Page 53 of Hard Hitter

I rolled my eyes. Ridgegate University had asked me to leave voluntarily. It was all very polite.

“How lucky she gets her choice of her brother’s friends. Have you seen the size of Noah’s hands?”

Leather skirt girl snuck a glance at me, and I raised a brow when our gazes met. Her attention flew back to her friends, and I tried not to feel a petty sense of joy for the quick retreat.

“Shh. She can hear you, Lauren.”

Yeah, Lauren, don’t want to spread vicious rumors if the subject can hear you. I didn’t hate the idea of them fearing me, but a year ago, those girls might have been me and my friends. Petty as fuck, jealous for the wrong reasons, craving attention from the wrong guys.

I frowned as Mac cleared his throat, quieting the room. He thanked everyone for turning out to hear Alex’s hand-picked singers, and my mind wandered. Didn’t Lauren and her friends realize they couldalsohave a shot at the guys in my booth if they simply came over and said hi without any ulterior motives?

Riley came up for air long enough to cheer with everyone else when Mac introduced the first singer. Shaw couldn’t take his eyes off his girlfriend, so maybe their chances with him were unlikely. I glanced at Noah, surprised to find him watching me.

“What?” I asked.

“Why don’t you wear your glasses anymore?”

I shifted to face Noah, giving the mean girls my back, and wrinkled my nose. “Contacts are a lot easier. Especially the ones I have. They last a month, so I barely have to think about it. You know how much I like easy things. Why?”

He gripped the back of my neck and leaned in to whisper. “I kind of miss the glasses. They gave you a bad librarian vibe that drove me crazy. Made me want to bend you over my knee.”

My cheeks warmed, and I was glad none of our boothmates were looking our way. Spanking had never appealed to me, but I was willing to try just about anything with Noah.

“Should’ve realized you had a dirty side hidden under all that quiet muscle,” I murmured.

He smiled slowly as I ran my hand up his arm, over the dips and ridges, until I could hook my wrist over his shoulder. I loved Mac, but I was going to have a hell of a time waiting for theafterNoah had promised.

From across the booth, Blue cleared her throat. “Am I wearing the wrong clothes for this type of thing?”

I shared a confused look with Noah, then shrugged. “I don’t think there’s a dress code or anything. You look different than normal, but nice.”

She grimaced at my answer and slid lower in the booth. “I knew it,” she muttered, almost too quiet for me to hear over the sounds of an Adele remix.

Earlier, she’d shown up at our apartment in a sexy black dress, her hair curled in a way that hid her rainbow streaks with her glasses nowhere in sight. She’d even traded her beloved All-Stars for a pair of low-heeled booties. Without the riot of color and the thick rims covering her face, her blue-green eyes looked huge. Honestly, she was hot in an unexpected, awkward way.

“Thanks, Mom,” she continued to herself, sounding bitter. In the almost month that I’d known her, she’d never shown any signs of self-consciousness. Something was clearly bothering her, and at some point I’d missed, Eva had left again to flirt with her soccer player. Time to step up.

Somewhat reluctantly, I leaned forward, abandoning my sexy talk with Noah. “What’s going on?”

Her eyes flitted to the side of the stage, where Mac grinned at a group of pretty co-eds in jeans. “I’m not comfortable with… all this.” She gestured at herself, and I tried to keep my face neutral. “My mom said I should try something new.”

“You look hot as fuck, so if that’s your goal, you should be thanking your mom.”

Her lips twisted into a scowl. “Do I look like being hot as fuck is one of my goals?”

Noah grunted behind me, but I suspected he was trying to hide a laugh. I smacked at him with my palm without looking, connecting with solid flesh somewhere in his abdomen.

“If you’re not having fun, I can take you back to the apartment.”

She sighed, losing the air of intensity she’d momentarily adopted. “No, you’re busy with your football arm candy.”

Noah’s laugh couldn’t be disguised this time. I glared at him over my shoulder, but he smiled at my disgruntled expression. No help there.

I returned my attention to Blue just in time to see her lift the menu again as Mac approached our table. I didn’t miss the way his gaze lingered on the expanse of leg visible on her side of the booth, but he quickly moved on, looking around until he spotted Eva across the room.

His easy smile tightened, and he tore his eyes away to focus on me. “Alex wanted me to tell you he changed the tempo of the next song like you suggested. He wants you to let him know what you think.”

My brows shot up at the reminder of a throwaway comment I’d made during my fateful lunch with Noah. The same day we’d met Blue. I’d totally forgotten, but nice to know I made an impression.

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