Even if she was infatuated with my boyfriend.
Jason
“Congratulations.” Felicity rushed over to me as I found her in the lingering crowd.
I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. Adrenaline still pumped through my veins, a firestorm showing no signs of letting up. I either needed a strong drink or to be buried deep inside my girl. But there was a party... a party I’d promised the guys I would make an appearance at.
Fuck.
“I’m so proud of you.”
We’d beat Yale 28-17. We were unstoppable, a relentless storm determined to blow right through every team we came up against. And next on the list was Cornell.
My eyes went over Felicity’s shoulder when I realized we had company. “You must be Elodie,” I said, pulling Felicity into my side. “I’m Jason.”
The girl’s eyes went wide, her mouth hanging open.
“El, we talked about this,” Felicity said as if they were old friends. I’d heard all about Elodie Faltham, daughter of Quaker legend Marcus Faltham, star running back in the late eighties. She was Felicity’s new friend. Although I was beginning to think there was something wrong with her with the way she was gawking.
“H- hi, it’s an honor.” She held out her hand, and I stared at it, frowning. “Oh, right, sorry.” She jammed it into her pocket. “I’m not usually this nervous. It’s just I’m a huge fan.”
“Guess it runs in the family, huh?”
“Yeah.” She gulped. “My dad started me young.”
“I know that feeling,” I grumbled. “Are you ready to party with the team?”
“I...” She rolled her lips together, but I could see she was almost ready to burst with excitement.
“She’s a little excited.”
“The team is going to love having Quaker royalty in the house.”
“Oh no, you can’t tell them, please?” Her whole demeanor changed.
“Sure, yeah, okay.” I glanced at Felicity and she gave me an imperceptible shake of her head.
Just what I needed. A party I didn’t want to go to, a girlfriend who was questioning our relationship at every turn, and a fan who looked like she’d never partied in her life.
Tonight, was going to be a fucking disaster.
The party was already in full swing by the time we arrived. Felicity wanted to run by the apartment and change. She’d let Elodie borrow an outfit and the two of them looked dressed to kill. It didn’t worry me where Felicity was concerned—everyone knew she was off limits. But Elodie was fresh meat and so far out of her comfort zone she may as well have worn a neon sign.
“Oh wow, that’s a lot of people,” she breathed, her eyes wide with wonder as she took in the house.
“Don’t worry,” Felicity squeezed her hand, “we’ll get a couple of drinks inside you and you’ll be fine.”
“I’m sure Griffin or one of the guys will be more than happy to help—”
“Jason.”
“What?” I balked. If Felicity thought I was going to spend the night playing babysitter, she was sorely mistaken. I wanted to show my face, have a couple of beers, and then get the hell out of there.
“We can’t just let the guys loose on her.”
“Relax, I’m joking.” Mostly. But Elodie was already gone, walking into the house as if she was entering a magical wonderland or some shit.
I hooked an arm around Felicity and dragged her into my side. She pressed a hand against my chest, gazing up at me. “Are you okay being here?”