Page 87 of Learning Curve

“I can apologize and move toward the heat at the same time.”

“Must be nice,” she jeers good-naturedly. “I’m so cold I can’t even think straight.”

“Julia? You haven’t even said anything. Are you okay?”

“If I were a chicken, I’d be begging KFC to put me in the fryer, okay?”

Both Kayla and I laugh as we hustle inside, stepping around a crowd of smokers just outside the front door. Music pounds so hard the windows shake, and the three of us cram inside and shove the front door closed behind us.

Drinks flow and hips shake in every available inch of space, and people chatter so loud, they’re almost as deafening as the music. Everyone is in the celebrating mood now that exams are done.

In a way, it’s almost infectious, and I find myself enjoying the sight of it all.

“You want anything to drink?” Julia asks, and I shake my head.

“No thanks.”

“Is it bad if I have a beer?” Kayla whispers into my ear, and I lean back to meet her eyes.

“Kay, that’s a decision you need to make for yourself. You and I both know there are other cheerleaders here tonight drinking, and I won’t be mad if you do.” I offer a reassuring, not-judgmental-at-all smile. “Hell, I spotted McKenzie playing beer pong in the living room when we first walked in.”

“Okay, yeah,” Kayla finally answers Julia’s question. “I definitely want a drink.”

“I’ll wait here while you guys go,” I reassure them when they both look like they’re afraid to leave their puppy behind. “I’ll be fine.”

“Yes,” a familiar male voice agrees. Blake Boden wraps his arm around my shoulders. “She’ll be fine because I’ll stay here with her.”

Julia and Kayla get lost in the crowd, and I nudge Blake with my elbow. “Pretty sure I can handle standing by myself for a little bit, Blake. I’m a big girl.”

“I know you can, small fry.” He pats the top of my head playfully. “But you’re my favorite cheerleader buddy, and I always look after my buddies.”

He pulls two bottles of water from his Santa hoodie pocket and hands one to me. “Cheers to sobriety and beating the fuck out of Buffalo when we play them for the Big East Championship game in seven days.”

“Now, that is something worthy of a cheers,” I agree and tap my bottle to his before taking a quick drink. “Who did you come with tonight?”

He shrugs. “Myself.”

“I guess it’s pretty easy finding friends when you’re the school’s star quarterback, huh?” I tease, and he smirks.

“Ace and Finn are supposed to meet me here at some point tonight. Though, you know how Ace is about being fashionably late.”

The sound of Finn’s name still gets under my skin, but thankfully, it only takes a second or two for me to get my bearings again. I’m getting better…I think. It’s still pretty fucking hard when I actually see him. One look into his brown eyes and my body is a swirling tornado of want and need and desire. My stupid, hopeless romantic heart can’t seem to come to terms with the fact that he doesn’t want us.

“Ace wouldn’t be Ace without an entrance.”

Blake laughs. “Last week, he brought his dad’s accountant to our bookkeeping class. Made him sit through the lesson and everything. Our professor didn’t even notice until he started working on Ace’s imaginary books for him.”

“Fucking hell,” I chortle.

Blake nods. “I know. I nearly pissed my pants when he started waxing poetic about the importance of uncooked books. I swear he used the words ‘raw dog’ at least ten times.”

“Yo, Blake!” someone shouts over the din, getting both of our attention. Blake strains to see who it is through the absolute crush of bodies, but I spot Dane almost right away, waving a friendly arm like he hasn’t been an asshat for the entire semester. “Come over here! I want to show you something! And bring Scottie with you!”

Blake looks at me, a question in his eyes, but I let the notion of the end-of-semester party guide me. Maybe this really is the chance to bury all the damn hatchets and start next year on a clean slate.

“I bet he’s going to let us watch him take seventy bajillion shots,” I suggest sarcastically, shrugging in surrender.

“Talk about an honor,” Blake muses with a chuckle as he guides us through the maze of people standing in the center of the house.

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