Page 12 of The Player

Oh no he didn’t. And it worked anyway. She felt it everywhere, even between her legs.

“Well, it should,” she said.

Drew laughed under his breath. Her little warning hadn’t scared him one bit. They didn’t talk about Cedric after that.

At some point, they’d shifted closer without either of them seeming to notice. Nicole turned toward the yard and rested her hands on the railing. Drew stayed beside her, leaning back on his forearms against the rail, facing the house.

Talking to him was easy. He asked about her major, her classes, what she did for fun. She asked what it was like having the whole school watching everything he did and whether the pressure ever got to him. He asked if Alabama felt like home yet. It was starting to, now that she and Bailey had their own place. When she turned the question back on him, he thought about it for a second.

“Nah. Alabama’s all right, but it’s not home. I’ve been down here five years, and I still miss Boston.” He’d redshirted his first season, he explained, so he’d practiced with the team without ever playing in a game. That was why he was a fifth-year senior with one season of eligibility still left to play. “You ever been to Boston?”

“No. Not to Boston. But I love New England. My family spent a lot of summers on Martha’s Vineyard. Oak Bluffs is gorgeous.”

What she didn’t tell him was that her parents owned a house in the Highlands, where Black families like hers had been spending summers for generations. How did you casually mention something like that without sounding bougie as hell? Nicole might’ve been a rich girl, but she wasn’t trying to be one of those rich girls.

“Yeah, I’m sure it is.” He gave her half a smile. “My neighborhood back in Boston is grimy as fuck, though. Still miss it.”

Nicole laughed, and his half smile widened. She took another sip of her beer. “Congratulations on the win, by the way.”

“So you were watching me out there?”

Her eyes dropped to his lips. She caught herself a beat too late.

“Dreeeewww! There you are!” The voice came from behind her, loud enough to cut off whatever she’d been about to say.

Drew looked up toward the house. “Fucking great,” he muttered.

Nicole glanced over her shoulder just as a girl stumbled out onto the deck, laughing too loud. Her drink sloshed over the rim of her cup with every unsteady step, and a friend trailed behind her. Ol’ girl was drunk, the falling-all-over-herself kind, with her hair in her face and her knees a little too bendy. And she was headed straight for Drew.

She zigzagged her way over, and when her heel snagged, she pitched forward with a squeal and landed against Drew’s chest.

“I missed you, baby,” she said, sliding both arms around his waist. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Drew caught her by the upper arms before she could settle against him and eased her back. “Whoa,” he said, not smiling. “Easy.”

She pushed out her bottom lip in a pout. “But I missed you.”

His gaze cut to Nicole for half a second, then back to the girl. “I’m in the middle of something.”

That was when she finally seemed to notice Nicole standing there. “Oh. Hi!” Too chipper to be real. “I’m Trisha. And you are?”

“This is Nicole,” Drew cut in. Then he called past Trisha to the friend still hanging back by the door. “Cindy. Come get your friend.”

“How you doin’? You all right?” Nicole said, half amused, half annoyed.

“Peachy,” Trisha said, and there went the fake chipper. The bitchy came right on through.

Nicole chuckled. “Okay, girl. Whatever.”

Cindy finally stepped in. “Come on, girlie.”

“I’m fine,” Trisha said, even as Cindy took her by the wrist.

“Sure you are.” Cindy tugged her back toward the house, but not before giving Nicole and Drew a curious look.

“Sorry about that,” Drew said after they were gone.

Nicole turned back toward the yard and took a big gulp of her beer. She was irritated as hell, but she’d be damned if Drew knew it. So she kept her face neutral and gave a little shrug. “Friend of yours?”