Page 17 of What Are the Chances
“I’m looking for Parker. Have you seen her?”
Hayes shook his head. “Sorry, babe. I haven’t.”
I pressed onto my toes, searching the crowd once more. It was already dark. If I didn’t find her soon, I might not at all. Then I’d be screwed.
“I better keep looking. I’m bunking with her tonight.”
Hayes placed his hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. “If you don’t find her, there’s plenty of room in my tent for you.” He lowered his lips to my ear. “I’ll keep you warm.”
I shivered, but it wasn’t for the right reasons.
Hayes had been a drunken attempt at a distraction, nothing more. While it had worked for the whole sixty-seconds it’d lasted, there’d been no part of me eager to go for round two. I’d dodged all his messages until he moved on.
Hayes was attractive in a clean-cut kind of way, but he wasn’t my usual type. And if I’d been in a better state of mind, I wouldn’t have slept with him. He was corny as hell and kind of sleazy, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. And right now, he was my best bet.
Forcing myself to paste an appreciative smile on my face, I edged further into the party. I checked my phone once again, hoping Parker had finally messaged. That’s when I noticed I had zero bars of reception. Per-fucking-fect. That explained her radio silence.
Tonight was going downhill quickly. And just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, I literally bumped into Levi Holloway. Like, walked smack into his solid frame. As he instinctively reached out to steady me, he did a double-take before jarring his head in surprise.
Like Will, Levi had grown up. He crossed his muscular arms over his chest as he studied me. Despite there being a mural of him and Ryker Richardson, Phil-U’s football captain, on the main campus building, I’d forgotten just how attractive Holloway was. Even standing face-to-face in silence, an undeniable confidence radiated off him. He’d always had it. Even in freshman year.
While Will and I had been dating, plenty of my friends had asked me to set them up with Holloway. But having been privy to the revolving stream of girls he spent the night with, I’d ignored their requests.
His eyebrows lowered. “Riley? Long time.”
“Uh-huh.”
I sounded cold, which was entirely unfair. Levi had always been super nice to me. Tripp and Ryan too. But they were collateral damage in mine and Will’s breakup. Avoiding Will meant avoiding his friends as well. Those four were as tight knit as they came, which is why my defences had shot back up. If Levi was here, then that meant–
“Riley!”
Grace spotted me across the campfire. Leaving Tripp’s side, she hurried over. Her blonde hair cascaded beneath her Phil-U hockey beanie, and she was clutching a hard seltzer in her gloved hands. Damn. I wish I’d thought of gloves.
She was so freaking gorgeous it was infuriating. Girls that looked like her weren’t meant to be as nice as she was. And they certainly weren’t meant to date your ex-boyfriend. Talk about an ego knock.
She stopped beside Levi before reaching forward to hug me. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“I didn’t knowyou’dall be here,” I returned.
Both her and Levi picked up on the enunciation. I clearly wasn’t hiding my emotions well. After Wednesday, you think I’d be used to surprises, but I wasn’t. Nothing prepared you for being thrust back into your ex-boyfriend’s world.
I wiped my palms on my sweats. For someone who was incredibly cold, they were ridiculously clammy. I anxiously scanned the group huddled around the campfire, which turned out to be the entire hockey team. Ryan. Tripp. Morrison. Their goalie, Maxwell. And then there he was. Will fucking Caufield.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Shut the fucker down
WILL
When Riley’s attention swivelled to me, my breath lodged in my throat. Thank fuck I hadn’t just taken a sip of my beer.
Riley was dressed comfortably in black sweats, a grey shacket and Uggs. And forget all the girls in tight jeans or thin sweaters, because she was the only girl I noticed.
When she averted her gaze, focusing on whatever Grace was saying, Levi discreetly glanced over his shoulder and caught my eye. Concern was engraved on his face. My friends needed to stop acting like Riley being around was a big deal, because if they kept this up, then my thoughts were going to run rampant.
I’d done all I could to put my encounter with Riley out of my mind. Yet here she was now, nailing it back in.
I purposely turned my back on the campfire, focussing on Ryan and Morrison as they talked about this morning’s practice. Coach had been breathing down our necks. We were playing Allentown next weekend. Despite being Phil-U’s rivals, Coach seemed to carry extra resentment when it came to Allentown.
