Page 28 of The Game

He easily keeps pace with me, even pulling ahead to hold the door open. The last vestiges of the sun slipped away while we were inside, dropping the temperature by several degrees.

“You know, I don’t think of myself as a vain person, and I like bright colors generally, but somehow I don’t think neon orange is doing it for me.”

Cole laughs, squeezing my elbow through the puffer jacket. “I like it. I’ll always be able to find you, in a club, in class…” He stops for a minute. “At my game on Saturday night?”

My heart was already thrumming in my chest, but it kicks up another notch at the question. He’s a little hesitant, and it’skinda cute. Does he think I’m going to say no? “Well, I can hardly say no, right?”

His dark brows pinch together. “Of course you can say no. You can always say no.”

A gentle breeze slips by, rustling the sparse leaves on the massive tree we’ve stopped under. “I know. I just meant. Wasn’t that the expectation for this whole deal? Show my face at your games?”

He pushes off and resumes our walk around campus, waiting for any calls to come in on the Walk Safe phone he’s got hanging off a utilitarian black belt clip. “Yes, I guess. But if you’re busy, you don’t have to come.”

“Let me check my social calendar.” I laugh, tapping on my phone and pretending to check my calendar. It’s sadly empty, still. Jordan is staying in Chicago with Aspen for the weekend, and my other friends, well, I’m still working on that. I am looking forward to the meetup with my entrepreneur group, but that’s on Sunday. “Clear. I’m all yours.”

Am I imagining the sharp inhale he takes at my words? Not entirely clear.

“Good. That’s good. So I’ll get you a ticket. You can sit in the friends and family area, so at least you’ll know a couple of the girls. And I’ll make sure you get a jersey to wear. That’s the most important part.”

“Sure.” Will it be one of his jerseys? One that he’s worn before with that spicy hint of his cologne clinging to it. That makes me think of what it would be like to wear somethingof his. To have that delicious scent wrapped around me, which makes me think of how close we almost got to kissing.

At least we’re walking again. Following the paved pathways around the beautiful campus. It’s an interesting mix of old red brick with ivy crawling up the walls, and modern buildings with lots of glass. I loved Lakeview from the moment I stepped foot on the campus. A little pain squeezes my heart at the thought of leaving the place behind at the end of the year. Graduation looms over my head with an insistent pressure.

The need to start my career, and hopefully my own business, is a lot. Leaving behind college is like jumping off a cliff, and hoping there will be a soft place to land on the other side, eventually. My family would take me in any time, but I can’t go back there. To the place where I was never my own person. Just one of the Herreras. I want something of my own. To prove that my dreams are just as important as my siblings.

“So…”

“What do you…”

We break the silence at the same time. “You go first.” I’m willing to talk about whatever he wants to, especially if it’s not that thing that’s been weighing heavy on my brain.

He laughs. “I was just going to ask you what you like to do in your spare time? I feel like I should know those things, being your boyfriend and all.”

My shoulders relax. “You definitely should. Well. I love coffee. I know. I know. That sounds unbearably nerdy, but my family used to have a coffee farm in Costa Rica, and mygrandfather used to talk about it all the time. His love of the land. Growing the trees, cultivating new varietals.”

“Coffee grows on trees?”

“Yes. Yes, it does. Where did you think it came from?”

“You know. I’m sorry to tell you. I’ve never really thought about it before. Tell me about it.”

His lack of knowledge doesn’t surprise me, but his interest does. Most people zone out when I get into the intricacies of different species, or washed vs semi washed processing methods. “It’s ok. Not many people think about it on the regular. They just order their coffee and knock it back to get through the day. That’s why I love talking about it. I will warn you, though, that once you get me started, you might end up falling asleep on the bench over there when I don’t stop.” I gesture to the stone bench off to the side of the walkway.

He slides an arm around my shoulder. “You could never put me to sleep. I love the sound of your voice. Not to mention that little spark of light that glints in your eyes when you get excited about something.”

“What are you talking about?” Heat burns a trail up the back of my neck.

He grabs my hand, pulling me to a stop and spinning me around right under the doorway to the library. His hand is a little rough when he slides his fingers under my chin, tilting my head up. I can’t help but meet his gaze, and his lips curve up in a slow smile. “That one. Brings out the little specks of gold around your irises.”

“Oh.” The heat that started in my neck is spreading like a wildfire through my body. Put on the brakes. I pull back out of his grasp. “We should maybe talk about the thing from the other night.”

He releases his hold on my chin, taking a step back to give me my space. “What thing?”

He’s going to make me say it out loud, isn’t he? “The kiss. Almost kiss.” I hastily correct myself in a whisper.

His eyes darken. “Yes, the almost kiss. I didn’t want to bring it up. Wasn’t sure if you’d want to talk about it.”

I blow out an exasperated breath. “We should make rules about that. Should we be actually kissing when we’re only fake dating?”

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