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“Archer.” Her smile looks seconds away from splitting her face in half it’s so big.
“You ladies have a good night.” He pushes open the stairwell door, not bothering to mess with the elevator.
“Yeah, you too.” Her gaze follows him until he disappears behind the door before jumping back to me. “What the actual fuck?” She squeals, almost dropping her pizza as she does a weird little hop. “What the actual fuck?” she repeats.
“It was just a kiss.” I try to downplay what she walked in on. I mean, it was, just a kiss, that is. But damn it if I didn’t want it to be more.
The instant his lips touched mine it’s like the floodgates opened and now I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to close them.
“Just a kiss my ass.” She looks over at Kim, who is a tiny little thing with dark skin, big brown eyes, and fire-red stripes through her otherwise black hair.
“My brother mentioned that Archer was pining after someone. I guess I have my answer to who that is now,” she speaks to Alina directly.
Right. Now I remember where I know her from. She’s Higgins’s little sister, I believe. And a freshman... I eye the case of White Claws in her hand but don’t say anything, knowing Alina likely bought it.
“We’ve been trying to tell her. Hell, Enzo practically did tell her and she wouldn’t hear it. Looks like she’s listening now.” They speak as if I’m not even standing here.
“I’m going to bed.” I turn, scanning my card before pushing my way inside the room.
“I told Kim she could crash with us tonight so she doesn’t have to share a room with her parents.”
“You’re here with your parents?” I ask, plopping down on the edge of the bed to kick off my Converse.
“Well, not exactly. My parents drove in from Washington State, so I met them here. We’re all going to the game together. I assumed they would get me my own room, considering I’m in college and all, but no, they booked a room with two queens and expect me to sleep in the same room as them. It’s bad enough that they force me to choose the same college as my brother so he can keep an eye on me, but to still treat me like I’m fourteen.” She groans, setting the case of alcohol on the dresser. “And since Alina is the only other person I actually know who drove up from campus, I thought I’d see if she’d let me hang with her.”
“Hope it’s cool I said yes,” Alina tacks on.
“Of course it is. I wouldn’t want to sleep in the same room as my parents either,” I say, happy to be talking about anyone other than Archer. “My dad snores like a boat horn blowing over and over again.”
The two girls laugh, but Alina stops abruptly as she catches sight of the red jersey I sat next to me on the bed.
“What is that?” She’s already emptied her hands, so she’s able to easily snatch it off the mattress before I can stop her. “Oh my God.” She holds it up. “He gave you his jersey to wear!” It’s not a question.
“Well, technically it’s not his—”
“It has his number on it and he gave it to you to wear,” she cuts me off.
“I’m sure there are plenty of people who have the same jersey,” I argue. “It’s just a number.”
“Yeah, buthegaveyouthis one personally. Just a number.” She balks. “He wants you to wearhisnumber, Rory.”
“You’re making a big deal out of nothing.” I snatch the jersey from her hand and toss it on top of my bag that’s sitting next to my bed on the floor.
“Given what we just saw and now this... No, I don’t think I am. Wait until I tell Enz about this.” She says the last part more to herself than to me. “After I tell him, he better give me one of his jerseys after I agree to be his official girlfriend. He’s going to tie me down, the least he can do is give me something to show for it.”
“Please don’t tell Enzo about what you saw.” I’m quick to inject. “I don’t know what this is, okay?” I try to reason with her. “I don’t want to get ahead of myself, and I certainly don’t want other people speculating before I’ve had a chance to figure any of this out. Please just keep this to yourselves.” I briefly look at Kim before glancing back at Alina.
“If you ask me not to say anything, you know I won’t. But... if I were you, I’d be screaming that shit from the rooftops.”
“You would. But I’m not you, Alina.”
“I know.” She blows out a slow breath, some of her earlier excitement deflating. “I won’t say anything. But you better give me every freaking detail from the beginning.” She plops down next me, getting comfortable. “And don’t you dare leave a single thing out.”
Attending a collegefootball game is nothing like going to a high school game, not that I expected it to be, but it’s staggering how different it is. In high school, it’s parents, friends, and classmates hanging in the stands, most barely watching the game at all. In college, it’s tens of thousands of strangers all screaming their heads off and cheering for the team they want to win, celebrating the good plays and bitching about the bad ones.
It's an environment I’ve never experienced, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying myself. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun. A beer in my hand, my best friend next to me, screaming like a lunatic. Nearly four hours watching Archer do his thing... The excitement. The atmosphere—it’s intoxicating.
I’ve heard how special he is so many times I lost count long ago, but it’s not something I think can be properly understood until you actually see him in action.
