Page 3 of Play It Off

She smiles, jotting down our orders. “Coming right up!”

I watch her bounce away, taking note of the extremely short denim skirt she’s wearing and how it shows off her tanned legs. I am always pale, and anytime I’m in the sun, I burn. Or I get freckles. Lots of them.

I envy her blondness. Her shortness. Her tan skin and easy smile and how I could probably fit her in my pocket.

“Where’s your brother?” Gavin asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“I have no idea. Hopefully not here.” I love Coop, but he will ruin my night by doing Gavin one better and escorting me right out of this place the moment he sees me.

“I don’t think he is. I’ve been here for an hour and haven’t run into him.”

“Any other guys from the team here? Why is no one sitting at this table?”

“Not a lot of us came to Charley’s tonight. We always have two tables reserved. Nico is at the other one.” Gavin inclines his head toward the other side of the bar where another row of booths is lined up, and yep, I spot Nico sitting there with a few other teammates, all of them surrounded by women.

Typical. Nico is popular with women, and with reason. The girls fall at his feet anytime he so much as smiles at them. He’s extraordinarily good looking. Charming. Can talk to a wall if he has to because he will chat up anyone, and within minutes, they feel like he’s their lifelong friend.

My personal opinion? I think Gavin is far better looking. With his light-brown hair and the square chin that I want to bite. That’s probably not a normal urge, wanting to take a chunk out of him. I might have vampire tendencies, but it’s not like I have anyone to talk about it with. I seriously need better friends because I’m afraid Destiny isn’t going to cut it.

Gavin is magnetic. He walks into a room and people are instantly drawn to him, including me. He has this undeniable charisma and a beautiful smile, but he’s also mysterious. Like ... I can’t figure him out. He’s an excellent quarterback. Driven. He’ll talk to people, but it’s always surface level. He doesn’t reveal much personal information, and that just makes me want to know him even more.

“Why aren’t you sitting with the rest of the team?” It’s a valid question. I know Gavin is a bit of a player too. At least, I think he is. He should be, because my God, look at him. He’s six foot four of leanmuscle and broad shoulders and long legs. He can outrun just about anyone, and when he can’t find someone to throw the ball to, he does exactly that. He can definitely outthrow everybody on the team too. According to my brother, he already has NFL prospects. He’ll go pro as long as he remains healthy and does well throughout the rest of his college career.

I have no doubt whatsoever he’ll do that.

He’s even turned into a UC Santa Mira celebrity. When I came here for orientation weekend last month, I saw banners promoting the team hanging from the light posts all over campus. The dolphin mascot in the corner and a photo of Gavin grinning with his uniform on, his hands on his hips. Larger than life and devastatingly handsome.

It’s like he pops up everywhere I go, and I don’t mind. Not at all. At least I have an advantage with my brother being on the team with him and one of his close friends. Not that we’re close, but here I sit with him in a bar, and I can feel other women’s eyes on me. On us. Probably wondering who I am and why I am sitting with their precious Gav.

“I get sick of the hangers-on. It’s nice, sitting here with you.” His smile is small. Almost intimate, and like a lovestruck idiot, I mentally swoon at him saying it’s nice sitting with me. “Who did you come here with?”

“My roommate. We wanted to go out.” I smile at him in return, loving how close we’re sitting. Is he into me?

God, I hope so.

“Where is she?” He glances around, sliding his arm around the back of the booth seat at the same time, and it’s almost like he’s got his arm around my shoulders.

“I don’t know. I kind of lost her.” I feel like a jerk saying that, but I barely know her.

He laughs. “Is this the one you don’t really get along with?”

I’m shocked he’d even know. “Did Coop tell you?”

“He might’ve mentioned it.”

“My brother talks about me with you?” I sit up straighter, my shoulders bumping into his arm, and tingles spread over my skin at the contact.

“Sometimes. He’s glad you’re here.” His gaze finds mine. “He missed having his family around last year.”

“We’re pretty close,” I admit. Only one year separates us, and growing up, Coop and I did everything together, save for football. But I went to every game of his with my parents. I was even a cheerleader in youth league for a few years, literally cheering him on from the sidelines, but I gave that up once we got into high school. Our family lives and breathes football, which means we basically live and breathe Coop—which sounds weird, but it’s true. And it was rough on all of us, not having him in the house last year. We missed him terribly. “He hasn’t changed much, though—with the exception of all the tattoos.”

“Pretty sure he was bored one night and somehow he ended up in a tattoo parlor. That’s how it started.” Gavin chuckles, leaning back against the seat, his legs sprawling out and bumping into mine. “Have you seen his latest? The one with the heart?”

“That saysMomin the middle of it? Our mom is going to kill him. I don’t even know where he gets the money to pay for them all.” The tattoos don’t bother me, but my mother freaks out every time she spots a new one on Coop, which is often, considering he’s gotten a bunch of them since he started here.

“He got an on-campus job and was working at a restaurant for a few months over the summer. That’s how he affords them all.” Gavin shrugs, averting his head so he can stare out at the crowd. “You got any?”

“Got any what?”

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