Page 13 of The Player

“Nah. Just someone I know.”

She could feel him looking at her. “Cool” was all she gave him.

He didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “I think it’s time.”

“For what?”

“For you to give me your phone number.”

“Now? After that?” She let out a surprised laugh. “I thought we talked about this, Drew.”

“We did. But it’s time to revisit it.”

“Why do you want my number?”

“Because I can’t risk not seeing you again. It’s a big campus, Nicole.”

“Looks like you got your hands full already. I’m not trying to get caught up in all that.”

“There’s no ‘all that.’ Trisha’s drunk.”

Nicole kept her eyes on the yard. “Yeah, well. That still doesn’t make giving you my number a good idea.”

His voice dropped a notch. “But you know you want to.”

God, she did. She really did, and that was the dangerous part. Giving Drew her number would break every single rule she had.

“Maybe.” She looked over at him, buying herself another second to think. “Still doesn’t mean I will.”

He reached up and ran one of the loose pieces of hair beside her face through his fingers. It was the first time he’d touched her all night. “That so?”

“Have you ever been with a Black girl before?” She’d been wondering that since they met—since before they met.

His hand dropped from her hair, and she missed the touch almost immediately. “No,” he said. “Have you ever been with a white guy?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“First time for everything.”

“What about that girl from the mall?”

His lips twitched. “I’m pretty sure she’s white.”

“You know what I mean.” She gave his arm a playful slap. Good Lord. His arm was thick and hard beneath her palm, all muscle. “You kissed her.”

“She kissed me.”

“You kissed her back.”

“I stopped the kiss. And she won’t be a problem anymore,” he said. “I ended it.”

How convenient. “Even so, I still need to think about it.”

His easy confidence slipped, just enough for her to catch it before he pulled it back into place. “Okay,” he said with a slow nod. “That’s fair.”

She’d gone from no to maybe in what? Two days? At this rate, she didn’t stand a chance against Drew, and the worst part was she wasn’t ready for the conversation to be over, not even close. But she still wanted to be the one who ended it.

“I should go find Bailey. She’s around here somewhere with her boyfriend, Ryan. I’m assuming you know him?”