Page 1 of Play Maker

1

Something was wrong with me. Not physically—these abs didn’t quit—but something in my brain. I stood in the sun-splashed backyard of a sorority house, surrounded by beautiful women frolicking in bikinis, and I didn’t give a shit.

The summer before my senior year should have been spent honing my skills to a razor-sharp point and enjoying the notoriety that came with a national football championship. Instead, I’d fucked up and gotten involved with my best friend, Eva. Former best friend?

I sighed and grabbed a beer from the cooler on the patio, trying to blend in as I meandered my way across the yard. A snippet of song floated through my head, but it was too faint for me to catch more than the down beat. I let it go in favor of brooding.

She was avoiding me by spending the summer at her family’s beach house, and I was trying to give her the space she clearly needed from all the feelings I’d tossed at her. Stupid, I know. The worst part was that I couldn’t stop wondering what if I’d left things the way they were. What if I hadn’t given in to the itch to change something and jumped at her hookup offer.

Our relationship was one big question mark at the moment, kind of like my plans for the next few months. I usually spent the summer training with the cheerleaders when I wasn’t busy with football stuff or classes, but I didn’t need to be told that Eva’s squad was off-limits now. The gaping hole in my schedule was nothing compared to the Eva-sized chunk missing from the rest of me. She had her ways of coping, and so did I. Except my usual strategy wasn’t working.

I frowned down at my junk—immobile under my lucky pink cargo shorts—and pointed out the abundance of opportunity, but no amount of pep talking got Big Mac to pay attention. Honestly, I didn’t even think he was listening.

Fuck, this summer was going to suck.

“This game makes no sense.” The familiar husky voice stopped me in my tracks.

Eva’s friend, Blue, was somewhere at this low-key backyard party, and I desperately hoped she was alone. Not for any sexy reasons—my dick was officially on hiatus—but because I needed a break from Eva.

From all of them, really.

I’d picked a Chi Omega party specifically because this sorority didn’t pander to athletes. They went for the high-powered business type, which should have guaranteed me obscurity among the crowd.

None of my crew knew I was back at TU, and I wanted to keep it that way for a few more hours. I couldn’t explain the sudden feeling like my life didn’t fit any more, and I didn’t need the sad looks and the pity. Bad enough my mom had gone on and on about how unfortunate it was Eva couldn’t make it home with me.

My family had always been careful not to put pressure on our relationship, but everyone knew Mom had been planning our wedding from the day Eva had gotten suspended in first grade for punching the asshole kid who stole my lunch.

No one knew, but that day was the beginning of my love affair with Wonder Woman. Eva had worn her star-spangled dress and lasso of truth when she defended me. As much as I loved Gal Gadot, my first Wonder Woman was tiny and blonde.

And now, she’s gone.

I took a long pull of my beer, raising the bottle to my mouth as I scanned the people milling around on the grass, enjoying the sunshine. It took me two passes, but I finally spotted Blue in her tortoiseshell glasses, standing with her fists propped on her hips next to a cornhole setup.

My hand stilled with the cool glass pressed against my lips. The sun brought out a pink flush on her bare shoulders, and her black tank top clung to her curves. Curves I hadn’t noticed before, but I was sure as hell noticing now.

Rainbow streaks peeked between strands of her dark hair as she tilted her head to glare at the little beanbags littering the area around the boards. Shorts rode high on her thighs, and my gaze traveled down the long length of her legs to her pink-tipped toes.

Blue was a smokeshow…when had that happened? Every time I saw her, she looked like a different person. Overalls, a slinky dress, yoga pants—she’d worn it all. Usually lurking on the fringes when she showed up. I knew Chloe invited her out a few times after Eva left, but I hadn’t considered Blue having a social life outside our crew.

Today’s outfit fit right in with the sorority, relaxed and uncomplicated. For some reason, the kaleidoscope of Blue drew me. I wanted to peel back her chameleon layers until I found the real person beneath.

Belatedly, I checked the faces around her and relaxed when I didn’t see a tiny blonde cheerleader holding court. If Eva were here, she’d be with Blue and surrounded by her adoring fans. Her absence meant I could have the afternoon to myself if I wanted it.

Suddenly, the idea of being alone in a crowd wasn’t nearly as interesting as finding out what Blue was doing at a sorority party. Preferably somewhere away from the half-drunk co-eds. I chuckled as I finished off my beer. The guys would definitely give me shit if they knew I came to a party and planned to hide from the ladies.

Almost as much as if they realized I still had my shirt on when there was a bright yellow slip and slide stretched across the large backyard. I trained hard, and I liked the effect my efforts had on the female population. No shame in my game.

Two girls wearing almost nothing shrieked as they launched themselves over the slick surface, but my gaze landed back on Blue. Unlike most of the women I knew, Blue had never shown any appreciation for my body. As a matter of fact, I wasn’t sure she’d said more than two words to me in the months since she’d started coming around with Eva.

Another mystery I wanted to solve. Some part of me insisted I was focusing on Blue as a distraction from my splintered insides, but my interest in her was real. It was nice to feel something other than misery and exhaustion.

I bided my time, watching like a creeper until Blue shook her head in disgust and abandoned the game to head for the big house. She slipped through the sliding glass doors, and I took the opportunity offered to me.

The entrance from the patio led to a large white kitchen, empty except for the girl I was suddenly obsessed with digging through the refrigerator and mumbling to herself. She didn’t stop when I pulled the door shut behind me, and I grinned at the frustration in her voice.

I leaned on the island and peeked around the door to see her collecting cheese cubes from a tray. “Do the Chi Omegas know you’re raiding their fancy snacks?”

Blue gave a tiny shriek and slammed the fridge closed hard enough to rattle the glass bottles. Her blue green eyes landed on me—the color of water in paradise, another thing I hadn’t noticed about her—and somehow got bigger.

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