Page 60 of Beautifully Devoted

We decide to hit up Jerry’s first, sort of like a warm-up before heading to Bennet’s frat for the real party. Nate and a few of our other teammates have the same idea, so after we grab some beers—complimentary ones from Jerry himself for the win—we make our way to the pool tables where they’re holding court.

“One and oh, baby.” Nate fist bumps each of us as we join the group.

“Nothing like winning the home opener,” I agree.

“We didn’t just win, we dominated.” Nate grins.

“True that,” our center, Garrett, lifts his glass. He’s a man of few words, but those ones are accurate, so I lift my glass as well.

There are too many people packed around the tables to play, so Cameron finds a stool and plops his ass down, sticking his leg out so I can perch on it like I always do, and we spend next hour or so reminiscing about the game and the upcoming season. There are cheers and high-fives, and more than a few drinks that slosh out of their glass as we toast our win, all of which has me smiling so hard my face starts to ache.

I fucking love it.

Bennet is a little quiet though, which I get since he’s disappointed in himself for not besting his old rival, so I’m sure to mention how epic his one catch was. I’m not even blowing smoke either, it was a key play in our third scoring drive, and he deserves credit for helping put those points on the board. He almost grimaces when I give him a shout-out though, so to take the attention off him, I praise Cam for his pass blocking, which is usually a weak part of his game, but which looked incredible today.

Around nine thirty, a few of the guys break away to head over to the frat. The plan is to follow after we’ve finished our beers, but before I can slam mine back, Cam’s hand finds my hip and grabs me—hard—and I look up to see Anna heading straight for me.

My buoyant mood starts to sink. I sort of thought she was a thing of the past since she’d stopped texting me, but the determined look in her eyes says otherwise, and I have a feeling I’m in for a conversation I don’t want.

Shit.

“Hey, Anna.” I smile, doing my best to seem casual instead of mildly worried about what she’s going to say.

“Good game, today.” She smiles expectantly.

“Thanks.”

There’s an awkward beat of silence despite the fact we’re surrounded by loud music and even louder conversations, and I swallow back a gulp of beer so I don’t have to fill it with words.

“I was thinking we could celebrate later. Together,” she adds, as if I needed that little clarification. And while part of me is frustrated that she’s propositioning me when I’ve done my best not to give the impression I’m interested, part of me wants to spare her from rejection in front of my friends by saying yes.

That’s not an option though, since I could never do that to Cam.

We haven’t really talked about how I let him fuck me—except for the part about me wanting to return the favor at some point and him being okay with that—so I don’t think there’s an expectation of exclusivity or anything. But aside from the fact I think something more than amazing sex might be afoot between us, I don’t want anyone else.

There’s really only one way to respond to her that’s both honest—mostly—and spares her dignity. I just hope Cam’s ready for it since I don’t have time to run it by him.

“I appreciate that Anna, really. But I’m sort of spoken for at the moment.”

Her jaw falls open as she sucks in a startled breath, but unfortunately, she isn’t the only one, and I realize too late the flaw in my otherwise solid plan.

“Who are you screwing?” Bennet demands.

“Him.” I jerk my thumb over my shoulder, bracing for Cam to laugh or snort or something that spoils my ruse, but all he does is tighten his grip on my hip.

Bennet snorts though, which makes Anna suspicious.

“I thought he was your best friend?” Her stare is sort of icy as she glances between the two of us.

“He is.”

“And now you’re dating?” She presses.

“They say being friends first makes all the difference.”

“Prove it.” She crosses her arms in front of her chest.

“How?”

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