Page 16 of Ice Bet

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My mood lifted after Theo and I entered the party. I didn’t envy the football players for having their own house, but I was thankful for the parties they threw. My shared apartment, even if Ford continued to couch surf and use up all my toothpaste, was perfect. Well, it was until a mouthy blue-eyed pain in my ass moved across the hall.

Nearly everyone was half-tanked when we arrived. Rush walked down the stairs with a girl following him that had clearlybeenfucked minutes before with the way her hair was tangled. He exchanged some words with Theo as I scanned the party for any Westin players. Admittedly, I was still tangled up over what had happened outside of the locker room.

“Beers on the house for you guys.” Rush nudged my shoulder. “Oh, and I banned Westin players, bro. I heard about the fight. This is a chill environment. No fighting here. Our team can’t afford it, and neither can yours.”

“Solid.” I nodded, throwing up a fist.

Bexley U’s football team was number one in their division, like us. Although football at Bexley U had gained admirers for years, they still continued to pull in fans from all over the United States. Rush was a pretty decent guy too—especially for a quarterback.

“Problem solved,” Theo muttered, giving me a side look as he caught a beer from Emory.

I was next, catching a cold can in my hand and popping the tab as I dragged my eyes through the crowd. I adjusted my backward hat and licked the foam spilling out from the top.

Theo hated the attention we were getting.

But I didn’t mind it.

I grinned at a few puck bunnies as we continued walking through the party. Theo kept his gaze straight, not wanting to feed into the frenzy of hot admirers and back pats from some of the football players.

He leaned in, and I turned to listen. “You got a hard-on for Coach’s daughter or something?”

I paused, feeling like I was just caught with my hand in the cookie jar. Anger quickly rushed to the surface and replaced the feeling of guilt. “What? No.” It was true. I didn’t have a hard-on for Riley. Finding her attractive wasn’t a crime. In fact, I kind of detested her. Theo was unaware of Coach’s demand that I watch out for her, because knowing Theo, he’d swoop in and try to help, and he had enough going on with his new roommate situation. Not to mention, if he caught wind of the bet, he’d go ballistic. It would create a wedge between the captain and the entire team, and that was the last thing we needed.

“Good, because that would be a hard no.”

Obviously.

The antagonizer in me wanted to poke at my best friend and ask if he had a hard-on for his new roommate, because I saw the way he looked at her the other day at The Bex, but I kept the remark to myself. Instead, I slugged back my beer and headed straight to the beer pong table because I had no desire to be questioned about Riley.

She wasn’t at the party, so there was no need for her to take up any space in my head.

That was how the saying went—out of sight, out of mind.

8

RILEY

“You look nervous.”Sutton blotted her lips on a napkin and threw it into the back seat.

I pulled at my dress and made sure there weren’t any snags in my mesh tights. The last time I wore an outfit like this was when I was a student at Rosewood. I was a different person then, and I distinctly remember feeling confident, but right now, I was uncomfortable.

Sutton turned toward me. “Do you wanna go back to the apartment? Because I’m fine with dipping out.”

“No.” I was quick to answer, and she raised an eyebrow at me. The faint shimmer on her cheek sparkled against the lights on her dash. “I said I’d go.”

“Okay, then.” Her eyelashes curled to meet her eyebrows. “Plus, it’s about time we both stopped being recluses. I’m posting a picture too, because what was it that Taylor said? Something about dressing for revenge?”

I snatched her phone and grinned wickedly. “That needs to be the caption.” I snapped a hot picture, and we laughed like teenage girls as she uploaded it online.

Before we made it all the way into the party, I pulled back on her arm and whispered, “Go find someone your ex would hate, and have some fun. You deserve it.” I shrugged. “Maybe I’ll take another picture, and we can post it too.”

Sutton’s lips split. “Mmm, the best kind of revenge.” Then her smile fell, and she raised an eyebrow. “You should take your own advice. Gray Loretto needs to be put in his place.”

I scoffed. “Maybe. But I’ll never be caught dead with one of my dad’s hockey players.”

“Who said anything about hockey players?” Sutton was staring at a guy I didn’t recognize. He was tall, dark, handsome and had the body of an athlete. When he caught her eye, he did a double take. It took no more than three seconds for him to stop mid-conversation and head directly for her.

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