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“Thanks, Dougie. Let me know next time your wife isn’t on rotation for a home game. I’ll get you tickets.”
“Hell yeah. I’ll hit you up.”
I paused just inside the dim hallway and turned back. “Hey Dougie, where are the cheerleaders hanging out today?”
He gave me a big grin. “I got you, fam. Section D, all the way at the front.”
“Thanks, brother.”
Dougie waved and secured the door behind me. I shoved my hands in my pockets and made my way to section D, where I had to squeeze past a group of teenage girls wearing #playRJ shirts.
The tunnel emptied out into open air seating about fifteen rows back from the field near the TU endzone. Even from my position, I could spot Eva and the other cheerleaders on the sidelines facing the crowd. Her short red and black skirt molded to her hips, and the top was little more than a sports bra with white stripes crisscrossing the TU logo. She had a big black and red bow in her pink-streaked hair, and I suddenly understood Reece’s obsession with cheerleaders.
Eva gave the crowd a wide smile and a wave, then backflipped into the waiting hands of her stunt partner, who tossed her into the air with ease. She spun several times before coming to a stop with her arms in a V above her. I’d seen this move at their practice. She wasn’t looking my direction, but I eased a little farther into the shadows anyway.
From the row to my right, I heard a deep voice shout her full name. “Evangeline, kill it, sweet cheeks!”
I tore my gaze away from Eva to scan the audience, and my brows shot up when I spotted the guy from last night wearing Henry in a baby carrier across his chest. Well, fuck. I didn’t expect him to still be around. Even worse, Eva had trusted him with Henry, and the guy didn’t seem at all bothered to be wearing a duck.
Henry, for her part, looked like she was chittering happily at the girl sitting next to them wearing a Mackenzie jersey. The guy smiled and waved, drawing my attention back to Eva, who blew him a kiss.
Fury hit me, fast and hard. She didn’t date? There was sure as hell something more than her dad’s meddling happening here. Jealousy crept under the anger. Eva smiled at him with her whole heart. The real Eva, who’d only shown up in glimpses when she thought no one was watching.
The same feeling washed over me as when I snuck into her cheer practice. What was I doing here? Fighting for a girl who wanted to hate me?
I knew—Iknew—Eva wanted more in her life than what she allowed herself. Maybe all our animosity was because we recognized what was inside the other person. The pain, the emptiness, the loss. She gave herself completely to the people she loved, but she refused to let them do the same for her.
My gaze stayed trained on her as she clapped and waved, cheering for her friends on the field. If the guy in the stands made her happy, I wasn’t going to get in the way, no matter how much I wanted to be the one. Pain zipped through my chest at the thought of backing off, and I rubbed the phantom ache.
I should never have offered that deal. At the very least, I should have let her pay her way instead of coming up with arbitrary rules and stipulations to keep her close to me.
My thoughts were so loud, I didn’t notice Eva’s date make his way to the tunnel until he’d almost reached me. I would have turned and left immediately if he didn’t give me a nod.
“Hey man, you’re Gavin, right? Eva’s roommate? I’m Stephen, her back home bestie. Nice to finally meet you.” He held out his hand, and I shook it.
Relief flashed through me. Not a date. I had to laugh at Eva’s maneuvering. No way in hell was I backing off now. She was going to pay for letting me think I was competing with her friend, and I was going to enjoy every second of it.
His eyes gleamed with amusement as if he could read my mind. “Sorry for stealing her away last night. Great game, by the way. That goal in the first period was hot.” He fanned himself, and Henry quacked in outrage at the sudden movement. “I wanted to ask… is the center on your line into dudes by any chance?”
The last vestige of my jealousy disappeared as I seriously considered his question. Reece was definitely into girls, but I genuinely didn’t know if he wasonlyinto girls. His life philosophy was he’d try anything once, so I wasn’t about to cock block him if he might be interested.
“You’ll have to ask him, but he’s not looking for a relationship.”
Stephen’s eyes cut to Eva. “Sounds like someone else I know, but we’re going to change her mind, aren’t we?”
A smile crept over my lips at the vote of confidence. “Yes, we are.”
Eva’s partner threw her into the air again, and she spun around several times until she stopped abruptly facing the crowd. The sheer strength impressed the hell out of me, but Eva’s skill made the stunts look easy.
“How does she not get dizzy with all that spinning?” I mused.
“She spots. Keeps her eyes on one steady point to orient her. She’s good at that.” He raised his brows at me in a clear message.
I cast a speculative look at my sneaky roommate. “I’m messing with her balance, but she doesn’t know I’ll catch her. Every time.”
Stephen clapped me on the back, earning another quack from Henry. “I knew I’d like you. Let’s get a drink and talk about the date you’re taking her on. My suggestion? Ice skating…”
19
