Page 14 of The Player

“Yeah, I know him. He’s one of my best friends.”

“Seriously? Oh, word.” A picture of the four of them on a double date popped into her head out of nowhere.

“Come on. I’ll help you find her.”

Drew held his hand out, and Nicole just stared at it. She wanted to take it, but walking through this party hand in hand with him wasn’t something people would ignore. It was a statement, and a big one.

Did Drew know what he was doing?

Did she?

Chapter Six

Nicole laced her fingers through Drew’s and let him lead her back into the house. He moved through the crowd like he expected everybody to get out of his way, and sure enough, they did. Near the stairs, one girl nudged her friend and tipped her chin in their direction. A few others gave Nicole slow once-overs that started at her boots and didn’t get any friendlier on the way up. These girls didn’t know her from Eve, but one walk through the party holding Drew Kiernan’s hand and they’d already decided she was the enemy.

“People are staring at us, Drew.”

He glanced down at her. “So? Let them stare. Fuck ’em.”

Maybe it was the beer loosening her up. Maybe she was just tired of hiding how much she wanted him. Either way, Drew was right. Fuck ’em.

They found Bailey and Ryan posted up against the wall. Ryan was drunk off his ass, slouched with one arm hanging heavy around Bailey’s shoulders. “Bro!” He dapped Drew’s free hand, then lit up when he turned to Nicole. “Nicole! You came!”

Bailey shook her head. “You already knew that, drunk-ass.”

Nicole laughed. “What’s up, Ryan? How you doin’?”

“Fucking amazing,” he slurred.

Drew took Nicole’s empty cup and tossed it into a nearby trash can. When he came back, he had a bottle of imported beer for her—the good stuff, still capped—and a bottle of water for himself. He popped the cap off with the opener on his key ring before he handed it over.

“You don’t drink?” she asked.

“Nope.”

That made sense, him being a star athlete and all.

Drew twisted the cap off the water and took a long drink, his Adam’s apple bobbing. She had the sudden urge to run her tongue up his throat and find out if his skin tasted as salty as she imagined.

When the DJ switched to “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the whole room started whooping and hollering. Honestly, even Nicole liked this one. Ryan dragged Bailey into the middle of the floor while Drew’s entire face changed beside her, his eyes lighting up and his grin going wide and boyish, and he caught Nicole’s hand and started tugging her after them.

Nicole pulled back, shaking her head. “I don’t know how to dance to this.”

Drew backed toward the dance floor, still holding her hand. “Look around you. Neither does anybody else. That’s the point.”

Nicole could dance. That wasn’t the problem. When the right song came on, she knew exactly what to do with it. But this? She couldn’t even find the beat underneath all that guitar. The music she usually danced to gave her something she could settle into, something her hips understood without her having to think about it. What if she got out there and looked stupid?

It did look fun in an uncoordinated sort of way. One guy was jumping with his eyes closed and throwing his whole body around without a lick of rhythm, while a girl beside him spun in circles with both arms over her head.

Drew copied the guy with two exaggerated jumps, putting all six feet four inches of himself into it. His blond hair fell into his eyes, and he laughed as he shoved it back. How the hell did he manage to be that goofy and still look so damn good?

He set his water on a windowsill and held out his other hand, eyebrows raised, like it was a dare. How was she supposed to say no when he looked at her like that? Nicole set her beer down next to it and put her hand in his. The dance floor was one big sweaty mosh pit, all flying arms and bodies slamming together, and her boots stuck to the spilled beer with every step. By the time Drew pulled her into the middle of it, she didn’t give a damn what she looked like. When the chorus came around, she and Drew shouted it at the top of their lungs.

Somebody’s elbow caught Drew in the ribs. His grin vanished, one hand going to the spot that had taken the worst of the hit at the game.

Nicole grabbed his arm. “You okay?”

He winced before he could hide it, but he nodded. “I’m good.”