“I thought his friends were on the team.”

  Melissa had never had Kash speak to her, and it was noticeable. Her eyes got big, and she froze a second. “I know. But…” She seemed to lose her train of thought. “Oh. No. He does, but he’s friends with other guys, too. He was big into sports before his injury, so most of his friends are on the basketball team.”

  Kash cursed. “We can’t sit by them.”

  Matt frowned at him. “Why not? You look like an athlete. I have a ‘trim figure’ myself. And Scott and Fitz are tall. They’ll blend. Especially with basketball guys.”

  “Athletes draw attention. That’s what we don’t want to do.”

  “I think it’s perfect. Jocks usually hang in large groups, so when people are looking, they’ll be looking at the players they already know. They’ll skip over faces they don’t know, and your face is half hidden with that hat. With how she’s dressed, Bailey looks like all the other college girls that’ll be hanging around the jocks. Her hair is hidden, so it’s just her face they’d recognize her off of, and I’ll make friends. People will think I’m just another jock that doesn’t start. It’ll be great.”

  “I still don’t like it.”

  Matt’s eyes flicked upward. “What a shock. We’re still doing it and you know it. Deal with it.”

  Kash grunted. I didn’t think he’d get over it, but Matt was right. We were still going to do it.

  But he needed to cool down and not be so uptight, because people noticed him, and they’d definitely see his intensity. Like, now Melissa was firmly captivated with him, and I doubted she was aware of it. Her eyes kept returning to him, staying, and her face would get red before she jerked her gaze away. As we drove to the football stadium, it happened over and over again.

  When we parked, Matt got out and glared at Fitz.

  Fitz just lowered his head and grinned.

  Scott laughed, clapping a hand on Matt’s shoulder. “We’re normal students. That means parking and hauling ass to the stadium, just like everyone else.”

  “You couldn’t have dropped us off at the front and let us walk in? Lots of people are doing that, too.”

  Scott and Fitz both shared a grin with Kash.

  “It was my call. We’re walking. Deal with it.”

  Matt just growled, “Asshole.”

  “Privileged schmuck,” Kash shot back, his eyes sparking.

  He was enjoying this. So was Matt. The two walked beside each other, sharing jabs. They were almost in their own world.

  Melissa fell in step next to me. “Are they always like that?”

  I was just as awed as she was.

  Kash wasn’t Kash right now. Or at least, he wasn’t the guy who was worried his grandfather was going to swoop in and try to kill us. This was Kash how he must’ve been while growing up with Matt and the rest of the family.

  He was more carefree.

  Matt’s hand reached out to punch Kash in the shoulder. Kash twisted, and caught him by his wrist. Matt said something. Kash returned with words, and my brother’s head tipped back. A full laugh came from him, and Kash’s head ducked, but we caught the side profile for a second. He was lightly grinning, and that vision swept through me. A rush of warmth flooded me.

  I’d never seen this. Not once.

  I salivated for more.

  Fitz leaned in, saying quietly, “Yes.” He glanced at me, and I knew he was responding for me. “This is their ‘brother’ dynamic.”

  Matt exploded with an “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  Kash’s head bent down, but we all heard him throw back, “Deal with it, Matthew. Fucking deal with it.”

  “Oh my God! Let it go!” But Matt was laughing.

  He threw an arm around Kash’s shoulder before Kash shoved him off, a soft punch to Matt’s chest as he did. More laughter from Matt, and I could visibly see the stress melt from Kash’s shoulders. They grew less rigid, looser.

  I glanced back to Fitz. “Does Matt know how to not draw attention to himself?”

  Fitz looked to Scott, who was fighting back his own grin. “He’s never not gotten attention, so … no.”

  “Should I be worried about this?”

  The two shared another look.

  Scott’s grin softened. “You’ll be fine. You know Kash. He has three contingencies in place in case we need a quick getaway.”

  That eased up some of the sudden guilt I was feeling for making them do this. But thinking back, I realized I wasn’t making them do it. I knew Kash would come, but Matt was the one who showed up without being invited. He already knew about the game, and he was the one who announced he was coming.

  I was glad he did. I was thinking this would be a lot more fun with him.

  Other people were walking around us, all going to the football stadium.

  At first I tensed up, but only a few people checked us out. Those people shot to Scott and Fitz behind us, but Kash and Matt were drawing the most attention.

  I saw what Scott said. Matt didn’t know how to not get attention. Even him walking with his head high, his back straight, his pom-poms in the air, he was someone. They just didn’t know who, or couldn’t tell.

  “He looks like a wealthy golden boy fraternity brother.”

  I glanced to Melissa. She’d been watching me, and she nodded to Matt. “Your brother. I can tell you’re worried, but that’s what the people are thinking when they see him. Your man is something else, but he doesn’t want attention, and they’re reading that. He’s keeping his head down so they can’t see him. They’re going off his demeanor, and he’s got a vibe that he’s dark and mysterious, but somehow he’s putting out another vibe that people need to not pay him attention. They aren’t.

  “Your brother, on the other hand, is something else. Fraternity rich kid. That’s what they’re chalking him up to being. And then they think Kash is one too, so they’re getting attention. It’s just not the attention you’re worried they’re getting.” She nodded at them. “Guys like them, they’re going to draw focus from people. Just who they are. Both are manipulating it into something else. Smart.”

  Yes. It was.

  I remembered back to when Kash hugged me this morning, tucked my hair back into my sweatshirt, and said under his breath, “Fresh-faced student. Light. Nice. Eyes will skip over you, thinking you’re another pretty face.”

  I’d been struck then by his words, but it made sense now. He was feeling out what “vibe” I was putting out, and he was right.

  Innocent. Light. That’s the aura Kash wanted me to give out, so with that in mind, I stopped worrying.

  We had a game to enjoy.

  THIRTY-THREE

  Liam was waving us up. He and his friends took up a whole section, spanning five rows. They didn’t fill out the entire row, but Kash was right. Athletes traveled in groups, large groups. Liam was in their third row when he spotted us. The grin faded when he took in Kash, then Matt, then Fitz, and lastly Scott.

  Coming down the steps to meet us, he put his hands in his pockets. “I was expecting Liss, Bailey, and maybe a couple guys.”

  Kash stared at him. “Well—”

  Matt popped his head up, grinning wide. “Deal with it.”

  He and Kash both laughed.

  Melissa began giggling.

  Liam was clueless, his eyebrows raised. He gave me a look. “You know the inside joke?”

  I shook my head. “You don’t want to know.”

  Kash cleared his throat. “If there aren’t any extra seats, we can sit somewhere else.”

  Matt snorted. “That’s code for either he’ll bribe the people for their seats if Bailey wants to stay, or he’ll maneuver us all into a box upstairs.” He hopped up on the same step Liam was standing on, threw his arm around his shoulder, and squeezed Liam to him.

  “We’re here for three reasons,” he said, and stuck a finger out. “One: because Bailey wants to be normal. She’s been missing that phenomenon. Me, I was born amazing, so I don’t know any other way.” He held up a second finger. “Two: football. That says enough,” he continued. Then he put three fingers in the air. “And the last reason: to drive Kashton crazy. He’s tempering it right now. He really wants to throw his weight around, bash some heads, make some threats and move Bailey to safety, but he can’t, because we’re back to number one: Bailey. He’s kinda nuts for her, so he’s already primed. Our first meeting sucked, so I’m reintroducing myself. I’m Matt, Bailey’s smarter brother.”

  Kash’s mouth twitched.

  Liam was slack-jawed. He took Melissa and me in. “He’s for real?”

  Melissa nodded. “He’s been like this the whole ride over. I think this is how he is normally.”

  Matt winked at her. “Just wait till I get some liquor in me. I won’t care if Bailey’s here. You’re going to be hearing some fabulous pickup lines.” His arm still around Liam, he leaned toward Melissa and dropped his tone suggestively. “They’ll be so smooth, you might learn what ‘combustible climax’ means.” He winked. “If you get my drift.”

  Melissa groaned under her breath.

  Liam made a gargling sound.

  Kash stepped forward, his hand to Matt’s chest, and pushed him upward. “Okay. Calm down, brother.” He winked at me over his shoulder. “Let’s find our seats.”

  Whoa.

  Wow.

  That wink … I was the one who just learned what a combustible climax was.

  Melissa sidled close to me. “How do you handle that?”

  I spoke, “In bed. As much as possible.”

  “Your brother?”

  My head jackknifed to hers. “What?”

  “I was talking about your brother.” Her eyebrows pinched together.

  “Oh!” Matt. I waved that off. “You’ll either love Matt or you’re going to hate him. Don’t sleep with him and you’ll enjoy him. But that’s key. Don’t sleep with him.”

  Liam had lingered, overhearing. “Solid advice.”

  “Looks like they found some seats.”

  An entire row was cleared when we got there, and Matt was already making friends with Liam’s friends. A seat was left open on the other side of Matt, and Fitz went behind our row, dropping into that empty seat.

  Matt went first. Kash. Me. Melissa. Scott on Melissa’s side.

  Liam moved around so he was in the row in front of us, right beneath Melissa and me.

  His friends looked nice.

  I didn’t think they were graduate students, just a year younger than Liam.

  They, in turn, were studying Kash and me, but Kash laid an arm around me, pulling me to him.

  As he did this, my front to his side, he moved to my ear and said, “They’ll stop paying attention to us. Matt will distract them in three, two, one—”

  Matt started, “What do you guys lift? What’s the average weight?”

  Kash continued, without pausing, “Now all they’ll know is that their computer friend brought another computer friend, a couple, Matt, and two other guys who don’t seem too friendly. They’ll talk to your brother because he’ll make them, and they’ll ignore the rest of us, except maybe one or two will give Melissa attention, wondering if their boy Liam is interested. If he is, we’ll find out who are the good friends and who are the douchebags.”

  I slid a hand over his stomach, wrapping around his side. “What do you mean?”

  “The ones who respect Liam will be nice to Melissa, but keep their distance. The douchebags will try to hit on her. They’ll either do it at the game or wait till the after-game party.”

  “There’s an after-game party?”

  Kash lifted his head, cupping my face, and smiled down at me. His thumb traced my top lip. “There’s always an after-game party, and because Matt’s here, he’ll control that.”

  I liked how he traced my lip. I tried to catch his thumb in my mouth. “How do you know that?”

  He laughed lightly, evading my mouth. “Because Matt likes your friend and he’s going to want to control who’s in her space. He knows I’d rather take you home after the game, have our own after-game party.” He moved more into my space. “And he knows Liam doesn’t want Melissa around him, because what Liam’s friends will notice, too, is that Liam is interested in your friend Melissa.”

  “He is? Wait…”

  Kash’s eyes sobered. “Matt wants to sleep with her. That’s all.”

  I tensed up.

  He smoothed a hand down my side, massaging at my waist. It helped loosen some of the tension. “So he wants to sleep with her,” he continued, “but he won’t, because he knows if he does he’s basically just a predator. And that’s what he wants to save her from with Liam’s friends, because some of them are predators.”

  Air caught in my throat. “Does Liam know?”

  Kash looked over my shoulder, observing a moment. “I don’t think so. Some guys know. Some guys don’t. He seems clueless.”

  I frowned.

  He eased away, tilting his head, his eyes back on me. His thumb rubbed at my lip again. “But no one needs to worry, because your friend has eyes only for Fitz, when it’s really Scott who’s more interested in her. And both Fitz and Scott know this. Fitz is respecting him by staying away, and Scott isn’t worried about anyone else because he knows he’s the one who’ll reel her in.”

  The air escaped me in a sudden rush. I glanced over my shoulder and saw it all in one look.

  Scott was next to Melissa, the same grin he always wore on his face, as he watched her talking to Liam. She was nodding, smiling, but kept sending furtive looks down our aisle. I turned. Fitz pointedly had his eyes elsewhere, and Matt was still talking to a bunch of the other guys, but he was seeing it all, too.

  I turned back to Kash. “You noticed all of this on the ride over?”

  “No. I noticed this the second I met your friend.”

  Kash said I was smart, but so was he. Just in different ways.

  “Well, I can say one thing for sure.” I cocked my head back so I could really look into Kash’s face. “My friend’s gonna get a boyfriend soon.”

  Kash smiled down at me, I smiled back at him, and we continued to have our own moment. It was nice. Spending time at a game with my boyfriend and being able to just be with him. The end of the world wasn’t coming. We didn’t have an entire slew of bodyguards around us. There were regular people behind us. By the time the game started, I already knew it was worth it.

  Matt made his rounds by the time halftime rolled around.

  He moved from his seat, which was made easy because the guys kept leaving for the concession stands. Everyone remained standing the whole time, which also made it easier for Matt to socialize. So, by halftime, Matt was friends with all of the guys—and with some of the girls that were sitting in front of the guys. There were so many people, but I felt it was safe to say that if Matt walked on the Hawking University campus tomorrow, he’d be greeted as if he’d gone there full time for the past four years.

  Liam and two of his friends mostly talked with Melissa the whole time. I joined in every now and then, but I was content to watch the game with Kash’s arm around me.

  Fitz and Scott watched everyone. They were still there to do their jobs, and only once were they relieved, when Erik showed. He took Fitz’s spot and Fitz disappeared for a moment. He returned and Erik took Scott’s place. When Scott returned, Erik conversed with Kash a moment before leaving again.

  If anyone noticed this, no one said a word.

  It wasn’t until the fourth quarter started that a buzz began in the stands.

  Kash’s head was tilted down to mine. His temple was resting against my head. We were both watching the game, but his head had been half bent over mine most the time. It was how he watched the game, and I loved it.

  Matt came back to us, his smile frozen. “Busted.”

  Kash’s head immediately lifted.

  Matt’s eyes darted upward.

  Kash looked and swore.

  Right there, on the Jumbotron, was an image of Kash and me. I looked frozen in place. Kash looked ready to commit murder.

  “We gotta go.”

  At his command, Fitz and Scott both stood, leaving for the aisle.

  “What’s going on?” Melissa asked.

  Kash’s hand was firm on my thigh. He was guiding me from behind to the aisle. He said in my ear, “We’ll go up. We can finish the game in a box. She can come with us if she’d like.”

  “What about Liam?”

  “Him, too. Five of his friends. No more.”

  Scott was craning over us, waiting.

  Kash motioned. “Go up.”

  Scott nodded, and we began the climb upward.

  I relayed what he said to Melissa and Liam. Immediately, both stood. Liam was turning toward his friends, but Kash wasn’t waiting. His hand moved to the small of my back. He was right behind me. “Keep your head down. Don’t make eye contact.”

  I did as he said, glad his hand didn’t leave me. A few people called to us. A guy asked for money to save his house. Another guy cursed at us. There were others, but we ignored them all the way up to the main floor.

  Once there, Hawking security was waiting for us. One of the guys broke forward to talk with Kash. In that time, Melissa had followed us up. Liam, too. Three of his friends were trailing, and their whole demeanor from before was wiped clean. They were wide-eyed and looking at Kash and me with new interest. Matt seemed more reserved, and he moved next to me. “Since word is out, I’m making different plans now.”

  Melissa had heard and frowned. “Like what?”

  Jesus.

  Those two words, how she said them … we both heard it, Matt and I. And a glance at a stiff Liam? Him, too. Longing. Disappointment. Jealousy.

  Melissa was interested in Matt, not Fitz now.

  Matt cursed under his breath before saying, almost gently, “I was going to have people over to my place at the Francois Nova. Just a small shindig. But now I’m going to invite a couple more of my friends.”

  His gaze swept mine, and his was cautious.

  Which told me who he was inviting.