“Girl code?” I tease, packing up my camera. There’s no way I’m leaving that out with the clumsy girl beside me.
“Yes! You know…calling me whenever your hot brother is around.” She shrugs, playing with a strand of her hair.
“‘Hot brother’?” My face twists as I look out to the field where Ryan crouches, looking like a raging pit bull yelling random things to the guys. “Thatbrother? You’re disgusting.” I grimace, repeating Ryan’s earlier words.
Instead of responding to me, Georgia focuses on the field and claps for the guys as they warm up. I smile as she continues spewing nonsense to the field.
We sat on the bench for the entire practice, chatting about upcoming parties and Fall Fest, the three-day carnival styled event at the end of September. It’s been so long since I've just simply talked to someone like this that I feel warm and at home.
Georgia gives me the most shit-eating grin she can muster, her eyes gleaming with mischief and I immediately regret my thoughts of her being my home.
“Damn, Jones’ ass looks great.” the sound of Jace's voice catches me off guard. I turn in my seat and smile at the man, only for my smile to falter as more bodies appear behind him followed by manly laughter.
“Jace…” Blake sighs, stepping from behind the blonde clad in a black compression shirt and gray gym shorts. My mouth salivates as I take in his damp brown waves and the large gym bag on his shoulder.
“His ass does look great,” Alec chirps from beside Blake, shrugging.
“How does mine look?” Charlie asks with a cheeky grin, turning to poke his butt out.
“Still not my type… And relatively flat.” Alec frowns as he readjusts his glasses.
“I’ll take it,” says the blonde, shrugging, then throwing an arm around both Alec and Braxton.
Side-eyeing Georgia, I note the overly eager look on her face as the men approach us. She’s up to something… My stomach churns and I don’t know if it’s from fear or something else.
“What happened to girl code?” I whisper, looking back and forth between the approaching men and her.
“I like this show a lot more.” She shrugs.
And as if my Wednesday couldn't get any weirder, the men’s football team end their practice and trudge over to the sidelines to gather their stuff. A few of them make conversation with the five hockey players beside us but through it all, I can’t shake the feeling of being watched and I am definitelynotgoing to look behind myself.
No, instead I turn to Ry and give him the biggest smile I can muster.
“Ew, don’t look at me like that.”My brother, ladies and gents…
I grit my teeth at him but perk up as Tatum, the Tigers star wide receiver, and Ryan’s hilarious best friend, strides over with a few bottles of water and a large smile.
“Hey, Pretty Girl,” he greets me with warmth, passing a water bottle to me and Georgia.
The nickname had been an ongoing joke between us after Tatum spent the holidays with us freshman year and greeted me rather unconventionally.
“Hi, Tate.” I laugh quietly as he side-hugs me, lingering just a bit before turning to the small group of large hockey players behind us giving them that weird manly greeting that guys did.
Tatum and I are good friends and there's no denying that he's handsome. He reminds me of a walking Vogue ad with his model-like features and a muscular build. However, I wouldn’t say that Tatum is my type considering his closeness with Ryan. Anyone that was that close to my brother had obvious psychological issues.
Just as I think that Tatum will sit beside me, another larger figure plops down instead. The familiar scents of cedar wood and vanilla are intoxicating as the man I know all too well laughs from beside me at whatever Alec had said.
“Hey, Princess,” Blake smirks, sending thrills down my spine as his eyes lock with mine.
My body tightens at his husky tone, and I fight myself to ignore him, trying to scoot away. But Georgia “girl-code” Adams has other plans as she slides in closer to me, essentially caging me between her and Blake. He grins cockily as I roll my eyes.
“Creeper.” I sigh as a greeting; this only makes his smile grow wider.
He looks as if he's about to say something but immediately his features sour as both Tatum and Ryan speak at the same time.
“Are you coming tonight?” the two men ask in unison. Ryan’s tone more clipped than Tatum’s hopeful one as the boys look down at me on the bench.
I can feel Blake stiffen from beside me and feel his eyes on me, and though he’s facing forward, feigning indifference, I know he’s listening closely.
