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She wasn’t wrong. With three broad-shouldered football players taking up most of the space, I was pressed against Noah’s side. Not that I was complaining.
Eva lifted one shoulder and let it drop. “He’s happy at the bar. I was simply offering the opportunity of a fine athletic specimen.”
Mac arrived in time to hear the last part. “Talking about me again, Wildcat?”
She looked him up and down. “I’m not sure you qualify. Maybe if you took your shirt off.”
Challenge filled his gaze, so I jumped in before he started stripping. “Mac, what did you drag us to?”
He spread his arms in welcome. “It’s Sunday Funday! Happens every last Sunday of the month. Boozy brunch and invite only karaoke. Alex and I started it, but he does most of the work.”
“Did you decorate too? It’s like a unicorn exploded in here.”
Mac’s brows drew together as he looked around. “Alex always lets the drama department do what they do, so for all I know, that might be accurate. I just show up where they tell me.”
I took in Mac’s outfit, low-slung dark jeans and a black, long-sleeved dri-fit shirt clinging to the muscles in his arms and chest. The lack of color made him stand out against the rainbow around him, and I’d bet my new earbuds he’d been advised to wear something along those lines.
“You’re singing today, right, Mac?” I asked him.
He grinned at me. “Hell yeah, Baby Asher. Alex and me been working on something special.”
My smile turned brittle at the unwanted nickname, but I was determined not to make a big deal out of it. Noah, on the other hand, had no such qualms. He reached around me to punch Mac in the arm with a scowl.
“Don’t call her that.”
Mac yelped and rubbed his arm. “What? Baby Asher? But it’s one of my best nicknames. Almost as good as RJ.” He jerked his chin at Riley, but she was busy trying to swallow Shaw’s tongue.
The lack of backup didn’t faze him in the least. He shrugged and his gaze landed on me again. “I can come up with something else if it bothers you.”
I opened my mouth, intending to change the subject before the name caught on, but Noah responded before I could.
“It bothersme,” he grumbled. “She’s not a fill-in for D.”
Mac’s brows went up and he laughed. “No shit, man. I’d pick the Clo-ster here any day over her brother.” He winked at me, and despite his egregious overstatement, a warm glow filled my chest.
“I’m going to veto Clo-ster,” I said with a wince.
“Yeah, they’re not all winners. We’ll keep working at it.” He nodded at Alex, who was waving at him from behind the sound booth. “That’s my cue. Gotta go to work.”
Noah pulled me closer and pressed his mouth to my ear. “You could come up with a nickname for me. Give you some variety when you make those breathy little noises.”
I sucked in my cheeks to keep from voicing the naughty thoughts invading my brain. Across from me Eva met my eyes and shook her head. We hadn’t had the chance to discuss the pile of clothes she’d found in the living room, but I hadn’t missed the smiley face on Noah’s suit this morning.
She raised a single brow, promising a full inquisition later. I shifted my gaze to Blue, but she was still silently buried behind the menu. No pressure there. She didn’t know D, or anyone else here really, and I liked the fresh perspective. Once again, I was thankful for Eva’s powers of persuasion.
No one else paid us any attention for once. Either the other patrons were used to seeing the football elite tucked away in the booth, or they were watching Mac stride across the makeshift stage to the mic. Noah took advantage of the relative anonymity and tucked his hand under my loose top to caress my rib cage, rubbing his thumb along the bottom edge of my bra.
I wasn’t self-conscious about my body—my curves were awesome, thank you very much—but a series of giggles from the next table made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. A covert glance showed three girls dressed for a club. Dark makeup, short skirts, stilettos, the works, and all three of them were looking at Noah.
More accurately, they were looking at the spot where Noah’s hand disappeared. I tried to tune them out, but my brain had other ideas despite the level of ambient noise in the room.
“Probably another ball bunny,” one of them said.
“No, I know her. That’s D’s sister.”
My brow furrowed at the quick identification, and I took another look. Yep. The girl in the leather skirt was from my shitty math class. They’d stopped staring to huddle together instead.
“Isn’t she some kind of psycho? I heard she got kicked out of her last school.”
