He hums with a nod.

  “Could have been worse, I guess,” I add, keeping a light mood.

  “Where is your mom now?” he asks.

  Her face flashes in my memory, but only for a second. “She died a few years ago.”

  So much for that light mood.

  Junior’s face falls. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  “No, it’s okay,” I say. “Honestly, I didn’t really know her that well. I’ve kind of looked after myself my whole life, mostly.”

  He stares at me for a moment, clearly dying to ask more questions, but he keeps it simple. “Do you miss it? New York, I mean?”

  “Yeah.” I nod. “But it was either stay there without the ability to pay for it or come here to live with Dad.”

  “Tough choice.”

  “He promised me it’d be worth it. Not sure why that promise felt more legit than every other one he’s broken, but here I am.” I take another bite to avoid Junior’s inquisitive eyes, licking my lips to get as much of that delicious cheese flavor as I can. “But I kind of like it around here, too.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah, everyone’s so nice in the Midwest.”

  He shakes his head. “They just want in your pants.”

  I laugh, nearly choking on my soda. “Well, I guess that explains it.”

  “I mean… I don’t want to speak for everyone, but…” He scratches his cheek, smiling. “Once word gets out that all it takes to get you to go out on a date is flashing you in a locker room, they probably won’t be so nice anymore.”

  My jaw drops. “Yeah, that and straight-up blackmail.”

  “I did not blackmail you,” he says. I sit back, crossing my arms. “Okay, there might have been a little blackmail.”

  I say nothing.

  “Hey, the age-old trick and coffee, compliments, and condoms didn’t work. I had to improvise,” he says.

  He fires another grin, this one sparking a wave of warmth from my head to my toes.

  I wipe my lips with a napkin, strategically getting my damn smile out of my system before pulling it away.

  “Okay.” Junior nudges his empty plate aside as he stands. “Come on.”

  “Come on?” I ask.

  “Come with me,” he says, grabbing my hand and pulling me along.

  He takes me across the room into the Skee-ball corner and reaches into his pocket for some quarters.

  “You can go first,” he says.

  The coins clink loudly in the machine and it comes to life, rolling nearly a dozen balls down toward the front, all in a line.

  I grab the first one and pause, feeling a sting of self-consciousness as Junior’s eyes stay locked on me. My palms heat and I feel the sweat gathering on the heavy ball before I roll it hard down the aisle. It veers to the left and nets me a mere ten points.

  I wince. “Oops.”

  Junior smiles. “Try again.”

  After a few rolls, I get the hang of it and the feeling of Junior’s eyes on me doesn’t bother me as much. Goose bumps prickle on my neck, lulling me into an even warmer security blanket, but I can’t lose focus now. I have to remember who he is and the driving motivation for why he even brought me out here.

  He wants to fuck me.

  After a few rounds, we have a line of tickets over four times his height.

  “And what exactly does this win me?” I ask him.

  Junior gathers them up. “Let’s go see.”

  We walk across the room to the prize counter, and Frank greets us with his permanent smile.

  “Quite the haul tonight, Junior.”

  He feeds the tickets into a machine. I watch the numbers tick up at a fast pace, feeling Junior’s gaze on me. I pretend like I don’t, though.

  “Looks like…” Frank turns to the prize wall and points toward a line of teddy bears. “One of those.”

  “She’ll take one,” Junior says, looking smug.

  Frank pulls the bear off the wall and hands it to me. “For the lucky lady.”

  I chuckle and squeeze it in my hands. The fur is light brown and incredibly soft, far higher in quality than I would have expected at a place like this. It might just make a decent pillow or cuddle companion. “Thank you,” I say.

  Frank nods and excuses himself to go help another customer nearby.

  “Do you like it?” Junior asks.

  I shrug and hug it against my chest. “It’s not bad, but I bet every girl you bring here leaves with a teddy bear.”

  “Them? No.” He points through the glass countertop at the cheap prizes on display. “They get pencil erasers and friendship bracelets.”

  “Oof!” I chuckle. “Harsh. Something tells me second dates aren’t that common for the great Junior Morgan.”

  “How’d you guess?” he jokes. “Actually, first dates aren’t that common, either.”

  “Why not?”

  He shrugs. “Most girls aren’t worth the trouble.”

  I recognize the obvious line, but I play into it, anyway. “So I’m worth the trouble?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  His eyes go softer as he leans closer, licking his lips and gazing down at me. “I just know.”

  I hold back the scoff.

  Junior squeezes the ear on the teddy bear with playful fingers. “Wanna get out of here?”

  A shiver rolls down my spine. I hesitate as it reaches my core and stays there.

  Yes. Emphatically, yes, I do want to get out of here, but I don’t want to tell him that. I don’t want to tell him that rolling a damn ball down a lane toward plastic holes was the most fun I’ve had in forever, or that just looking into his eyes makes me want to bend over for him.

  He’s a player, and he’s not just playing football. Everything he’s done tonight has been designed for one thing and one thing only.

  I can’t exactly let him get away with it, can I?

  “Sure,” I say, smiling softly. “Let’s get out of here.”

  CHAPTER 9

  JUNIOR

  As I drive Alyssa back to campus, I have trouble keeping my eyes on the road.

  She’s just so… stunning.

  I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the way her blue eyes sparkle beneath the street lamps as they pass over us or how her hair shines like gold if you look at it just right. It could even be the adorable way she clutches that teddy bear — as if it’s the first one she’s ever owned.

  “Can you drop me off at my car?” she asks, breaking the long silence. “I’m parked in E lot. Near the quad.”

  I navigate through the center of campus, avoiding groups of jaywalkers shuffling across the streets. E lot is the largest lot on campus, meaning there will be plenty of witnesses around, which doesn’t bode well for me getting Alyssa into the back seat. But that won’t stop me from trying.

  Perhaps Alyssa Pierce has a bit of a voyeuristic streak in her.

  Fingers crossed.

  Alyssa points out the window ahead. “The blue car,” she says.

  I spot it at the back of the lot, surrounded by nothing but empty spaces. Excellent.

  I park. I turn off the engine, but I keep the internal lights running. When I look toward her, I find her already turned in her seat to face me. Her eyes shine with nervous excitement.

  I feel it, too.

  “This was fun,” Alyssa says. “Thanks, Junior.”

  “Yeah, it was.” I nod. “I’d be up for doing it again sometime, if you are.”

  Her face falls but her lips curl, an obvious yes. “Maybe,” she says instead. As she glances up again, her eyes twitch once toward the back seat.

  She wants it.

  “You know, it’s still early…” I hint. “How about we sit in the back and talk for a while?”

  “Right.” She snorts. “Talk.”

  “Talk.”

  “What do you want to talk about?”

  “You, obviously.”

  “Not you?” she asks.

  “I’m not nearly as interesting.”

  “And I’m not as interesting as you think, either.”

  “Fine, we won’t talk,” I say, taking the risk. “How about we sit in the back and stare at each other until we get bored?”

  Alyssa bites her bottom lip, showing some sweet hesitation. Her dimples. Her pointed chin. Her thick eyelashes and colorful irises. Truthfully, I could stare at her all night and never get bored.

  She’s gorgeous.

  Her voice quivers. “All right,” she says.

  Ladies first. I sit still and watch her go, shifting from her seat into the back, leaving the teddy bear behind. I follow behind her, settling onto the pillows beside her as she gazes around.

  Alyssa chuckles. “Wow.”

  “What?” I ask.

  She bounces on a pillow. She taps the soft floor. “Okay, this is more comfortable than I thought it’d be.”

  “Of course.” I laugh. “The ladies get only the best out of me.”

  “Is that so?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Well, what else you got for me, just Junior?”

  She really fucking wants it.

  “Come here and I’ll show you,” I whisper.

  Alyssa doesn’t move at first. Her gaze gently scans mine for a few moments before she finally shifts closer. She takes a few trembling breaths, her chest rising and falling. She presses her lips together, wetting them.

  I’ve got her.

  She’s mine.

  I reach out with one hand, wondering how she’ll react. I touch her face, softly crawling my fingers up her cheek, burying them behind her ear. She inhales sharply through her mouth, and I tremble at the brief sight of just half an inch of her pink tongue hidden inside.

  I take it slow. As badly as I want to crush our mouths together, I wait. I prolong. I suffer. I brush my lips against the edge of her cheek, tempting her to steal a kiss first.

  They always do.

  Warm breath passes between us. Any second now, she’ll cave. She’ll kiss me. Only then will I kiss her back. Then, she’ll be—

  Her hand touches my hip, firm and forceful. I flinch in surprise, her fingers mere inches away from my groin. Heat bleeds from her, spreading through my thigh like a chemical burn and I— no.

  Don’t kiss her.

  It’s hard. So very hard, but I fight the urge to give in. Alyssa’s playing her own game here, that much is certain. But I’m no amateur.

  And I have home field advantage.

  “You’re so beautiful.”

  A smile twists her mouth. “You say that to all of us, don’t you?” she asks.

  “I mean it.” I really do. “I could get lost in you, Ally.”

  She blinks once, the doubt in her bright eyes shifting slightly in my favor. She’s seen the effect she has on me already. I didn’t get sacked at practice on purpose, for instance. She knows how dangerous she can be. How dangerous we can be together.

  But I get the feeling she doesn’t care about that, either.

  Alyssa kisses me first. Her lips find mine in the dark. I feel them part for mine. I taste her sweet tongue emerging. I pull her closer, unable to hold back any longer. A moan passes over her breath as a deeper kiss takes over both of us.

  God-fucking-dammit.

  It’s better than I thought it’d be.

  It’s so much… more.

  There’s no moment of awkward pause or hesitation. From the first breath, there’s only passion and lust. Her lips, firm yet pliable. Her breath, quick yet deep. Her touch, finding its way closer to my belt.

  I shudder. I smile, unable to help it. I risk everything all over again, reaching beneath her sweater to cup her breast. She sighs, her hand coming to rest on mine, urging me to squeeze harder as she rolls her head back. My lips naturally fall to her neck. My mouth waters, blissfully intoxicated.

  Alyssa shifts even closer to me, sliding her knee up to my side, fitting us together. My erection presses between her warm thighs. She grinds herself against it, and I let out an insatiable groan. I wrap an arm around her, resting my hand along the small of her back to pull her even closer. She quivers and shakes in my arms, her lips never leaving mine for more than a second.

  “Junior.” Her voice, so small. She tugs at my belt. “Do you have a condom?”

  Jackpot.

  “Yeah,” I answer, kissing her even harder.

  Alyssa pushes my jacket back over my shoulders. I let it slide off, tossing it away as she grabs my shirt. She eagerly pulls it over my head to get rid of it, her eyes laser-focusing on my Delta Xi tattoo as she exposes it.

  Hell yeah.

  I move to undress her, but she guides me down and straddles me, holding me down with both strong hands on my bare chest. She towers over me, grinding and leaning down to kiss my neck.

  I sigh, relaxing against the mattress. If Alyssa Pierce wants to dominate me for a while, who am I to resist? She travels down my chest, peeking up at me with those perfect eyes, licking her lips as she tugs at my jeans. Laughter strikes me down as happy visions of her head bobbing fill my head.

  “Damn, girl.” I chuckle, eagerly kicking off my shoes.

  Alyssa pulls my jeans down, sliding them all the way to my ankles, hooking my boxers, too.

  “Close your eyes,” she says, her voice full of lust.

  Aw, she’s shy. That’s all right.

  I close my eyes, completely naked, as she moves over me. Her lips crash down on mine and I cup her ass. She wiggles free, sliding downward. I wait patiently, jonesing for the moment when her warm kisses grace my throbbing—

  The van door slides open. My heart stops.

  “What—”

  Alyssa yanks the blanket out from under me.

  “Wait—!”

  I lunge for her, but she easily slips free and steps outside into the lot… along with the rest of my clothes.

  “What the hell, Ally?”

  “What kind of girl do you think I am?!”

  She lurches backward, baiting me to follow her outside. I stay back in the van instead, struggling to process the situation with all of my blood still throbbing through my dick.

  “I… don’t understand the question,” I say.

  “Did you think I was easy?” she asks, shouting. “That I’d get down on my knees after a little bit of Skee-ball? That I’d suddenly forget how much of a narcissistic, ego-maniacal jackass you are?”

  She takes several steps toward the… very crowded quad.

  “Ally, what are you doing?” I ask.

  “Something I’m honestly surprised no one on has ever done to you before, just Junior.”

  “Give me back my clothes!”

  “Come and get ‘em!”

  “Yeah, no. Whatever. I don’t need them.” I smirk. “I’ll just drive home naked.”

  Alyssa raises her hand… and jingles my keys.

  I spin around, glancing back to confirm that my keys are still in the ignition where I left them.

  They’re gone.

  She took them. When the fuck did she do that? That’s… impressive, if not infuriating.

  “Ally, come back,” I say.

  She pretends to consider it. “Nope.”

  “Alyssa.”

  “Junior.”

  “Ally!” I gesture to the blue sedan beside me. “You’re just going to leave your car here?”

  She twists back around to grin at me. “That’s not my car.” She tosses her hood up. “Goodnight, Junior Morgan.”

  My chest sinks as she leaves me with nothing to cover myself with other than a few crappy pillows.

  Well, shit.

  Alyssa reaches the center of the quad and drops my clothes on the ground, along with the blanket and my car keys. She abandons them, drawing a few odd looks from Northies scattered about on the brightly lit grass.

  I heave a sigh and grab the nearest pillow before stepping outside the van.

  I underestimated Alyssa Pierce. I’ve never been above admitting when I’m wrong. It doesn’t happen often, but I know when to bite that bullet. Tonight is definitely one of those times.

  You got me, Ally.

  The giggles start before I even reach the grass. Fingers point, girls cackle, and guys whistle at me. I throw on my sincerest grin, owning every step of my magnificent failure before bending over to retrieve my things.

  “Lookin’ good, Morgan!”

  “Thanks!” I say.

  I guess that’s it. It was fun while it lasted, and I mean that. Unfortunately, this little date with Alyssa was the most fun I’ve had with a girl in a long time, but in the end, she’s right.

  I am a jackass.

  CHAPTER 10

  JUNIOR

  I park the van in the driveway of my house on the corner of Shanice Street, or Shanty Row, as it’s affectionately known by Chicago North students. It’s not the nicest neighborhood in town, but it has been home to me and Ty since we moved out of the Alpha Delta Xi house. The rent is cheap, the parties are legendary, and no one would look twice at the dejected quarterback licking his wounds from the driver’s seat of a converted sex machine.

  Walk it off, jackass.

  I force myself to get out of the van, putting one foot in front of the other and shaking this feeling out of my gut.

  I feel… wrong.

  Off.

  Twisted in a way I’ve never felt before.

  I think I really liked her.

  Oh, well.

  I fish into my pocket for my house keys, but the door opens wide before I reach it.

  Ty pokes his head out and cocks it to the side. “Welcome home,” he says, his mouth raised with a smirk.

  “Hey,” I mutter, not wanting to say anything more.

  Ty blocks my way inside. “Date over already?”

  I release a grunt as I step forward, an obvious sign for him to get out of my way.

  He doesn’t budge.

  “It’s early,” he says.

  “Yeah.”

  “And you’re alone.”

  I exhale hard. “Yeah.”

  Ty squints. “Wanna talk about it?”

  “Not really.”

  “Then, do you want to talk about this?”

  He holds up his phone, and I stop cold. It’s a video of me strolling through the quad with nothing but a pillow to cover myself with, surrounded by laughter and… other phones. The entire spectacle was most likely caught by every angle possible.