Cora Carmack - All Lined Up

“Good luck, sister.”

The party is at a house where a few teammates all live together, and as soon as we enter, I can see Stella sizing up the room.

I laugh. “Good luck to you, too.”

Hands on her hips, she scoffs. “Luck has nothing to do with it.”

I follow her lead, and scan the room looking for Carson. I find him almost immediately. He’s sitting on a huge sectional, surrounded by players and cheerleaders, but his eyes are on me. He’s wearing a charcoal gray shirt that hugs his body and makes his eyes stand out. He’s so incredibly sexy, and the hungry look he fixes on me makes my legs feel like Jell-O.

My phone buzzes.

You have no idea how

badly I want to kiss you.

I smile.

About that. I was thinking that

I might tell my dad this week.

I’m glad I kept it tame and only

said kiss.

I roll my eyes.

You know what I mean. About us.

That is . . . if you’re okay with it.

Am I okay touching and kissing

you every time I see you, no matter

where we are? Hell yes.

He might be hard on you. He’s not

always most logical person when it

comes to treating me my age.

I can take it.

Is there somewhere we can be

alone? For just a little bit.

To my surprise, he leans over to Silas and the two talk quietly.

Upstairs. Second room on the left.

I’ll go up first. Give it a minute or

two, and then you follow.

Done, Romeo.

Romeo, huh?

I might have changed my mind

a little about chance romantic

meetings at parties.

Well, here’s to romantic party meeting number two.

I duck into the kitchen to get a drink and to kill some time. Someone must have been feeling especially celebratory, because in addition to the keg, there’s liquor and mixers set up on the bar. I fill up my cup with mostly cranberry juice, and a splash of vodka, while two minutes stretches into an infinity.

I’m counting the seconds in my head when a body leans on the bar next to me, too close.

“You’re Coach Cole’s daughter, right?”

I manage a thin smile. “Yeah.”

The guy is massive, tall and blond and probably closing in on three hundred pounds.

“Jake Carter.” He holds out his hand. “I’m on the defensive line.” I take his hand, and he shakes mine a little too long for my comfort.

“You talked to Levi since everything went down?”

I jerk back. “Um, no. I haven’t. Why would I?”

“I just thought you might since you guys have a history.”

“Yeah.” I roll my eyes. “ Ancient history. I am miles past moved on.”

“McClain, right? You must have a thing for QBs.”

“Excuse me?”

I grab my drink and turn to leave.

“Wait, I’m sorry. That came out wrong.”

I don’t even bother concealing my annoyance. “Yeah. Don’t worry about it.”

“Before you go . . . there’s something you should know.” I raise a brow, remembering why I don’t come to parties like this. “I like your dad a lot. He’s a good coach. I would have told him, but I don’t want to mess with the team dynamics when everything’s going so well.”

“Just spit it out,” I say.

“There’s a bet going around the locker room. Levi started it at the beginning of the year. Silas and a few other guys are in on it. Whoever hooks up with you first wins.”

“Hooks up with me?” Despite all the noise and laughter of the party, the world is oddly silent around me.

“It’s stupid. Levi . . . He was just saying how you . . . well, you weren’t that easy, and it became this thing to joke about who could nail you down. I just . . . I thought you should know. You being here at a football party and all.”

“Who can nail me down, huh?” I laugh and it tastes bitter on my tongue. “Thanks for the tip, Carter.”

I add a little more vodka to my drink before I turn and leave. This isn’t new territory for me. After Levi graduated, I was the frigid bitch who wouldn’t give any guy a chance, especially football players. And the scum at the bottom of the male barrel always seem to think a girl who says no is just a girl who’s a challenge.

I tip my cup up, and swallow steadily as I climb the stairs. I didn’t really mix in that last pour of vodka, and the first few swallows burn. But I keep going, and my cup is half-empty by the time I’m outside the door that Carson mentioned.

He’s pacing when I enter, just the lamp on beside the bed.

He looks gorgeous, and I wince.

I gulp down more of my drink and tell myself that there’s no way Carson is in on that bet. He’s been entirely too sweet and patient and caring.

“Hey.” He folds his arms around me and presses his face into the crook of my neck. “I missed you.”

Maybe he’s too sweet. Is that a thing? Are there actually guys like him that are really this great? Or do they all have some ulterior motive?

I tip my head back to sip more of my drink, and his mouth opens over my pulse. “You taste so fucking good. You drive me crazy.”

“Are we in Silas’s room?” I ask.

He nods before trailing his lips down to my collarbone.

“I know. Not exactly the most romantic place, but we’ll just stay standing and not touch any surface.”

Silas and a few other guys are in on it.

He can’t be. He just . . . He can’t be. He said he didn’t listen to the locker-room talk about me.

He lifts his head up and cups my chin. “Hey. Where are you?”

I finish off the last of my drink and say, “Sorry. I might have poured a little more vodka than I thought into that.”

He presses his forehead against mine and says, “You okay?”

“Yep. A little vodka never hurt anyone.”

He grins. “Famous last words.”

My heart twinges at that grin.

He has nothing to do with the bet. I repeat it in my head until I’m sure I believe it.

And yet . . . I’m so sick of being the frigid freak. So tired of being the kind of girl targeted for shit like this. Maybe it’s time for me to get over the thing with Levi. I’m certainly not the first girl to lose her virginity and regret it.

I just need to let it go.

I put my cup down on a dresser, and wrap my arms around Carson. I move my mouth to his, and he wastes no time dipping his tongue inside. His hands start at my hips, gripping me firmly. They slip up under my jacket, stopping around my rib cage as his lips tease mine.

“It was a stupid idea coming to this party,” he says. “All I want to do is be with you.”

I step back, smiling like I know what I’m doing.

“So be with me.”

“You wanna leave?”

I shake my head and peel off my jacket, tossing it on the floor. Silas’s bed is made, and I take a quick glance at the comforter. “As long as we don’t get under the covers we’re probably safe.”

“You love testing my control, don’t you, Daredevil?”

I think back to the night we met. There’s no way he knew who I was . . . right? But he heard me arguing with Silas. If he and Silas are friends, wouldn’t he have recognized his voice?

I shake my head and force myself back into the present.

“I love it when you call me Daredevil.”

That’s the girl I want to be—the girl who doesn’t give a damn about football or bets or sex. I want to be the girl who takes what she wants. And right now, bet or no bet, truth or lie . . . I want Carson.

And I want to stop being scared that everything will hurt me. I’m stronger than that.