Quiet laughter rippled around the fire pit. “Not that I’m knocking the Nittany Lions, I’m not,” Grady said. “But you do know they haven’t won a national championship since nineteen-eighty-six, right?”
Jase shrugged, arrogance rolling off him. “I heard Deontay Syracuse is going to commit to Penn State. He’s the best DT in the country right now. Together, we’ll be unstoppable.”
Someone let out a low whistle.
“What about Chase? They want you too, right?”
It was my turn to shrug, taking a big swallow of beer. Jase’s eyes slid to mine but he didn’t speak. “I’m still deciding.”
The shrill of Asher’s ring tone pierced the thick silence that had descended over us, and he clambered to his feet. “The entertainment has arrived.” With a shit-eating grin he disappeared while Grady, Mackey, and a few of the other guys began scrutinizing Penn State’s two-thousand-nineteen line up.
When Asher reappeared, his arm was slung around a cute brunette I recognized from the gym team. “Girls, welcome,” he declared. “Make yourself at home. Drinks are in the kitchen.” He swung the girl around and pointed to the house. “Pool’s right over there, feel free to get in. But if you do, you should probably know about the rule.”
“Rule?” one of them asked.
“Yeah, it’s this whole thing my dad has about keeping the water clean.” He fought a smirk. “He prefers it if we all swim naked. Less chemicals.”
“Yeah, but more bodily fluids,” one of the guys howled, and laughter rumbled around us as the girls rolled their eyes, giggling and whispering about Asher’s smooth-talking ways.
But it worked. A couple of them broke away from their friends and started peeling off their clothes. Granted they didn’t get naked, but their tiny bikinis left very little to the imagination.
“Fuck yeah,” Mackey said, jumping up and yanking off his jersey. “Wait for me.” He took a running jump and bombed into the water, sending a shower of spray in the girls’ direction. They threw their heads back, laughing, grabbed each other’s hands and took off after him.
Things quickly escalated from the team hanging out and discussing the upcoming college football season to an all-out party. Asher cranked up the sound system before joining the girls in the pool, and Jenna Jarvis made a beeline for Jason, sliding onto his lap and running her fingers through his hair. He dipped his head, dragging his tongue along her jaw, and she opened up willingly, sucking it into her mouth. No sweet talk, no coercion, or promises of things he would never follow through on. But girls like Jenna were a dime a dozen. They knew what Jason was about and they were still willing to walk into the lion’s den. Just for the chance to say they had their shot at taming him.
I was still watching them out the corner of my eye when Miley Connor stepped into my field of vision. “Cameron Chase, fancy finding you here.” She grinned but not in that coy please-pick-me way but with more of a guy-to-guy way.
“What’s up, Miley?”
“Not you, apparently.” Her gaze dropped to my crotch, and I gave her a throaty laugh.
The other thing about Miley… she had no filter. Taking the chair beside me, Miley sipped her drink. She looked good, the cut-off shorts and tank top molding to her lean body, toned from hours of practice. Miley was like the rest of us, an athlete. She knew all about sacrifice, about being in peak physical condition. And unlike so many of her teammates, she didn’t have time to chase football players. Not with her sights firmly set on the Olympics.
It’s why I liked her.
With Miley I felt no expectation, no pressure to promise things I couldn’t give her. We hooked up, used each other to escape, just for a little while. And when we were done, we went our separate ways until the next time.
“Why so glum, Chase? It’s senior year,” she said looking out over the party.
“Do you ever get tired of it?” I asked her quietly.
“I get tired of not being able to eat what I want when I want, if that’s what you mean?” Miley let out a long groan. “What I wouldn’t give to be able to go to Pepe’s Pizza and eat a whole pepperoni and onion to myself and then make myself sick on cookie dough ice-cream. But it’s the sacrifice we make.” She glanced at me, smiling.
“A little birdie told me you’re going to commit early to Alabama?”
“That birdie would be right.”
“Nice.” I envied her being so sure, so certain of her future.
“It’s a big move but it’s the best program in the country, and I want to be the best.” She gave me a warm smile. “What about you? A little birdie, also known as our entire class, are saying Penn State want you as well as Jason?”
“They’re interested but I haven’t committed yet.”
“Ivy League,” she whistled through her teeth. “Impressive.”
“I’m not just a pretty face and one of the best wide receivers in the State, you know?” I grinned at her.
“No, Cameron Chase, no you’re not. You’re also very, very good with your tongue.” Her eyes darkened with lust. “Want to get out of here?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” I downed the rest of my beer and stood up, waiting for Miley to do the same. Asher caught my eye across the pool. He knew the deal with me and Miley, but he was too busy all up in one of her friends to give me shit about it.
“We’re out,” I said to Jase as we passed him.
“Here?” he asked, and I knew he meant were we going upstairs or somewhere else.
I looked to Miley who shrugged. “I’m easy.”
“I bet you are,” Jase snickered, and I threw him a harsh look.
“Watch this one, Jenna,” Miley said with a hint of bitterness. “I’ve heard he bites.”
Jenna lifted her face from Jason’s neck, her lip curved with arrogance. “Oh, I know he does. But I bite harder.”
Well, okay then.
“Come on, Chase,” Miley laughed softly, and I jammed my hands in my pockets, following her toward Asher’s house. “Fancy place,” she said.
“Yeah, Ash’s parents are loaded.”
“You don’t say.”
We slipped inside and Miley paused, letting me lead the way. I stopped to grab a couple bottles of water and then led her upstairs to the guest room the Bennets let me use whenever I stopped over. I wouldn’t exactly call it my room, but no one else stayed in here. They’d even given me a key last year.
“What is this?” Miley asked when I stopped outside the familiar door and dug the key out of my wallet “Your red room of pain?”
“Something like that,” I smirked at her. “Why, scared?”
“Nah, Chase. You put on a good show, but I see underneath all that macho Raider bullshit.”
Her words caught me off-guard, but I schooled my expression. “You know what this is, right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” she replied giving me a little shake of her head. “We fuck, nothing more, nothing less. I’m not asking you for anything.”
With a curt nod, I pushed open the door and pulled her inside. Sometimes, in the quiet moments after sex with Miley, I wondered what it would be like to open up to her; to tell her all my deepest fears, my darkest secrets. We weren’t that to one another though, and I didn’t want that, not with her anyway.