Page 11 of One Bet

But he laughed and chased the ball, even his slight jog inspired fantasies of sex, especially when he bent down to pick up the ball then stood, turned toward me, and grinned. “You want to come to protect me in the pocket, too?”

A flirty girl could have run ten miles with that sentence, but I just smiled. “Somebody should.” I shook my head. “I have to go. Homework tonight?”

“Yeah. I’ll meet you at the library after practice, around seven?”

I nodded and left. Not one time on the way home did I think of Ryder.

8

Keaton

Seeing her again was like a punch in my gut. It knocked the wind out of me every time and her smile lit the whole place up. She’d changed her hair from the platinum we’d colored it to in college to a darker, softer blonde, and she’d traded the fishnets and cardigans in for a Glouster hoodie and jeans that hugged her ass and waist. She’d grown some new curves since college, and I really liked them. More with each beer I drank and each memory that came crashing back.

When she left with Susie to go to the bathroom, I realized I loved watching her walk and talk and smile. All those old feelings came flooding back, and I was powerless to stop myself from wanting her. Or maybe I didn’t want to stop myself. Being with her had made me happy back then. And it had been such a long time since I’d been happy. But it didn’t matter, she’d kept a wall built between us and I couldn’t blame her. I only wished her friend had the same respect for boundaries.

He’d been moving his chair closer as the bar filled up with more alumni and current coeds. Hero worship was usually one of my favorite things in life, but now I just wanted him to go away. Every question and comment reminded me of my failed career, my failed life. “Do you know when you’ll be back to playing?”

I shook my head. “No.”

I didn’t tell him it depended on the scans I’d so far refused to get. Some of the information, strangers didn’t need to know, no matter how much they pushed.

“That game last year against Atlanta, that Hail Mary you threw to end the game, it was brilliant.”

It was luck; I hadn’t even been able to see the ball by the time I had to lob the ball down the field.

From behind me, I heard the squeal before I saw the woman. “Keaton Shaw!”

Oh no. I knew that voice, and she wasn’t someone I wanted to see while I was with Avery. I was fairly certain Avery wouldn’t want to see her either, but short of sprinting in the other direction, there wasn’t much I could do.

She shuffled over, literally, slid on her heels in that excited way girls did with arms wide and chest barreling straight toward me. Her implants poked my pecs as she leaned down to squeeze me.

“Hey, Beth.” Once a Sigma, always a Sigma. At least that was what the sash she wore said, Beth Cooper had been the ultimate sorority girl. A legacy who’d walked right into the house and became its queen. And now she was a talk show host who’d offered to bring her entire crew to shoot the homecoming festivities that would culminate in next Saturday’s big game. Of course, Glouster’s regents had snapped up that offer. Anything to increase the student population. And publicity like the Beth Cooper Show didn’t come around every day.

“Oh my God, you look amazing.” She ran her hands over my shoulders and down my chest. “I’ve missed you.”

We’d dated for about one minute in college because until I’d met Avery only one girl had lasted longer than a few minutes, and that girl hated me now, although I didn’t know why and after Avery, no one measured up. Beth wasn’t bad, she just wasn’t the one. Not that it was her fault, from the first time I talked to her, something about Avery dimmed the light of every other woman I knew.

“It’s great to see you, too.” After all these years, Beth still dressed in the college coed on the prowl uniform of short skirt and tight top to accent the curves she maintained with pilates and yoga. She wore just enough makeup to highlight and enhance, and she smiled her signature smile, the toothy, perfectly lined grin that all the cameras loved.

Her eyes went wide. “Oh my God. I just had a brilliant idea. You should come to my show. I could get a whole new demographic. Men, who like sports, like football.” She shook her head at each pause in her words. “Let’s set that up.”

I nodded. “Sure. Just get a hold of my agent, she can work it around my schedule.” Which lately had a lot of openings.

And as soon as I left, I would be calling Olivia and advising her not to set up anything. Beth Cooper didn’t do sports, never had. She did fashion and high society, she did formal dances and fundraisers and none of those things were bad. They just weren’t something I could sit on the sofa and pretend to enjoy.

She stood to her full height and looked over my shoulder, her bright white smile faded.

“Really, Keaton? Her again?” She crossed her arms. “You didn’t learn when she got Ryder and Finn and the other one kicked out of school? When she wrote that article?”

Maybe my reaction time had slowed as much as my brain function, but Beth shoved me out of the way and stomped around the table to stand in front of Avery before it occurred to me to stop her. “I can’t believe you have the nerve to show your face after what you did.”

Oh shit, I tugged on Beth’s arm but she jerked away hard and caught Avery in the right cheek with her balled-up fist. Avery’s head jerked then she came back around, fire dancing in her eyes and blood pouring from a cut in her cheek from Beth’s college ring. I moved between them to shield Avery with my body. “Beth…what the fuck?”

“Get out of the way, Keaton. That felt good and I think I want to do it again.” She tried to veer around me, but I shifted. I couldn’t see Avery, but I could feel her anger. I also didn’t know if she would battle it out with fists or not, but I didn’t trust Beth not to go after Avery’s job if Avery did happen to fight back.

“You’re 32 fucking years old, Beth and she can kick your ass. Walk away before you do something you regret.” And then I remembered the real reason Beth and I didn’t work out.

One Decade Ago