Page 86 of Saving the Halfback

Nolan and I got out at the same time, and he took my hand. I paused and smiled at him as he stepped closer to me. “Just platonic?” I asked, leaning my back against the truck.

“Have you been to a football party before?” he asked.

I shook my head no.

“Don’t drink out of any open cups, unless you pour it yourself.”

I smiled. “I know. Also, I won't take a drink from anyone or leave my drink unattended. They preach this in health class.”

He reached up, running the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth.

“Sometimes those kisses don’t feel very platonic.”

Nolan winced. “I’ll stop.”

“No.” I reached up and mussed his hair. “I’ve come to learn that Nolan is just an affectionate guy.”

“If I go too far, you’ll let me know?”

“Yes.” I threaded my fingers through his, and we walked toward the house. Ethan was standing at the front of the truck with his back to us, almost like he’d been blocking others from seeing us. When we started walking, he quietly followed.

“I get you two aren’t officially dating,” Ethan said. “And I know there’s a no-comp pact between Lachlan and you.”

“No comp?” I asked.

Nolan blushed. “No competition. Sorry. We didn’t want to force you into anything or want to make you choose between us.”

I let go of his hand and frowned. It had been so long since I’d seen Ed last, I’d nearly forgotten about him.

Nolan glared at Ethan. “I’m not insinuating you would take it further with either of us. We just didn’t want it to turn into a competition that had us pushing to see who was… shit.”

“First?”

“Yeah.” Nolan at least had the decency to look guilty. There was a lot wrong with it. For one, Lachlan was my best friend since childhood. Shouldn’t he feel like a brother to me? Only, he didn’t. The feelings I had for Lachlan were far from sisterly.

There was nothing either of them currently did that I didn’t want. They were okay with that, and so was I.

“I’m just saying,” Ethan spoke to Nolan. “I get you and Lach are good, but kids from our school like to spin stories. Maybe it’s best to keep the PDA to a minimum.”

I sighed, he was right. If they found out I was friendly with more than one guy, that would just add fuel to the fire. “The notes are easy enough to ignore.”

“I hear people talk in the hallways, B. I know you hear them too.”

“At least it’s not the team,” I whispered. It was my mantra of the day. It wasn’t what the team thought of me, so it didn’t matter. “Maybe after this game and seeing me play, the notes will stop. Maybe it was just a tactic to make me mess up.”

“You were pretty badass.” Nolan grinned. “I was watching the replays my father recorded.”

I smiled and messed up his hair one more time for good measure. “Okay, no PDA.” I nodded at Ethan.

The front door was wide open, and the moment we stepped through it, our names were being called out, followed by cheers. Music was blasting from the other room, a thumping, heavy beat. Chase’s house was huge and the rooms expansive, howeverit was packed full. Ethan was right; I didn’t think half the people here were from our school, but they seemed friendly enough.

Straight ahead in the foyer was the grand staircase leading upstairs, with a balcony looking below. Chase stood at the balcony, red Solo cup in one hand and Hadley under his other arm, clinging to his chest. “Fuck me!” Chase laughed out, his voice carrying down. “Ethan Henry. I never thought you’d step foot in here again.”

I looked back at Ethan, who was completely stoic, not even giving a single glance up at Chase. Some players came forward, smacking hands with Nolan. Sam and Desmond, both on the team, stepped up to us, holding blindfolds. “I thought you guys didn’t do hazing.” Nolan stood in front of me, and suddenly, I could feel the heat from Ethan’s chest behind me, as if he stepped closer.

“Come on, Reeves, it’s just a little fun,” Chase yelled. “Nothing big enough to be considered hazing. The other new recruits are waiting for you.”

Nolan sighed and stepped forward to allow Sam to wrap the blindfold around him. Large hands were placed on my shoulders, and I quickly glanced up to reassure myself it was Ethan—he anchored me in front of him.

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