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“Where’s the fun in that?” I ask. “Good competition keeps your energy high.”
“Jagger’s energy is always high.” Cam nudges his friend’s shoulder hard enough that Jagger nearly stumbles off the path, and he retaliates by jumping on Cam’s back and trying to tickle him under the armpit.
“Get off me, Kitcat.” Cam wriggles in a vain effort to dislodge his friend.
“Say uncle.”
“Never,” Cam grunts as he sinks to his knees and tries to throw Jagger over his shoulder, which he can’t do since Jagger is clinging to him like a spider monkey, and it isn’t until Cam manages to roll to his back, using his dead weight to pin Jagger beneath him, that he finally let’s go.
Their exchange leaves me feeling a bit hollow—as close as Xavier and I were, we never really wrestled like brothers—and for a second, I get distracted thinking maybe we weren’t as close as I thought. Not just toward the end, but all along. Liam must sense the change in me, eyeing me curiously as we wait for the others to dust themselves off, but when he arches a brow, I force a smile to my face and start walking.
The party is already in full swing when we arrive, with people spilling out onto the front porch, and music so loud you can feel it reverberate in your chest. A faint tinge of cold sweat lingers in the air from bodies that have been out in the cool air for hours and are now packed together. It’s not as potent as the locker room after a game, but it makes your nose wrinkle all the same.
Just like my first visit, I follow Jagger as he weaves through the partying bodies toward the keg, and as I’m accepting a cup full of beer, a familiar face catches my eye.
“Hey.” Dani smiles cheerfully. “Great game today.”
“Thank you.”
“I haven’t seen you here since that first week. Where’ve you been?”
“I try not to be too social during the season.” The ‘in season’ excuse—or some variation of football first—always worked well in high school if I needed it, so I figure the same will be true here.
“Makes sense. You didn’t tell me you were the star recruit back then. I wouldn’t have let you walk away so easily.”
My mouth bobs up and down, but no words come out. I thought she was different from that. The idea that I read her wrong leaves a sour taste in my mouth, and for some reason I search out Liam—as an escape, I think—but he’s got his head bent close to a guy standing next to the keg a few feet away. Aiden?
“Kidding.” Dani laughs at my horrified expression. “Although, I missed out on weeks of bragging that I knew you. It really would’ve upped my social status, you know.”
Once again, I can do little more than gape at her, and once again she cracks up. “Relax. I’m totally messing with you. It’s not often you meet a star athlete who’s actually humble, so I couldn’t resist poking a little fun. I’ll stop pretending to be a stage five clinger.”
My coiled muscles relax as the breath I’d been nervously holding rushes out, and I take a sip of watery beer to wet my dry mouth. “Oh, good. For a second there I was afraid you had an evil twin or something.”
Dani throws her head back with a throaty laugh, the same kind I’ve seen other girls make when they’re flirting, but with her it feels like it might be genuine. Authentic. “God, having a twin would be so fun! So, how are your classes?”
“Good.” My eyes dart to Liam again—he’s still standing really close to that guy—before they settle on Dani. “Yours?”
“Not bad, although my intro to engineering class is being taught by a TA who seems to just regurgitate what’s in the book instead of actually teaching. If I’d never taken an engineering class before I’d probably be lost, but fortunately most of what we’re doing is a recap.”
“Wilson?” I ask.
“Yes.” Her eyes get wide. “He’s the worst, right?”
“I have him right after morning practice, so I’m already tired, and he’s got one of those voices that just begs you to fall asleep.”
“Well, I have him mid-afternoon in that lull between lunch and dinner when you really need an afternoon pick-me-up, and he doesn’t let you have food or drinks in class.”
“There should be some type of restriction against that. For drinks, anyway.”
Dani laughs, and for some reason despite enjoying our conversation, my eyes drift to Liam again, as if they’re compelled to search him out. To know where he is at all times.
His head is still angled toward Aiden’s, and even though his gaze is cast downward, like he’s more focused on listening than seeing the man next to him, a strange discomfort lodges itself in my chest. I get it’s loud in here, but do they really have to lean so close to talk?
“Something wrong?” Dani leans forward so she can lower her voice.
“Uh, why?”
“You keep looking at the guy over there. The one with the cast.”
