Originally Chapter 11

Lincoln

There are three things I know to be fact.

1- My best friend’s girlfriend is bound to cause a scene tonight. This is a given. Candace creates a scene most nights, amplified when she drinks, and I’ve watched the contents of multiple glasses get swallowed, leaving her to begin stumbling. And she assumes she’s as important, popular, and influential as Paxton because she dates him.

2- The game tonight was a fucking blowout. I had a few concerns after watching tape on them. They showed a promising offense and even more promising defense, but they left their nuts at home and are currently crawling back to find their testes along with their pride.

And 3- I can’t stop wondering where in the fuck Rae is.

“What’s got you so distracted?” Arlo slaps a hand to my shoulder and passes me a drink.

I shake my head once. “Nothing.”

“Bullshit.” He turns to scope out the crowds. “You’ve got that look you get when someone bests you.”

“I don’t know what in the hell you’re talking about. Were you out there smoking something? When’s the last time … when’s the first time—someone’s bested me?”

He chuckles, reaches for the glass he just handed me and takes a long gulp. “See? You only act like a cocky son of a bitch when something’s bothering you. So, tell me—what’s going on?”

I shake my head again. “Nothing. Just not in the mood to be here tonight.”

“We won, son. It’s time to celebrate.” He wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. “There are at least fifteen ladies staring at you right now, trying their damndest to give you bedroom eyes. Tell me, what do you want? Blonde? Brunette? Red? Something exotic like purple? I see a chick with pink hair… oh, and that one has like blue and purple shit happening….” He tips his chin higher, making it obvious he’s checking everyone out.

I should take up the offer and bury myself in lust and desire until I don’t know which way is up. I’m about to suggest a blonde when someone starts screaming.

“Oh, shit.” Arlo bobs then winces. I follow his gaze in time to see my first fact coming to fruition. Candace is screaming at another girl, her face red with anger.

“Why does she come out with us?” Arlo whines. “All she wants to do is make drama.” He finishes off the drink he’d brought me and shakes his head.

“You see Pax?” I ask, searching those near the yelling.

“Nope. Maybe he made a clean getaway?”

“Doubtful.”

“Should we do something?”

I shrug. “I don’t want any affiliation with her. Let her friends clean up the mess.” I duck my shoulder in an attempt to move, and that’s when I see her. Rae is making her way through the crowd, exchanging smiles and laughs until she reaches Candace. So, she was here. I thought she might be, which was why I didn’t object when Pax told us this was the party they were going to. A few members of the team often hit up the parties thrown here.

I place a hand on Arlo’s shoulder, stopping him before he can make a tunnel out of the crowd. He looks at me, then back over to where Rae is standing between Candace and one of the girls she was in a screaming match with.

“Where in the hell did Paxton go?” I mutter. “Call him.” I trudge through the crowd, regretting each step more than the last.

“…She definitely knows you weren’t undressing Paxton with your eyes.” Rae has both hands held up, palms facing the girl with purple hair. “And I’m sure it was an accident that some of her drink spilled on you. Parties get so crazy.” Though Rae’s words are calm and pleading with sincerity, Candace stares at the girl with blatant defiance, making Rae appear like a liar.

As I get closer, the attention from the offended party moves to me. She smiles, and behind her, her entourage of friends who have come to defend her giggle.

“Who wants to be on my team for a game of flip cup?” I ask. And just like that, the confrontation is forgotten, and I sling an arm around the girl who was screaming back at Candace, leading her deeper into the house where I’d seen a game being played. I make it to the doorway of the dining room before I turn to look over my shoulder and spot Rae, her chin dropped back as she looks to the ceiling.

I wonder what she’s thinking. If she’s relieved everything just fell under the radar or if she’s also exhausted by Candace and her constant need for drama, or if that’s disappointment that has her lips tipped south, and I’m the root of the issue.

I’m not. I have to remind myself that just because she’s been consuming my thoughts doesn’t mean I’ve been a blip in hers.

Three rounds of flip cup later, and everyone is starting to feel the buzz, acting like idiots and taking too long because they can’t stop laughing.

I tip my chin at the girl I’d come over here with. “I’ve got to use the head.”

She leans into me. “Want me to come with?”

“You like golden showers?”

Her pupils round and the humor slips from her lips, quickly replaced by lust.

This isn’t my bag of kink, but if this has her interested, I can think of a dozen alternatives to push my thoughts far from Lawson’s little sister.

“Hey, have you seen Pax yet?” Arlo appears beside me, oblivious to the girl on my right who’s willing to bend over a stranger’s bathroom vanity for me. Irritation courses through my nerves which are desperate to rid the image of Rae from the back of my eyelids.

“Busy,” I say.

Arlo looks at the girl, then at me. “Oh, my bad.” But he doesn’t move. “I haven’t seen him since we got here. Do you think he got sick or something?”

“Sick of Candace.”

Arlo flashes a quick smile. “You want to finish this and help me find him? He’s not answering his phone.”

“He’s probably stalking Rae and whoever she’s talking to tonight.”

“I thought the same thing, but she hasn’t seen him. She and Derek went to check outside.”

“It’s a party. Pax probably threw back a couple and fell asleep. You know him.”

The girl who was looking at me with anticipation and desire sags back as a couple of her friends from earlier approach. They whisper in her ear and then giggle.

“This isn’t like him. It doesn’t feel right,” Arlo says.

My shoulders sag. “I have to get going,” I tell the girl.

She pouts as though genuinely disappointed. “Maybe I’ll see you later?”

I nod. Arlo salutes her.

“You want my number?” She reaches for her phone. “You could call or text me….”

“I don’t have my phone, sorry.”

She bites her bottom lip, and I nearly reach for my cell, buried in my pocket, so I can see that expression again when I’m burying myself in her.

“Well, great game. I’ll see you around.” She gives a parting wave, one where just her fingertips move.

“I feel a little bad about that one,” Arlo says. “Lip biters are fucking hot.”

I nod in agreement. “It’s probably for the best. She seemed like the clingy type.”

“All the hot ones are.” He sighs. “Now, where in the fuck do you think Paxton wandered off too? Do you think he found himself a dominatrix who tied him up to the bed or something?”

I chuckle at the thought. “My money is still on him napping.”

“Maybe, he’s having a threesome. That could keep him busy for a while.” Arlo’s eyebrows jog up and down as I pull out my phone and call Paxton. It rings five times and then goes to voicemail.

“Where are you? You’re ruining my buzz, and Arlo just cockblocked me, and it’s your fault, asshole. You owe me,” I tell his voicemail.

“I’m telling you, he’s gone and run off with a hot chick. He finally realized the error in his ways and is making up for Candace,” Arlo says.

“Hey!” A girl moves in front of us, her hand on my chest. “I know you from somewhere.” Her hand moves to my shoulder, her fingers flexing.

“Yeah?”

Her lips—painted a bright red—part, she traces them with her tongue. “Yeah.”

“I’ll come back,” Arlo says. “Just remember that red lipstick stains. You’re going to have to do some scrubbing if you don’t use a sleeve.” He pats me on the shoulder and starts to walk away, raising one hand in the air and yelling to gather someone’s attention. I glance in the direction he’s moving and see Rae. She’s moving toward Arlo, but her eyes are on me.

That’s when my phone rings, and of course, it’s Paxton, cockblocking me for the second time tonight. I exhale through my nose and grit my teeth before pulling in a deep breath and turning to the girl with the full red lips that will be the star of my dreams tonight if I’m left to take care of things myself. “I’ll be right back.”

She smiles, her teeth a stark contrast to the lipstick.

I answer my phone with a growl. “Where are you?”

“I need you to do me a favor,” Pax says.

“You’re out of favors tonight, asshole.”

“I need some pants,” Pax continues.

“Come again?”

“Pants,” he says. “I need pants.”

“Where are you?”

“Third floor.”

“Where are your pants?”

“It’s a long story.”

I close my eyes, weighing the possible outcomes. If I ignore his request for help, he’s guaranteed to have people shooting pictures of him and sharing them all over social media, which wouldn’t be a big deal if our team wasn’t making headlines across all news and sports outlets. If Coach sees it, we’re going to be running, and if his dad sees it, Pax is going to be living in self-mandatory repentance. I sigh again. “I don’t carry a spare set in my pockets.”

“Can you find a room? See if you can nab a pair?”

I scan the crowds again for Arlo, and take a final fleeting look at the girl with red lips and a willing smile, regret panging me. “Yeah,” I tell him. “I’ll find something. Keep your damn phone on you.”

I make my way through the crowds, finding Arlo and Raegan. He smiles, amusement shining in his eyes. “Was that him?”

I nod.

“Was I right?” Arlo asks.

“Maybe.”

Arlo whoops. “In that case, you go find yourself someone to celebrate this night with. I’m gonna go get another drink.”

I shake my head. “We have to find Paxton some pants.”

Rae cringes, squeezing her eyes shut. “That’s not what I wanted to hear.”

“Help me bust into a couple of bedrooms and find some mesh shorts or something he can put on.”

“We can’t steal someone’s clothes,” Rae says.

“We also can’t let the star quarterback showing off his baloney pony,” I explain.

She closes her eyes again, shaking her head. “Where are his pants? Can’t we just get them back?”

“Apparently not.”

She nods once, then glances over her shoulder. “Okay. It’s better if less know what’s going on.” She ducks behind Arlo as Derek walks in the front door, scanning the house.

“Are you using us to avoid dickhead?” I ask.

“Considering he and Pax aren’t exactly friends, it’s probably better that he doesn’t know about this. I can ask him to go with me to another party?”

“Yeah, as fun as Paxton’s wrath sounds, why don’t I play decoy, and you guys go find some pants.” Arlo locks eyes with me, knowing full well that if she disappears with Derek tonight, they’re bound to end up in Derek’s bed, celebrating the win like much of the team will be tonight.

“Will you be nice?” she asks.

“Don’t ask me to make promises I can’t keep.” Arlo winks, then strides into the crowds, getting lost in a sea of bodies.

“Walk in front of me. I’ll block you,” I tell her.

Raegan remains still for a moment, as though contemplating if this is a good idea.

It’s not.

It’s a shitty idea, made shittier by the fact that I’m horny as hell, and for some reason, my temper is testing every limit at the moment.

“Since you seem torn on leaving loverboy, why don’t I just take care of things.” I move to the side of her, and to my surprise, she slides with me, matching my speed and angle.

“It has nothing to do with him. My amusement to see my brother naked was catching up to me.” Her eyes round, but she’s not looking at me. Clearly, most of her anger is also directed toward Paxton. “Let’s go.”

I place a hand on her lower back to guide her, and she jumps, startled by my touch or possibly repulsed.

“Sorry.” I withdraw my hand.

“No, I just … you surprised me.”

I want to tell her that everything about her surprises me, but even in my head, that sounds like I’m trying to hit on her, so I mash my lips together, and this time when I reach forward to place my hand on her, I make it deliberate and obvious, so she knows there’s no hidden agenda.

When we reach the stairs, she climbs to her toes and looks over my shoulder.

“Are you worried he’s going to see you with me?”

Rae’s eyes dance to mine, and she shakes her head. “I don’t want to make things worse between him and Pax. I know they’re not exactly besties.”

“That’s because Derek doesn’t think of anyone on the team but himself.”

Her gaze drifts to me, her eyes traveling between mine like she’s searching for a hidden meaning or a further explanation. “What did he do that made him get so far under your skin? It’s not as though he’s the star of the team.”

I could offer a dozen excuses, but my biggest issue with him currently has nothing to do with football or the team. I shake my head. “No, he’s not.” I lift my chin, indicating for her to lead the way up the stairs.

She opens her mouth as though to say something, then stops and swallows. A clean and sweet scent hits my nose as she turns, her pace quick enough I have to focus on keeping up with her. When we reach the second floor, there are some dudes in the hallway smoking a joint.

“We’re totally going to walk in on someone having sex.” She plants a hand over her forehead. “I can’t believe he did this.”

“What? Have a good time?”

“Cheating on his girlfriend,” Raegan says, staring at me.

“Candace is like a pimple you can’t pop.”

Her forehead creases as she pulls her chin back.

“Don’t tell me you actually like her.”

“It doesn’t matter if I like her or don’t. It matters that they’re dating. He chose to make a commitment, and this is shitty, regardless of any of her faults.”

Rae isn’t wrong.

“This is why I don’t do relationships,” I tell her.

Raegan stops, a silent thought visible in her eyes that I consider dragging out, but stop. It’s better if the lines between us remain intact.