Page 19 of Tempting the Player
“Not tonight,” I say again as I step away from them. “I’m having too much fun dancing the night away.”
I leave them before they can keep trying to convince me. I head inside where it’s quieter. Only a few people are inside, mostly couples making out in our living room. Yuck. Gonna need to have the furniture cleaned.
I toss the can in the recycling and grab another from the fridge. Then I wait until the music starts back up before I slip outside. Cold air nips at my skin. I had to abandon my usual wardrobe of dresses and skirts for jeans tonight, but still, I’m chilled. There’s a good chance it’s going to drop below freezing. Too cold for Arizona and my thin blood.
Our backyard has never been this full of people. The guys that live next door in The White House brought over a few of their outdoor tables, and I find my friends at one playing beer pong. Brogan and Archer are with them, as well as some other football players. And Hendrick.Hendrick is here!
He’s surrounded by a group of football players and they’re all grinning at him like he’s their hero. I don’t get it. I mean he’s gorgeous, but something tells me that isn’t why they are also excited to see him.
As I approach, he glances up and directly at me. My pulse spikes and my heart flutters when I meet his dark hazel eyes. “You came? I mean, hey.”
And then he does the craziest thing. He smiles at me.
7
HENDRICK
I sidestepto get closer to Jane and away from Archer’s teammates. I shouldn’t be here. There are things she doesn’t know, things no one knows, and my being here could fuck all that up.
But I couldn’t not come. Not after she said she invited the entire campus.
She looks so excited, eyes lit up, lips pulled into a huge smile. She wears her emotions on her face and her heart on her sleeve. I dig that about her. Most girls her age want to play it cool, but not Jane. But it also makes me feel like a complete asshole. I should just go. I stopped by and scoped things out, and now I can leave with a free conscience.
“When did you get here? How was the game? Did your brother’s team win?” She glances at my empty hands. “Do you want something to drink?”
One of her friends chuckles softly. “Maybe let him actually answer a question before you ask him three more.”
“Sorry. I’m just so happy you came.”
As she comes to stand beside me, that familiar mix of vanilla and coconut hits me, and I have to resist leaning in to get a better whiff.
Jane is gorgeous. Tall, sexy long legs, a pouty mouth, and bright green eyes. If things were different, I’d be into her.
“Thanks for inviting me,” I say. “I can’t—”
Before I can make my excuses, some guy who has crowded around with the football guys yells, “Somebody get the Champ a drink.”
I wince at his use of my old nickname. The last time anyone called me that is about the last time I was at a college party.
“The Champ?” Jane shoots me a questioning gaze.
The beer pong game in front of us starts back up and her friends pretend to stop staring at us.
Because I don’t want to answer that question, I answer her others. “Not long. The game was good. They won. And I’m not drinking tonight,” I tell her.
She continues to eye me carefully, then purses her lips. “Hmmm. Well, that makes my job as your fun tour guide a little more difficult, but not impossible.”
Brogan, standing nearby, makes a deep noise of humor in his throat. “Don’t let this serious and broody thing he has going on fool you. Henny knows how to have fun. Remember that time you threw that epic party at the house during senior week?”
I, in fact, don’t remember much about it, but I also don’t want him to tell that story in front of Jane, so I give him a pained smile and return my attention to the girl at my side. She’s still staring at me like she can’t quite figure me out.
“I can’t stay long, but I wanted to stop by.”
“You’re leaving already?!” She shakes her head adamantly. “Oh no. Now that you’re here, there is no way I’m letting you go.”
With that, Jane takes me by the hand and pulls me over to the table. “Can we get in on this?”
I start to remind her I’m not drinking, but, for some reason I don’t. I see her around, but I don’t know that much about her that isn’t a Google string. And the more she talks to me, the more I want to know. Fuck it, it’s better than standing around feeling out of place.
