Page 35 of Hating On Riot

For example, Galley Rutherford and Ezekiel Harrington. They come from money. Galley throws the most insane parties at his place, and Ezekiel draws a crowd of girls with his nonchalant air. The girls go gaga for those two and for our team captain, Xander Brody.

She shrugs. “It wasn’t just your words but the full package.”

“Full package?” I shoot her a sly smile.

She smacks my shoulder. “Get your head out of the gutter. Jesus, Riot.”

I put my palms up. “Okay. Okay.”

Her steps slow. I worry about how hard she’s breathing and how each step takes more effort than the last.

“Explain.” What’s this full package she’s talking about?

“How you teasingly said, ‘Come to Daddy’ with a smarmy smile, then added the finishing touch by opening your arms and crooking your finger. It was too much.” She peers up at me with a sheepish grin. “I hope I didn’t hurt your feelings.”

“Aw, babe, my feelings are armored in steel. You can never hurt me,” I tease with a smarmy smile.

She looks at me with a contemplative expression. “Everyone is capable of being hurt. Even a tough guy like you.”

I slip on a guarded expression. Arie knows me too well. Seeing her with Cooper hurts. I should’ve been her best friend for the past four years, not the kicker for DU’s football team. I should be the one experiencing university alongside her. Instead, that bastard has had her excitement, fears, tears, frustrations, awe, and the rest of Arie’s emotions. Yeah, I hurt.

“More evasive maneuvers or a rest day?” I ask, tired of the thick band of seriousness between us.

“We have,” she ticks off the remaining days until the Nerf game starts, “five days. Let's practice.”

Five days until she moves out of the spare room. Five days closer to her not sneaking into my room. Five days, then I won’t see her smile and laugh with the guys. They dig my girl. Enjoy her company. Why can’t time stop, starting with today, and let us live the same day over and over?

She’s huffing and puffing. Arie’s steps are slowing. She needs my help. I pick her up and cradle her against my chest. She squeals and squirms, then gives up the fight with a heavy sigh. It’s pointless for her to struggle when I’m trying to get her to my truck so she doesn’t tax herself further. Arie isn’t an athlete. She goes to and from her classes and spends too much time at the library to stay healthy.

“We are not being very private.” She blows at a strand of hair in her eye and crosses her arms.

“Stop grousing and enjoy the moment.” I glance around the field and jerk my chin at the stands. “Empty. I bet the locker room’s empty too, if you want to get in a quickie.” I waggle my eyebrows. That gets her fired up. She glares. I roll my eyes and puff out an exasperated sigh, being overly dramatic. The corner of her mouth twitches. “There’s a time for being uptight and a time for seizing the moment.”

“Or I can just play it safe.”

“Uh-uh. It’s our last year before we become adult-adults, Arie. Let’s have fun. Be spontaneous. Live a little, baby.” I plant a kiss on her forehead. Her gaze darts around the field. “Empty,” I say near her ear, my voice low and gravelly, like I just woke up. Or had the best sex of my life. With Arie. Soon. She must feel the same. She trembles in my arms. I hurry us to my truck.

“Thank you for this morning. It’s nice to have company on the drive.” Her voice is small, almost hesitant, like showing too much gratitude will shift whatever is happening between us.

Sorry, babe, but I plan to chug along and see where we end up. Broken heart my ass.

My brothers have another philosophy about life. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I plan on venturing as far with Arie as she’ll let me. Not giving us a try would be worse than living with a broken heart.

Happy with my decision, I drop a kiss on the top of her head.

She snuggles closer, and I jostle her so she’s forced to wrap her arms around my neck instead of keeping them clasped in her lap like a prim-and-proper lady from the Stone Age. Her breath is warm on my skin as she buries her face in my neck, and when she turns her body into mine, her perfect breasts press against my chest through my thin T-shirt.

“Babe.” I am in fucking heaven.

“Hmm?”

Her soft words reverberate against my skin, sending hot need to my cock. “Your breasts are scrumptious,” I say on a moan-groan, all the blood rushing from my brain to my boner.

Her shoulders shake. “Never have I ever heard that word from a guy’s mouth.”

I smile, loving her laughter at my expense. Yeah, who the fuck says scrumptious these days? “Now you have, beautiful. No refunds. No takebacks. I said what I said, and I’m sticking with it.” I puff out my chest.

“You and your no refunds, no takebacks.”