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Matt scowled back. His tone was amused, though. “Not fun, Kash. Not fun.”
“Going to a game with two guards, not having a full meeting ahead of time with the security staff, is not my idea of fun.”
I leaned into Kash’s side.
He might be tense, but he was going for me, and we’d had a full conversation the night before about whether we should notify campus security or not. Somehow it was decided to go and try not to draw much attention to us. I didn’t know if it would work, but we were going to try. Skating under the radar was the plan.
Matt, on the other hand, had no idea how to not draw attention to himself. The pom-poms were a prime example. Melissa climbed in and took the seat next to Matt. She glanced to me. “Liam was going to save us seats by him and his friends.”
“I thought his friends were on the team.”
Melissa had never had Kash speak to her, and it was noticeable. Her eyes got big, and she froze a second. “I know. But…” She seemed to lose her train of thought. “Oh. No. He does, but he’s friends with other guys, too. He was big into sports before his injury, so most of his friends are on the basketball team.”
Kash cursed. “We can’t sit by them.”
Matt frowned at him. “Why not? You look like an athlete. I have a ‘trim figure’ myself. And Scott and Fitz are tall. They’ll blend. Especially with basketball guys.”
“Athletes draw attention. That’s what we don’t want to do.”
“I think it’s perfect. Jocks usually hang in large groups, so when people are looking, they’ll be looking at the players they already know. They’ll skip over faces they don’t know, and your face is half hidden with that hat. With how she’s dressed, Bailey looks like all the other college girls that’ll be hanging around the jocks. Her hair is hidden, so it’s just her face they’d recognize her off of, and I’ll make friends. People will think I’m just another jock that doesn’t start. It’ll be great.”
“I still don’t like it.”
Matt’s eyes flicked upward. “What a shock. We’re still doing it and you know it. Deal with it.”
Kash grunted. I didn’t think he’d get over it, but Matt was right. We were still going to do it.
But he needed to cool down and not be so uptight, because people noticed him, and they’d definitely see his intensity. Like, now Melissa was firmly captivated with him, and I doubted she was aware of it. Her eyes kept returning to him, staying, and her face would get red before she jerked her gaze away. As we drove to the football stadium, it happened over and over again.
When we parked, Matt got out and glared at Fitz.
Fitz just lowered his head and grinned.
Scott laughed, clapping a hand on Matt’s shoulder. “We’re normal students. That means parking and hauling ass to the stadium, just like everyone else.”
“You couldn’t have dropped us off at the front and let us walk in? Lots of people are doing that, too.”
Scott and Fitz both shared a grin with Kash.
“It was my call. We’re walking. Deal with it.”
Matt just growled, “Asshole.”
“Privileged schmuck,” Kash shot back, his eyes sparking.
He was enjoying this. So was Matt. The two walked beside each other, sharing jabs. They were almost in their own world.
Melissa fell in step next to me. “Are they always like that?”
I was just as awed as she was.
Kash wasn’t Kash right now. Or at least, he wasn’t the guy who was worried his grandfather was going to swoop in and try to kill us. This was Kash how he must’ve been while growing up with Matt and the rest of the family.
He was more carefree.
Matt’s hand reached out to punch Kash in the shoulder. Kash twisted, and caught him by his wrist. Matt said something. Kash returned with words, and my brother’s head tipped back. A full laugh came from him, and Kash’s head ducked, but we caught the side profile for a second. He was lightly grinning, and that vision swept through me. A rush of warmth flooded me.
I’d never seen this. Not once.
I salivated for more.
Fitz leaned in, saying quietly, “Yes.” He glanced at me, and I knew he was responding for me. “This is their ‘brother’ dynamic.”
Matt exploded with an “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Kash’s head bent down, but we all heard him throw back, “Deal with it, Matthew. Fucking deal with it.”
“Oh my God! Let it go!” But Matt was laughing.
He threw an arm around Kash’s shoulder before Kash shoved him off, a soft punch to Matt’s chest as he did. More laughter from Matt, and I could visibly see the stress melt from Kash’s shoulders. They grew less rigid, looser.
I glanced back to Fitz. “Does Matt know how to not draw attention to himself?”
