“Because you would have to be actively avoiding them tonot know.” She fixes me with a pointed stare and I roll my eyes.
“One more drink and then you want to bail?” I ask, ignoring her and she thankfully takes the bait.
“Ooh, grab those seats.” She points to a high top where two girls have just left with their eyes laser-focused on the hockey team crowding the bar. “I’ll go get the drinks.”
I hoist myself up on the uncomfortable metal stool, hooking my feet through the bar at the bottom of the other.
“Hey.”
I look up and find a guy who I’m assuming is in a fraternity based on the Greek letters on his shirt. If he’s not then he’s posing as one, and frankly, I’m not sure which is worse. “I saw you sitting over here and you were just too pretty to ignore. I had to come say hi.”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes and instead offer a tight-lipped smile and a clipped nod. Unfortunately, he doesn’t take the hint.
“What’s your name?” His eyes aren’t glazed over yet, but his stale beer breath tells me he’s only one or two drinks away from being plastered.
“Savannah,” I answer, dismissively.
“Cute.” He sways with a smile. “Can I call you Anna?”
“Absolutely the fuck not.” I look over his shoulder, hoping that the bartender who’s been checking Chloe out all night tended to her quickly, and that she’s on her way back. To my disappointment, not only can I not see Chloe, but I can’t see past two feet in front of me.
It’s common knowledge that fraternity houses come out on game nights because they know the place will be crawling with women hoping to get lucky with a player. Puck bunnies, as they refer to themselves, but honestly, the term makes my insides squirm, so I lovingly refer to them as opportunists instead.
Omega Douche is droning on about something. I absentlynod at whatever he’s going on about until he puts his pasty white hand on my thigh. I sit up straight and open my mouth, ready to verbally annihilate this guy so hard his grandchildren will think twice before touching someone without their permission.
“Savvy, sweetheart.” A voice like honey says loud enough to garner both of our attention, but it feels like a whisper in my ear. “Sorry, that took so long. The line was crazy.”
Noah smiles beside me, rubbing my neck with one warm hand before draping the whole of his arm across my shoulders and offering me a drink with the other.
I take it, looking up at him completely dumbfounded, and before I can respond he leans in, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of my head. My eyes involuntarily shut, and my heartbeat kicks up to what feels like an unsafe level before he pulls back.
“Noah Kingston! I’m Dylan Hastings.” The frat guy introduces himself. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice he extends the hand that was just resting on my thigh..
Noah keeps his right arm wrapped tightly around my shoulder, holding his drink in his left. He looks at Dylan’s hand and then back up to his face.
“Dylan, is there a reason you thought it was okay to put your hand on my girl, here?” His smile is so fucking charming but his voice drips with disdain.
“My bad, boss.” Dylan’s hands fly up in defense but he keeps that slimy smile on his face. “I didn’t know she was your girl.”
I open my mouth again to let him know I’mnot,but Noah moves swiftly in front of me, blocking Dylan from view. He towers over me and I have to tilt my head all the way back to meet his two-toned eyes. His defined jaw twitches slightly, and his perfectly pouty lips twist up as he looks down at me. He steps closer until his sizable frame is nestled between my legs, and I fight the urge to squeeze my thighs together andhold him there. His long, warm fingers lift my chin and brand me as he drags them to the back of my head. Something sparks at the lowest part of my stomach, and travels even further south, when he cups the back of my neck in a tender but sure embrace, and lowers his lips to the shell of my ear. “That’s twice now that we’ve been pretending to date.”
I inhale the intoxicating scent of him, feeling lightheaded. I take in one last breath before he steps back, hitting me with his perfect, crooked smile. He knows exactly what he’s doing. I run my tongue along my bottom lip and his eyes follow the slow sweep. It takes the strange knocking in my chest to remind me where we are. And who he is.
“Now we’re even,” I say. “Let’s not do it again.”
“I didn’t see you at the game,” he says, sitting back on his stool.
“I wasn’t at the game.” I shake my head at him, but don’t bother hiding the way my lips turn up.
“You just like to celebrate with us?”
Sparring with him is so easy, and I hate to admit how much I enjoy his quick comebacks. “It’s the only bar in town. I know you guys think you own the place but you don—” His pointed look cuts me off.
“Use your pretty brown eyes and look around.” He gestures toward the crowd with the neck of his bottle, but I’m too distracted by his compliment. “Everyone in this place is here because of us and our win tonight.” He smiles, putting the rim of his beer to his bottom lip and I hate how sexy I find the simple movement.
“Hey, you remember when you were listing off all your wonderful attributes? You forgot to mention how humble you are.” I tease him.
“I can’t help it.” He shrugs with a smile. “You turn me into a bit of a peacock.”
