Hustle

Rose twists the top on her energy drink as our door opens.

“One second.” Jess speed walks through our room, directly to the bathroom and closes herself in without a word.

I look to Rose, but she shrugs and downs the tiny bottle, licking her lips as she finishes and jumps right back into conversation, “I don’t know why Tatum is even a consideration. You don’t owe her any loyalty; you weren’t friends with her first. He’s right, as long as he’s not sleeping with her, she’s not you concern. Besides, they’re drama, and they only call so they can find out where TJ and his friends are.” She sits on the bed next to me and bumps my shoulder with hers. “Forget them, we can go back to just us. And you can go back to the girl who walked into this dorm ready for an adventure. Well, wild walks in and you’re tiptoeing. Come on, rally.”

“Next semester,” Jess starts talking before the door is even open all the way from the bathroom, but she points at us as she walks out, “We should change to rooms where we share our bathroom. I can’t stand sharing with the divas next to us. And are the two next to you even human? Do they ever leave their room?”

“They’re just focused,” I defend the two girls I only say a few words to a week.

“I like that idea.” Rose nudges me. “Brook may be able to tolerate all levels of strangeness, but I’d prefer not to have to. Those two are beyond strange, and you should see the one with the long hair flip out if I accidentally move any of her stuff in the bathroom.” She turns to me as I laugh. “Try it, see what happens.”

“I’ll talk to someone. We’ve got to be able to work something out,” Jess says.

I stand and sling my book bag over my shoulder. “Well, I’ll see you both later.”

“At the game, right?” Jess smiles large.

“Yeah, I’ll meet you all there. Camp ends just before it starts so I won’t be able to pre-game.”

“You’ve got his jersey in that bag don’t you?” Rose asks, rising to her feet.

“No.” I shift the strap on my shoulder. My skin tingles and stomach clenches with the memory of his touch last night, but my heart is sore from his dismissal after. “I don’t think I should wear it.”

“Of course you should. Half the school will be wearing his jersey, including me.” Jess points to her chest and freezes. “Unless you don’t want me to. I can completely wear my SEU tee instead.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m making too big a deal of this, I know, but I can’t seem to stop. I don’t know what message I’m trying to send.” I rake my fingers through my hair and let out a frustrated sigh. “He probably won’t see me anyways to know the difference.”

“Of course he will,” Rose interrupts. “He asked you to be in the front row. We’ll save a seat for you. Now stop obsessing. Live in the moment. Take a chance. This is what you wanted. What we both wanted, remember?”

I chew on my lip and nod, stuck in my head. “Ever thought you wanted something, only to realize it wasn’t what you thought it would be?”

Rose’s smile turns a little sad.

“Chinese food,” Jess chirps.

I laugh a little unsure.

“Happens all the time,” she continues. “I go to the mall, think I want that orange chicken, get it, and regret it. Every. Single. Time. But you know what, I still go back for more.” She lifts her hands, confused. “I don’t even know why. I even kind of want some now.”

“Yeah, it’s a little like that.” I’m amazed that made sense, but I can pull Andrew into anything being said. It’s easy to do when he fills every thought, every inch of my skin craves his touch and pulses with the ghost of his fingers, and his smile and eyes are all I see when I close my eyes. I can’t believe I let myself get this bad.

“Then take the jersey.” Jess is in my closet and tosses me my SEU jersey with Andrew’s number, 12.

“Oh and if we’re dressing you up, wear a skirt with it.” Rose winks at me as she opens a drawer; she knows all the details about last night.

“No skirt today, no shorts either, it’s suppose to be a cold. My jeans are fine.” I zip the jersey into my bag.

“Sixty is not that cold.” Both girls are staring me down.

“I’ve got to go.” I leave before they can get on me about anything else.

“Ms. Brook, Ms. Brook,” a child squeals as I walk my group of kids to the bubbles on the tennis courts.

I sweep my gaze towards he yelling. A little boy with a buzz cut waves a tennis racket as he runs in front of my group.

“Did you see Mr. Scott?” The little boys eyes are wide and excited. “He fought a shark.”

I laugh, but my insides twist with the reality and all the knots only tighten as I spot Scott approaching.

“Hello Ms. Brook.” He grabs Dustin’s shoulders with a large smile under his bruised eye. “What’s your group about to do?”

My kids are circling him and asking questions about his eye. Dustin answers for him, “A shark head-butted him. But he speared him.”

Scott kneels down to their level. “I’ve been eating shark soup ever since.”

“Was that before or after you caught the polar bear?” I ask with a laugh as the kids ooh and ahh at his black eye.

“Ms. Brook,” one of my girls looks up with narrowed eyes and a big attitude for a little body, “there are no polar bears around here.”

“Ms. Brook is a little confused.” Scott stands and slips his arm over my shoulders as he addresses the group, “She’s thinking of when I went to the arctic on an expedition to save the seals. That was last summer.”

“Right, how could I forget?” I stiffen under his hold, but keep the smile on my face. “All right, lets go get the bubbles.” I clap and walk off, leading my cheering group away.

I’ve got the jersey on as I make my way down the steps of the student section, all the way to the front rail. It’s crowded with people standing on the landing, and I have to push through people much taller than me to get to where the seats start.

“Sweetness,” a semi familiar voice stretches. “You’re here.”

An arm wraps around my shoulders in the crowd before I spot the speaker. But I smile when I see who it belongs to. “Q? What are you doing in the student section?”

“Keep that down,” his voice is high pitched but low. “I’m practically a student and there’s some that don’t need to know any differently.” He drops his arm with a wiggle of his eyebrow. “Where are you sitting?”

“I’m meeting friends.” I point to the front row, where Rose is waiting with Jess and Angel. “Want to join?”

“That’s all right, have fun. I’ll catch you later. Got some business to take care of.” He sticks his tongue out and side glances at a group of girls.

I walk away with a laugh and scoot down the row.

“I was about to fight some dude to protect this seat,” Angel says as they remove their purse from an empty spot.

“We will protect this house,” Jess chants in a faux deep voice and a giggle.

“Thanks.” I take the seat, watching the field. Teams are out already on the sidelines, the game is about to start, and I scan our team’s bench for one person. I can’t help it.

He’s staring at his phone, helmet off, but otherwise sitting in his full gear. His tattooed arms look cut under the large shoulder pads with the jersey stretched over. As if he felt my stare, he turns his head my way and finds me immediately, not even searching, a direct stare. His teeth show as he smiles, but it’s not a happy look, it’s a satisfied predatory look that makes my world tilt.

He nods his head in greeting, and then Rose is nudging me.

“Look.” She points over the rail to the field directly below us where a cheerleader stands.

“Brooklyn?” Her smile is bright as she yells.

I raise my hand, but the others around me are answering yes and pointing to me.

“Get ready to catch.” She has something balled up in her hand; it comes undone some as she tosses it up.

It’s Angel who makes the grab and snatches it from the air before it can drop on the floor in front of me. “Got it.”

“Holy shit, he really did give you his jersey.” Rose grabs it from Angel and holds it up by the sleeves. “Put it on.”

I’ve forgotten about the cheerleader as I connect with Andrew again. He’s still staring. Standing now in the center of a few other players with his arms crossed. He’s too far away to see clearly, but it’s almost like he winks, and then he turns his attention to those around him, saying something before they walk onto the field.

I’m shaking, vibrating, as I drop the jersey over my head. It’s soft, better material than mine, and much larger. It smells of him though, and I have an overwhelming urge to bury my face into it, but I resist.

“Tie it up.” Jess is turning me as her hands pull on the fabric at my back. “Got to still show off that waist and your tits, you got great tits.” Her own large tits are in my face as she turns me back towards her and looks me over. “There. Perfect.”

“You seem surprised,” Andrew says as we follow his group, including Rose and TJ, to a house party across his street.

“I just didn’t know what to expect.” I glance at him with my hands in my back jean pockets. I’d showered after the game, but changed back into his jersey at his request. Rose and I both still wore their jerseys. We had just arrived at their house, and before we even got out of my car, they were outside, ready to walk to the party across the street.

“You expected me to take you to my room?” His voice dips as he steps so close his side brushes mine. “We can do that instead, if you want.”

I shake my head, cheeks burning. That’s actually what I had thought, what I was kind of hoping for, but I can’t admit that.

“Or maybe, like last night, we can find somewhere private around here.”

“Stop talking,” I groan as I drop my head to my hands, humiliation crushing me.

“Why?” He stops our path to the obvious party house, bass and yells pour from inside and from behind the tall, wooden back yard fence. Gripping my hand in his, he pulls me to face him, but I can’t look up, and my forehead bumps his chest. “I enjoyed it, you enjoyed it. It was fucking sexy. Don’t be shy now.”

“I don’t do stuff like that,” I mumble low.

“I know.” He slides the hair off of my shoulder and then lifts my chin. “That made it even better.”

I try to resist looking at him but fail. When I meet his eyes, every tingle in me bursts, and I shiver as he laughs, a sexy low rumble.

“Fayden, my man.” A man well beyond college age crosses the lawn to us, and I step away from Andrew. “Whatever the hell you want tonight man, it’s on me. Your fourth quarter run brought me in big money. Big fucking money.” He stops in front of us, round stomach jiggling under his too tight polo as he continues, “Anything. However you want to party.”

“Thanks for the offer.” Andrew slips his arm around my waist, pulling me to him as we pass by the man. “It was a good win.”

“What was that?” I question low, staying in his hold as we walk up the porch steps.

He glances down at me with a twist of his lips, and his eyes glow under the brim of his hat. “Nothing. People bet on the games all the time. Some win, some don’t. Can’t let it affect me or the way I play.”

“That’s crazy.” I look around the packed living room as we enter the house. A wall of windows give view of the even more crowded back yard lit bright with floodlights. Slip and slides and table games are set up. “And kind of scary.”

“It was in high school.” He laughs when I turn to face him, and he squeezes my waist in his large grip. “I’ll admit to being a little freaked the first time someone said they had a thousand riding on me winning the game, and I was only sixteen.” He dips down to me, and I can’t tell if he’s teasing or not as his hot lips hit my ear. “I learned to play under pressure.”

I flex my fingers on his shirt, pressing into his taut stomach underneath. The pressure around me intensifies till there’s no air to breathe. The crowd disappears in the spinning of his attention.

“Sounds intense for high school.” I want to inhale him and push him away at the same time.

“You have no idea.” He leaves a lingering kiss on my neck and steps away, pulling me by the hand to the kitchen. “Football was taken very seriously at the school I transferred to my junior year.” He shrugs as he selects a vodka bottle on the counter and grabs a cup. “But that’s what I was there for. Do you want some?”

“Yeah.” I want to loosen up, he already has me strung too tight with a few touches, a few words. “Is there soda or something to mix it with?”

“Hey.” Rose jumps to my side. “You’ll never believe what they have out back. It’s like flip cup but with a slip and slide.”

“How about you go back out there then?” Kyle snaps from the other side of the kitchen island and then takes a swig of his cup, glaring at Rose.

“I’m about to.” She rolls her eyes at Kyle’s attitude and looks at me with a fake grin. “Some people are douches.”

“Let’s go check it out.” I nod to her, ignoring Kyle. But I look back to Andrew before I walk away.

“Go with her. I’ll meet you soon.” He hands me a drink and then turns back to Kyle. “You did better knowing the plays this week. Did you try to…”

Their conversation trails off as I follow rose outside.

I step inside the house, buzzing from alcohol and the night. It’s only been a few hours, and Andrew and I haven’t spent a lot of time together, but we’ve had a few moments. Moments where his hands are on me and he gives me his full attention, like I’m all that matters, but it’s always cut short by someone or something pulling him away.

I search the living room for him now, but a distressed Rose pulls me to the side.

“I didn’t do it, I promise.” She’s gripping my hand and the panic in her voice makes my heart nosedive. “TJ thinks I did, but I didn’t.”

“What? I’m sure if you explain whatever it is… “ My skin prickles as I attempt to reassure her with a grip of her hand.

“He thinks I invited them. I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“Invited who?”

“Tatum and them. He’s mad because Andrew’s mad they showed up. But I didn’t tell them this time. I promise. You believe me, right?”

“Yeah.” I look past her now, but don’t see any signs of them. I don’t see Andrew either. “It’s a big party, anyone can show up.”

“Good. I’m glad you at least understand.” She hugs me in a brief, tight, squeeze. “I’m sorry, girl. I got to go find TJ though, he stormed off.”

“Where to? Did you see Andrew?”

“He went— oh never mind, there he is.” She points across the room to the stairway Andrew’s descending. “TJ went out back.” She squeezes my hand one last time before leaving.

Andrew hasn’t seen me yet, but I watch him, his jaw flexing as he cuts through groups of people on a path to somewhere.

“Again?” A harsh laugh steals my attention. “Wow. Well, if I would’ve seen you sooner, we could have had a high school reunion.”

My stomach rolls, near vomiting, as Brody rises to his feet and steps close. Everything in me tenses, ready for flight.

“Don’t worry, you can tell Scotty boy I didn’t bother you.” He lifts his hands up. “But seriously, if you were here just ten minutes sooner you could have seen Dom and Omar,” his smirk lifts as his voice drops, “and Coach Kelley. How crazy would that have been? I know they’d love to see you.”

The room spins out of control. My head shakes at the horrific thought, not realizing I’m backing away until I bump into someone.

“Sorry.” I turn towards the person who complains at being pushed, only wanting to get past them, to get away from Brody.

“There you are.” Andrew suddenly blocks my path. “Let’s leave.”

I nod and step into the arm he offers, fear skittering down my limbs and through my heart. But he turns us to the back, not the front of the house.

“Oh. Fuck. Me.” Brody’s laugh is obnoxious as he stands in front of us. “Little Shaw hasn’t changed. You going to take down a team, again.”

I pray it goes unnoticed, that Andrew doesn’t recognize my last name in the noise of the room. But he does, or maybe it’s only Brody he notices. Or it could be anything because I don’t look up to see, I just keep trying to pull him away as he stops. To make it worse, he won’t let me go. I’m stuck to his side, in front of Brody.

“What?” Andrew’s voice is icy.

“Nothing man.” Brody steps back, still laughing, but it’s full of nerves.

Andrew’s body inflates, growing as he inhales.

“Drew,” Tatum’s call is more of a demand as she breaks through the crowd.

“I told you, I’m leaving,” he speaks to her, and then he pulls me from the room. “Come on.”

We leave both her and Brody behind.