Page 161 of Only With You

I’m not exaggerating. I think Gabby told me the arena holds up to twenty thousand people or so.

“A thousand girls, yet you’re the only one he was looking at,” she cheerily says, her smile brimming with amusement.

I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed myself more than I have today. I’ve been to a few football games with my sorority sisters, but even then, I didn’t care for the sport nor did I understand it.

I thought I was going to feel the same way about basketball, but I was wrong. Everyone’s excitement is magnetic. It’s hard not to feel and absorb every ounce of their enthusiasm. Then, there’s watching Landon play.

How he blocks and powers through the other players to make a basket, and let me not get started on how hot he looks. I have to admit, it’s been hard to really focus on the game. We’re winning by ten points and that’s as much as I know. It’s been hard to pay attention when he looks the way he does.

His body glistens with sweat, making his tattoos stand out more than they already do. His damp hair sticking to his forehead and neck, his hard muscles. God, the way they ripple and flex with every movement.

Despite the distraction, I still can’t stop thinking about what Polly and I talked about earlier.

Especially now that we’re at halftime, those thoughts resurface and I hate the sinking feeling that returns.

“Hey.” I grab Polly’s elbow to get her attention since she’s talking to the girl next to her. “I’m going to the restroom. I’ll be back.”

“I’ll go with?—”

“No, it’s okay.” I wave her off. If this were a party or the club, then I’d let her come with me, but we’re in public with hundreds of cameras around us. “I’ll be back quickly.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

I’m off and thankfully, when I reach the restroom, there’s a short line. By the time I’m inside and done, I feel somewhat better again. As I’m reapplying my gloss, I hear someone scoff next to me. I move, thinking maybe I’m in their space, and go to apologize but pause because I think I recognize her

“Sorry,” I say as it quickly dawns on me who she is, Nikki. The girl who was talking bad about me to Landon.

“Mmm,” she sneers.

“Is there a problem?” I tuck my gloss in my purse.

I’m not a confrontational person. I prefer to be at peace than to argue, but after everything that happened with Sienna, I’d rather get all of the issues sorted out.

“Nope,” she curtly replies and stands in front of the mirror next to the one I’m at.

I consider walking away because I don’t owe her anything, but I genuinely have no idea what I did to her and if I don’t ask, it’s going to bother me.

“Obviously something is wrong. I know what you said about me to Landon, and I can’t understand why? We don’t know each other.”

She sardonically laughs and faces me. “This is random, but do you by chance know why Landon calls you Hollywood?Although I’m sure that you do since you guys are suchgreat friends,” she remarks satirically, with a smug smile. “Is it some kind of inside joke between the two of you? Because if a guy referred to me as that, I wouldn’t be friends with him.”

My brows pinch in confusion and at the look on my face, a quiet snarky laugh falls from her mouth.

“Oh…so you don’t know?” she innocently asks. “Sorry, I thought you did. Since you guys seem to be soclose.”

Now that I think of it, I don’t know why he ever called me Hollywood.

“I guess since we’re being open with each other, I think it’s funny you’re trying to pretend like you don’t remember what you did.”

I’m taken aback. “I’m sorry, I don’t?—”

“Don’t act stupid. Two years ago on April first, you covered my car with toilet paper and that stupid silly string shit and then Saran-wrapped it.”

I blanch, staring at her with incredulity. “What? No, that wasn’t—I didn’t do that. I swear. I would never do that. I promise.”

She stares at me with a bored, disbelieving look and goes to walk away, but I stop her.

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