stop freaking out and just enjoy this weird yet sort of amazing situation. I’m hanging out with the hottest guy at Valley U.
“Walters!” A guy calls as he emerges from the crowd to stand in front of us. He and Felix both jut their chins to the other. “How’ve you been? Haven’t seen you since...”
“Last weekend,” Felix fills in for him. “You were about eight shots in, so I won’t take offense that you don’t remember talking to me.”
The guy huffs a laugh. “You aren’t the only part of that night that I don’t remember. I woke up with two girls and a guy I’d never seen before.”
Felix laughs and then, as if he just remembered I’m standing here, covers it with a cough. “Bobby, have you met Dahlia?” He glances at me. “Bobby and I lived on the same floor freshman year.”
I lift a hand and wave. “Hi.”
“Hey,” he says. “You look familiar. Are you on the cheerleading squad?”
“Umm…no.” I shake my head. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
“What year are you?” he asks, still staring hard to figure out how he knows me.
“I’m a junior.”
“Huh.” His gaze continues to assess me as he fills three cups with beer from the keg, and I can tell the second he realizes where he’s seen me before. “You’re the girl from that video. Oh man, that was hysterical.”
His smile is wide and disbelieving.
“That’s me. I’m Felix Walters’ number one fan. If there weren’t so many people around, I’d be climbing him like a tree or licking him from head to toe.”
Oh my god, what am I saying?Shut up, shut up, shut up.
