Page 78 of Out of Bounds

"Why not?" Ryan asked.

"Because…" My words trailed and skipped along as I lifted a price tag clipped on with a safety pin. "Fuck me, this dress is nine thousand, eight hun—this is a ten thousand dollar dress. You don't have anyconcerns?"

"Yeah, I do." Ryan stood up. "Do these have shoes?"

"Oh my god,Ryan," I said, suddenly overwhelmed, and shooed him back to the chair.

Sitting back down, there was a noticeable difference between him and I. Ryan looked at ease. Like he belonged in the fitting room of this expensive-ass boutique. Of course he did. His suits were nice as hell. But I didn’t fit in and I knew that.

I softened my voice. "Ryan? We can head to another store."

"This is the one Cleo wanted."

"Yeah but it’s—look, it’s a lot here."

He waited for me to continue like that wasn’t a good enough reason.

A little embarrassed, I gestured back towards the dresses. "It’s one thing to spend the college’s money—they overcharge anyway. But I’m pretty sure robbing this store would set anybody for life, and I’m not sure how comfortable I feel—"

"They're not paying for it."

"They're not?"

"I am."

Convinced I'd heard him incorrectly, I waited for the joke to roll in. But Ryan didn't make jokes and his face was as serious as ever.

"I don’t understand."

"Marrs is one of the few schools where I can earn royalties from my name. And I do. Every jersey that’s sold, I get a percentage. Every shoe signing. Every commercial."

The numbers whirled behind my eyelids. "Are you serious?"

"We need something good for alumni night. They offered an amount but I don’t like working with limitations."

Clearly, the man had been hit too many times with footballs. If anything - that made itworse. I could use and abuse the college’s bank account, but I didn’t want Ryan’s money. There was no way we were buying something from the store. Not while I was unrestrained.

"I’ll walk out of here," I warned him. "At least I won’t get mugged by your groupies."

Ryan shrugged. "You’re trying on a dress."

"And why is that?"

"I thought you wanted the distraction?"

Narrowing my eyes, I knew he got me, hook, line, and sinker. I did want a duplicate of those bracelets, no doubt about that, and I did need him for that. If my friends and I burst into the store by ourselves, they’d probably call the cops on us.

I pressed my lips together. "And…I want to touch the car radio."

This was the part where Ryan would put down his foot. I knew how much he prized his silent car rides. The car rides where he contemplated the mysteries of the universe and how he could get the pass-rushers to improve their sacks to the double-digits. Me touching the radio was not going to happen.

"Done."

I blinked at him. "What?"

"Done. Try on a dress."

"I—uh…" Shit, I didn’t expect it to go like this. But I did want that distraction. "Fine."

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