“An apartment party?” Alarm rang on my father’s face. My dad was generally awesome, but the downfall of him coaching at a collegiate level meant he’d seen more than his fair share of bad behavior. Parties that had gotten out of hand, students with alcohol poisoning, and all the other trouble college kids got into.
“Calm down, Coach,” I said. “Not a party. A few band friends.”
Dad’s shoulders relaxed, when they probably shouldn’t have. I’d met plenty of band members who could hang hardcore, but the label “band member” deceptively equaled wholesome to my parents.
My phone buzzed in my hand and I jolted. I was wound tight as a spring, equal parts of being on edge around my parents and my excitement for this evening.
Jay: On the road finally. See you in three hours.
I thumbed out a response telling him to drive safe.
“Who are you texting?” Mom asked. “Jason?”
I swallowed a breath. “Yeah.”
“You should tell him he can join us for dinner next time,” Dad said.
Cooper laughed, and I punched his knee under the table. “I’m not ready for that,” I blurted out. At least that wasn’t a lie.
My dad frowned. “What?”
“I think she means you can be a little intimidating, Bob,” my mom said as if it were obvious.
“I’m not intimidating,” my dad scoffed. “Unless he’s a pussy.”
“Bob,” my mom scolded, her eyes wide.
Cooper and I exchanged an amused look. Dad tried so hard not to use his “football language” around us, but when we came to the Buckeye Bar, where he was around other coaches and he’d had a few beers, it slipped out.
“I’ll make sure he’s on his best behavior,” my mom said, her tone firm as she leveled her gaze at my father.
“What about you?” I joked, although I was mostly serious.
“Oh, I never behave.”
Cooper’s eyes glazed over as our mom leaned her shoulder into our dad’s chest, nudging him. Oh, God. I couldn’t deal with the idea of my parents as sexual beings.
“They’re like this all the time now,” Cooper whispered. “It’s horrifying.”
“Yeah, that sucks.” I grabbed my equipment bag and rose from my seat. “And I’m out. Thanks for dinner.”
“You never answered your father.” My mom’s tone was urgent. “Are you bringing Jason to dinner after the Purdue game?”
There was a hopeful gleam in her eye, and my heart dropped down to my white game-day sneakers. I’d never brought a guy to a postgame family dinner, because on top of her scrutiny, it meant things were serious. She wanted that for me. I’d gone to OSU as my parents had hoped, I got good grades, and I was the cheerleading captain. All that was missing from my picture-perfect life was the picture-perfect Buckeye guy.
“Let me think about it and talk to him.” My voice was uneven. “I gotta go. See you in two weeks.”
“Go, Bucks!” My brother’s enthusiasm was over the top. This was a dig at my relationship with Jay, I was sure.
“Yeah,” I said, determined. “Always.”
-19-
JAY
Kayla’s apartment was on the second floor, and when I stepped into the sad looking hallway that might be classified as a lobby, she appeared at the top of the stairs.
I sucked in a breath. Part of me wanted the cheerleader uniform, but the Michigan loyalty in me was glad she wasn’t wearing it. She had on tight jeans and a loose-fitting top, which hung off a shoulder. I wanted to peel it down some more and see what she had on underneath.
The game today had been tough. I was tired, and the long drive hadn’t helped, but seeing her now gave me a second wind. I bounded up the steps like I hadn’t spent the day running up and down the field.
As I got closer, I stopped two steps from the top. I tossed my overnight bag down on the landing, reached out and yanked her to me.
She made a startled noise of surprise, but gave in to me.
I liked being on the stairs. She was as tall as I was. I slipped my tongue into her mouth and electricity shot through us. I cupped her face in my hands and climbed another step, bringing our bodies closer and putting me over her. She tilted her head up, deepening our kiss and slipped her arms around my waist.
My thoughts slowed, like she was feeding me a drug. I just wanted to stay here, standing one step below her, kissing the hell out of her, damn whoever saw us.
But, besides the privacy, there was a bed in her apartment. A lofted one I wasn’t sure I’d fit on, but I was all for finding out. I took the final step, breaking our kiss, and pressed my forehead to hers.
“Hi,” I said. Her eyes were bright and wild, which was awesome. My kiss had turned her on. Imagine what else I can do to turn you on, Kayla.