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I didn’t give a fuck.
Inside, the party edged closer to what I’d expected. Loud music, plenty of liquor, and a packed dance floor in the middle of the living room. Either the older alumni had left, or they were busy reliving their youths among the jumble of drunk frat guys.
Reece rubbed his hands together and scanned the room, while Mase took up position on the wall next to the door. A group of girls slowed as they passed by, smiling at us. Reece smiled back, but I swear Mase growled at them.
“Do you see Eva?” I asked them.
Reece popped one shoulder up. “No, but to be fair I’m not looking for her either.”
Mase shook his head. “Go find her. I’ll wait here.”
“Good plan.” Reece slapped my back and wandered into the crowd.
I didn’t mind. If I needed backup, he’d be there, like always.
Reece, Mase, and I were all several inches taller than most of the people in the room, but I didn’t see a dark red dress or a pink-streaked blonde head anywhere. I pushed through the dancers grinding all over each other and made my way into the second big space with a huge table in the middle of the room. A bar had been set up on a long side table, with the wine glasses, which I now realized were plastic, stacked on one corner.
Eva stood at the other corner with her hip cocked, smiling politely at a guy in a dark blue blazer. He gestured wildly with his cup, clear plastic instead of the classic red, and she had to sidestep his arm. Liquid sloshed over the edge of his cup, and heswayed a little as he overcorrected. Probably drunk. Definitely not a match for Eva.
I did my best impression of Mase and tried to blend into the woodwork. Until the guy’s hand curled around Eva’s hip. I couldn’t tell if he was trying to pull her closer or just grab her ass at an awkward angle, but it didn’t matter—I was already moving.
Eva stepped out of his reach, smoothly shifting his hand to the back of a chair next to them, then frowned as she noticed me. “Gavin?”
Her date swung around, swayed again, and tried to throw an arm around Eva’s waist. I stepped between them, and he got an armload of me instead. With a start, he backed up, running into the table.
“Sorry,” he mumbled to the furniture.
I shook my head. What had her dad been thinking? This idiot was probably the son of a frat brother or something. Eva sidled up next to me with a quiet sigh. I knew how hard today was for her, and she’d been dealing with this guy for most of the evening. My patience for him quickly depleted as I caught him checking out her cleavage. Time to close things out.
I met her gaze and nodded at her date. “You going to politely thank him for a nice evening?”
Her eyes threatened retribution, but she smiled at him. “It was nice meeting you, Shawn.”
His brows dropped. “I thought we could go?—”
Eva’s smile turned lethal. “No, and you might want to rethink treating your date like a Tinder hookup the next time it’s set up by her father.”
He looked like he was going to argue, but even drunk, he seemed to think better of it when I stepped in front of her.
As expected, Reece showed up exactly when I needed him, clapping an arm around Shawn’s shoulders. “Why don’t we take a walk, yeah?”
The guy squinted up at him. “Do I know you?”
Reece showed his teeth in a sharp smile. “Doesn’t everyone? Star center for Wildcat hockey? Stud on and off the ice?”
When the guy just stared at him blankly, Reece patted his chest. “Don’t worry. We have plenty of time to get to know each other.”
As he forcibly walked Shawn away, he raised a brow at me, asking if I needed him for anything else. I shook my head. We probably wouldn’t see him again until dawn. I didn’t care as long as he showed up on time for morning skate. Now that we’d cleared the way, I had a point to prove with my beautiful, stubborn roommate.
I leaned down to Eva. “I thought you were looking for a Tinder hookup.”
“Not at the behest of my father.” She squared up and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t need you getting rid of my dates for me.”
“Don’t worry. Reece will make sure he sleeps it off somewhere safe.”
“And what am I supposed to do when he reports back to my dad that some hulking hockey player interrupted our date?”
“He’s so trashed he won’t remember what happened. You can make up whatever story you like.” I didn’t bother trying to hide the bite in my tone.
