Page 18 of Weak Side

Her attempt at wounding me made me laugh again. I knew we were attracting attention—something I really wasn’t looking for tonight—but I couldn’t seem to help myself. “Like I said, I’ll wait.” I winked at her, and her nose crinkled at the sight. She huffed as she spun around and walked away, swaying her hips for every guy to salivate over.

The silence broke at the table when every football player laughed out loud. “That was entertaining.”

And it’s about to get even more entertaining.

10

Claire

“Hey,you’re good to clock out, sweetie.”

My shoulders slumped as I pushed away the stray hairs from my half-falling-down bun. I saw Angie peering back at Theo as he sat in the far back booth, hardly visible.

“Are you only letting me off early because you know that Theo is waiting for me?”

She looked as if I had caught her in a lie. She had the whole deer-in-the-headlights look. “Angie!” I hissed. “You’re supposed to be on my side here!”

“I didn’t know there were sides.” She raised an eyebrow.

“If there are sides, I’m on his.” I glared at our cook, Jamison. He wiggled his eyebrows as he flicked his attention to Theo.

What was so appealing about jocks? What wassoappealing about a guy who commanded the room with arrogance and a sly smirk? My mother’s tired face and cursing voice skimmed the outer edges of my brain. ‘Stay away from jocks, Claire. All they do is break hearts. Look at what your father did to us.’That was all I knew of him. He was an athlete of some kind and left us for the sport. Whereabouts? Nada.

I stole a quick look at Theo and knew, deep in the hidden part of my body, why he was appealing.He was like a majestic being. He was tall and muscular without looking like all he did was spend his time in the gym and consume juicy steaks for every meal. He was blessed with high cheekbones and green eyes that sparkled with something wildly inviting. And his smile was nice, too. White, straight teeth. And he showed them often, despite his campus nickname of being called the wolf and obliterating people on the ice.

Maybe if I was a different girl with a different upbringing and future, I could be swept off my feet by a guy like him. But that wasn’t possible being who I was and what I was up against.

“Hedoeshave a game tomorrow. He needs his rest.” Angie was messing with the register as she reminded me of what it was like being an athlete. I understood. I needed my rest before a big performance or audition too. But that didn’t necessarily make me feel bad. It wasn’t like I had asked him to sit over in the corner, watching my every move, until I was off work.

I ran over the rules that Taytum and I implemented last night while I was still fueled by anger over his earlier escapades in our room and noted the faint touch of embarrassment painting my cheeks. Taytum threw herself onto her bed with laughter every time I scribbled one rule after another, totally egging me on. To say she enjoyed herself and my tantrum was putting it mildly.

Theo glanced at his phone and threw out another sigh before moving his attention to me. My pulse stuttered when he caught me staring, and he waved the piece of paper in front of him, as if he were telling me to hurry.

I turned to glance at my tables, which were all empty.Damnit.

“Go,” Angie urged, shooting me a half-smile. “He seems pretty persistent to chat with you about something.”

I growled one last time and put my ordering book down on the counter.Fine.

Walking as slowly as possible—like putting a few more seconds between us was going to make a difference—I finally reached his table. He tipped his sharp jaw in my direction. “Hi, Bryant. Nice of you to finally make your way over here. I don’t need a refill. Thanks for asking, though.”

His glass of water was empty, and his plate didn’t even have a single piece of food left on it, but I was, under no circumstances, being his waitress.

“Sorry.” My apology was sarcastic. “I’m off the clock.” I slid into the booth in front of him, glancing at my phone with only one text from Taytum.No surprise that Chad hadn’t texted me back once today.

I clicked it off as a crumb of disappointment settled in the back of my head and pulled myself to the present as Theo’s large hands unfolded the piece of paper that I scribbled on the night before.

“Couldn't help but notice that you didn’t stay in our room last night.”

I pulled my hair down out of my bun and let my brown hair tumble over my shoulders. Some of the strands were still damp from my shower after practice, and it filled the empty space with the smell of my shampoo. His nostrils flared for a second before he tapped the paper that laid in between us.

“Were you busy working on this?”

I shrugged. “I was just waiting for the smell of sex to leave our room before coming back.”

He barked out a laugh, and I knew it had gained the attention of the group of girls at the bar. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re dramatic, Bryant?”

I wished he would quit using that stupid nickname.

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