Page 74 of Changing the Play

I scoff. That’s ridiculous. I can handle a night without West. I can. I don’t need to be around him constantly. “Okay, let’s go. Do you wanna clean up first?” I ask, gesturing to Park’s paint-covered face.

“Nah. Ben likes it when I’m covered in paint.” They raise a suggestive eyebrow and smirk at me.

“Gross. But alright. You driving or am I?”

“Depends. Are you drinking?”

I might. I hardly ever let loose and have fun. “Maybe?”

“Let’s just get an Uber.”

I toss my laptop to the side and stand. “Sounds good to me.”

Parker’s already pulling their phone out to order a ride, so I go freshen up some in the bathroom. Using some of Parker’s never-ending supply of hair products, I grab a texturizing spray and spritz it into my hair before running my fingers through the strands, making it look purposely messy. I’m not really dressed for a night out, so I may raid Parker’s closet too. “Parker?”

“Yeah?” they ask, poking their head around the corner.

“Do you have anything I can change into?”

“You thinking about joining the dark side, Darce? Want me to pick you out a real pretty skirt?”

“Not sure that I could pull that off, truthfully.”

Parker laughs, disappearing from the door, and comes back a few minutes later. “The jeans might be a little tight, but they’re big on me.”

“Thanks.” I take the offered clothes and shut the door to the bathroom, stripping down quickly and redressing. Park’s right. The jeans are definitely tight. Not so tight I can’t breathe, but tight enough that the bulge of my dick is visible and they look painted on. The black v-neck shirt they handed me is much the same, clinging to my lightly muscled frame and stretched across my chest. Not my usual style, but eh, it’ll do.

When I step into the living room, Parker gives a low whistle. “Damn, Darce. Maybe we should ditch Ben and West and stay here instead.”

I roll my eyes. “You are an unapologetic horndog, but we both know you and I would never work.”

“Fair,” Parker says, laughing. “But hey, West will definitely be good with it. Our ride’s here.”

I nod, following Parker out the door. My stomach is kind of a mess right now. Not in a bad way. A nervous anticipation type of way. I can’t believe I’m doing this after I said I wouldn’t. After I said that West deserves a night out without me. Hopefully, he’ll be happy to see me.

I slide into the back seat of the Uber after Parker, and a few minutes later, we’re pulling up outside of Tasty’s—a dive bar right off campus. I haven’t been here before, but I know it’s popular. Park and I climb out together and make our way into the bar. My eyes immediately search for West and I smile like an idiot when I find him and a few other guys tucked into a booth in the corner.

Ben sees us first, probably because Parker texted him in the car on the way over and the second his eyes settle on Park, they light up, his lips curving into a love-sick smile. Parker may try to deny all they want, but even if they haven’t caught feelings, Ben certainly has.

Ben nudges West’s side and points in our direction. West’s eyes do the same thing as Ben’s, but unlike Ben, he doesn’t seem content to wait. He jumps up from the booth, meeting me halfway across the floor. He’s smiling. The whole time he’s walking toward me, he’s just… smiling. Like he’s so happy to see me he can’t contain it. I’m so in love with this man. Strong arms wrap around my waist the second I’m in grabbing distance, and West’s laughter washes over me as he picks me up and spins me around. The second my feet touch the ground, he’s dropping his mouth to mine and kissing me like we’re not standing in the middle of a crowded bar.

I can taste the faint hints of alcohol on his tongue as he brushes it along mine and groans into my mouth. “Missed you,” he murmurs, breaking our kiss and cupping my face in his hands.

“Missed you too.”

“Why did you decide to come? Did you get your paper done?”

What a joke. “No,” I say, laughing. “I got a whole seven words typed, but I was miserable and wanted you, so Parker talked me into coming.”

Parker scoffs, scaring me half to death. I forgot they were still standing beside me. “I did nottalk you intocoming. I suggested it and you said yes a split-second later.”

Ugh. They could at least let mepretendto be cool about this. West doesn’t seem bothered either way, since he just wraps me up again in a huge hug. When he releases me, he takes my hand. “Well, let me introduce you to some of the guys.”

My stomach does a nervous flip, but it doesn’t take long to remind myself that West has consistently stood up for me and himself. There’s no way he’d be hanging out with these guys if they were bigoted jerks. He wasn’t really friends with Marcus to begin with, and even though I haven’t mentioned it to West, I’m just now starting to relax when I’m out alone. I don’tthinkMarcus would try anything, especially not now, but who really knows.

He leads me to the table and waves a hand in front of him. “These are the guys. Landon, Devon, and Levi. You know Ben, of course. This is Darcy, my boyfriend.” He gives my hand a little squeeze as my heart tries to pound its way out of my chest.

They all wave, talking over each other to say hey to me. Ben smirks, his eyes snagging on Parker. “Hey, Park.” He pats his thigh, and Parker slips past us into the booth and sits down right on Benson’s lap. Forsomeone who claims they aren’t interested, Parker’s not exactly doing a good job of acting like it.

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