Page 51 of Trick Play
Grinning, I hold the bag out to him, but he holds his hands up. “No, man. You were in charge of rolls. If you wanna stay on her good side, you deliver them your own self.”
“Thanks, man. I’ll hand them off myself, then.”
He and Simon fall into conversation about the offensive line—Trey’s the center—and things they need to watch out for when facing off against our opponent this weekend. We’ve all been watching game tapes religiously this week. I’m doing my best to stay focused, but it’s hard when I know the odds of me getting any playing time are slim to none.
Unless …
I hadn’t noticed Kilpatrick or Piper when I walked in, but maybe they’re hiding in the kitchen?
When I get there to hand off the rolls to a grateful Brandy, there’s no sign of either one. “Just so you know, I had to go to three different stores to get enough of these, since you had very specific brand requirements.”
She flashes me a grin, tossing her long box braids over her shoulder. “I appreciate the effort. Any old grocery store rolls won’t do. They have to be Sister Schuberts.” She leans in close, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “It’s my Aunt Sara’s secret recipe.”
Chuckling, I tuck my hands in my pockets. “Not so secret if they’re just grocery store rolls.”
Shrugging, she opens the freezer and stuffs the whole bag in. “They’re what she uses when she needs to save time or energy. Homemade rolls are the best. But these are a close second.”
“My mom’s secret recipe is a frozen deep-dish apple pie that she puts in her own pie plate. She takes it to all the potluck type parties she has to go to and graciously accepts everyone’s compliments.”
Brandy turns back to the bubbling pot on the stove. “See? You know how it is. And anyway, I put myself out enough for you Philistines, making my family mac and cheese recipe and the turkey and organizing all of this. The least you can do is bring the good rolls.” She flashes me a grin when I chuckle, then points at a cooler full of ice tucked against the end of a counter. “Help yourself to a water. Gray’s in charge of the rest of the drinks, and he’s not here yet.”
“Thanks, Brandy,” I say, and she waves me off.
At least that’s one question answered. If Kilpatrick’s not here, then neither is Piper. Before she left my place last night, rubber-legged from satisfaction, she mentioned she’d be here. And the knowledge that I’d see her this afternoon is the only reason I haven’t given in to the urge to text her today. But my ability to hold off is quickly wearing thin. If she’s not here soon, I might just have to text her to find out when she will be.
Just then the front door opens and closes, letting in a gust of cold, wet air and raising a cry of greeting from everyone once more. And when I turn to look, my eyes clash with Piper’s. She’s grinning, accepting greetings from everyone, helping her brother carry in boxes of soda and beer.
The door opens and closes again, and her brother’s gone, presumably to get the rest, so I take advantage of the opportunity to greet her without his interference.
“Hey,” I say, moving in close and grinning at her. I want to kiss her, but I’m not sure how she’d feel about that, especially with the way her eyes keep darting around the room behind me. “Let me help you with those,” I say instead, taking the boxes out of her hands.
“Oh, um, thanks,” she stammers, following behind me. Trey’s already grabbed the boxes that Kilpatrick set down and taken them to the kitchen, ripping open the flimsy cardboard and adding them to the cooler full of ice.
When he sees me, he nods, his eyes darting to Piper behind me. He raises his eyebrows, but otherwise doesn’t acknowledge that me helping Kilpatrick’s sister is maybe a little strange since it’s well-known that he and I don’t get along.
Once we’ve deposited our drinks into Trey’s capable hands, I pull her into the doorway leading to the hall, needing to give her a proper greeting without an audience. Sure, yeah, I want everyone here to see us together, especially her brother. But first I need her to myself. Just for a second.
She grins up at me like she finds my behavior amusing. And I give in to the urge to kiss the smile right off her face.
Rising up on her toes, her fingers stroke the back of my neck as she meets my kiss, giving as good as she gets. With my hands on her hips, I’m careful to maintain space between our lower bodies despite the fact that I want to grind her into me, turn my semi into something more. Something that would demand taking care of.
But we’re not here for that.
Ending the kiss, I can’t help smiling at the way her eyelids flutter open. “Hey,” she says, the breathless quality of her voice sending a spark of satisfaction straight through my middle.
“Hey.”
Her smirk matches mine. “So it’s like this, is it?”
I shrug. “Guess so.”
I’m not sure if she’s referring to the kiss, the fact that I pulled her into as much privacy as we can get without being ridiculously obvious, or the fact that I’m willing to do this where others might see. Even though he’s keeping his eyes turned toward the cooler and the drinks he’s loading into it, Trey could see us if he turned his head, and Brandy only has to look away from the dish she’s slicing sweet potatoes into to see what we’re up to.
Kilpatrick’s voice douses me with cold water. Or at least Piper’s reaction to it does. She yanks her hands away, jumping back like I’ve burned her. She steps fully into the kitchen, tucking her hands into her pockets, meeting my narrowed eyes. “Uh, th-thanks for helping with the drinks,” she stammers, turning and heading out of the kitchen.
A second later, I hear her voice joining in the general conversation in the living room. Kilpatrick glares at me, arms crossed, chest puffed out, nostrils flaring. Trey looks between him and me, one eyebrow raised in question. I shrug my answer and head out of the kitchen.
“Stay away from my sister,” Kilpatrick growls as I walk past.
