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West takes the adulation in his stride. “Elias, come on over here and meet Heather and Elle.”
I’m not in the mood for West’s games, so he makes conversation with the girls as I scan the scene, searching for her. “How are you liking Hawthorne so far?” he asks them.
“It’s so much fun.” The redhead is nervous and wholesome-looking. The other one has dark hair and dark eyes. Details I barely notice. It’s like trying to show interest in a couple of dim sparks when all you want to do is stand next to the bonfire that’s burning you from afar with its perfection. Especially when you know she’s real and she’s here, somewhere close by.
Where is she?
“My brothers are really into football and they watch you guys play all the time.” The dark-haired one steps forward and I take a step back before she can get too close to me.
Fuck off, I feel like growling. I’m taken.
“We’re coming to your game tomorrow,” one girl tells us.
“Great,” West replies.
The red-haired girl is staring. “Hi, Gabe.”
“We might see you around,” West tells them, as I make a break from the group and head deeper into the crowd.
My wingmen follow me. Their idea of distracting me with other women has backfired. All it’s done is remind me that no one lives up to the impossible standards Zara Fox has somehow imprinted on my life in the shining thirty seconds I spent in her company.
I’m looking for her in the sea of freshmen.
There she is.
In the distance. She’s still wearing her jean overalls and her white top and I wonder for a second if she’s cold. She must not have had time to go back to her dorm after seeing Coach.
Her hair is down. It spills halfway down her back in golden waves that catch the light of the hanging lanterns.
She’s talking to a group of girls but there are guys closing in on their circle. This is unacceptable to me.
I head straight for her.
And I feel a hand on my arm. “Chief,” Jake practically pleads. “Think about this. She’s extremely off-limits. You know that. Come on, be realistic. You can’t have her. Not now.”
But that’s when she sees me.
Her eyes sort of light up and I can see the colorful greenness of them from here.
And I know in that moment that there’s nothing they can do to stop me.
There’s nothing I can do to stop myself.
She’s without a doubt the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
I’m one hundred percent fucked and I can’t even bring myself to care right now. My need to get closer has become everything about me.
Heading toward her, I barely hear my team’s tactical plan.
I’ll get Isla to take her back to the dorm.
Let’s make this as inconspicuous as possible. We’re a group socializing with their group. Do everything you can to keep this from becoming a spectacle.
She smiles shyly as I get close to her and I am so fucked.
7
The sight of Elias O’Shea is more than mesmerizing. He exudes confidence and charisma, just like he did in the stadium, but it’s worse here and now. We’re at a party. There’s no buffer. I’ll have to talk to him.
