Page 71 of What Are The Odds?
Not being able to fight the urge to see Levi, I edged back to the area I’d last seen him. This party was crazier than anything I’d been to before. There were gatherings within gatherings, and parties within parties. When I reached the doorway that led to the back room, I froze. A different party was happening here. For each hockey guy, there was double the number of girls. I scanned the room for Levi. He was leaning against the wall, a pool cue resting by his feet. He’d ditched his jacket. I was used to seeing him in hoodies, whereas this t-shirt clung to all the right muscles. His biceps. His stomach. I could stare at him all day. Apparently so could others. A girl dressed as Harley Quinn sauntered over to him. It took me a moment to place her. Summer. She placed her hand on his forearm, a provocative smile on her face. I took a steadying breath. He’d reassured me about her before. And I trusted him. There was no reason to be worried. As I stepped into the room, another girl walked over. This one was dressed as a cowgirl. She pointed a toy gun at Levi. He opened his mouth, and she shot what I assumed was vodka down his throat. Okay. That wasn’t a great look.
“There you are.”
Ryker appeared at my side. I looked him up and down, a grin transforming my face. He was dressed as a football player. And not just any football player, an Adelaide Crows player. The red, yellow and blue jersey was a familiar comfort. He even had the matching-coloured socks.
“I love it,” I told him.
“I’m glad. Because no one else gets it.” He looked me up and down. “You look amazing.”
I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “Thanks.”
I couldn’t help my gaze wandering back to Levi. He was still the piece of meat between the two girls. Two very attractive girls. Ryker followed my gaze.
“Veronica and Summer,” he filled in. “Both on Levi’s roster.”
“Roster?”
“Yeah, ugh.” Ryker scratched his head. “Like a hook-up roster.”
Good to know. I wasn’t annoyed at Levi’s past. Sure it didn’t feel great knowing he had a roster of girls he used to sleep with. But he’d been nothing but honest and upfront with me. That didn’t mean the sight of those girls with him didn’t make me jealous as hell.
“I need to use the bathroom,” I told Ryker, thinking of the first excuse to get away from this room.
“The line’s huge.” He reached for my hand. “Come with me.”
37. What the actual fuck
Levi.
Morrison walked over to me, his brow furrowed in confusion.
“Are you and Grace official?” he asked.
That seemed like a random question. He wasn’t asking me so he could make a play for her, surely? If he was, we were about to have a big fucking problem. Teammate or not.
“Why?” I bit.
“I, ugh, just saw her go upstairs with Ryker Richardson.”
What the actual fuck.
38. Abso-bloody-lutely
Grace
The party was subdued after Ryker shut his bedroom door. Like Levi, he kept his locked. That seemed smart, given how many people were downstairs. Many of which I’ll bet Ryker didn’t even know.
“Through there,” Ryker said, pointing to a closed door.
I hadn’t actually needed the bathroom, but now I was here, I may as well use it.
“It’ll probably take me a while to shimmy out of these pants,” I admitted. “You don’t have to wait.”
“It’s all good. I could use the quiet for a bit.”
I walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. My reflection took me by surprise. I kept forgetting about the winged eyeliner and bold lip Stella had painted on my face. The pants were just as hard to drag down as they were to pull up. I felt for Olivia Newton-John. Filming that final scene couldn’t have been easy. It took me a while, but when I came back, Ryker was still waiting patiently.
“Thanks,” I said.
