“I’m surprised Soleil isn’t here,” Archer says.
“I’m surprised you notice considering that when she is here you completely ignore her.” I raise an eyebrow. “Are you ever going to ask her out?”
“I’ll ask her out when you go out with Austin.” He raises an eyebrow back at me.
“This is a completely different situation. Soleil is into you and you’re into her. Austin is just a friend.”
“You’ve said a million times how cute he is.”
“Because he is cute! It doesn’t mean I want to date him.”
“Right, since you don’t date anyone.”
“That’s not true.” I frown. “I date all the time.”
“You went out with that Dylan guy three times before you lost interest.”
“Actually, I lost interest after date number one, but I was being nice.”
“You are not nice.” Archer chuckles. “You’re not nice at all. You went out with him a second and third time because he was going to parties you hadn’t been invited to.”
“Yeah, well.” I shrug a shoulder, not bothering to hide a smile.
He’s not wrong about that and he’s not wrong about the dating thing. My first boyfriend broke my heart and told me what we’d had was just a summer fling, which was awful for me since my feelings for him went deep. I’d completely fallen in love with him during those summer months and he just . . . shrugged me off like I was nothing. I had a boyfriend freshman year and we broke it off after six months when we both decided to focus on school. Of course, when anyone tells you they’re going to focus on school what they really mean is they don’t really want to be tied down to you anymore. After him, I dated someone else for a few months until I found out he was still seeing other people behind my back. That was when I decided to forget dating in college. I figure if I find someone and it works out, great, but I’m not going to put myself out there just to be disappointed again. As for Austin, he’s asked me out twice and I gently turned him down both times. He’s cute, he’s funny, but he’s too nice and Archer isn’t wrong when he says I’m not, so I’d rather not hurt the guy’s feelings.
“If you ask out Austin, I’ll ask out Soleil,” Archer says.
I roll my eyes, but mull it over. Soleil has been waiting for this for a year now. It’s not like she’s crying herself to sleep over it or anything, but I know her and I know she’s dying to date this guy for reasons I will never understand.
“You better not chicken out,” I say after a moment.
“I won’t.” He swallows and I can tell he’s already trying to figure out how or when he’s going to ask her out. I shoot him a look that hopefully conveys I’m serious about him not chickening out and he says, “I’m not going to chicken out.”
“Fine.” I take my phone out of the pocket of my apron and text Austin asking him if he wants to grab dinner on Friday night. Not even a second later, he texts back the word absolutely. I show him the screen.
“No way.” Archer laughs. “Was he waiting for you to text? How’d he even answer that fast?”
“You have until the end of the day to ask her out.”
“I don’t even know if she’s—” Archer’s words die down when the door opens and Soleil walks in. His ears turn red as he looks over at me. “I guess it’s showtime.”
I flash him a thumbs-up and go back to cleaning up the counter so that I can start preparing Soleil’s chai latte. As I do, I glance over a few times and watch as they talk. From the look on her face I know he finally did ask her out and from his red cheeks, I know he’s still embarrassed. Once I serve her drink and slide the mug over to the front of the counter, I take my phone out and check my email quickly, seeing one from Valerie. I open and read through it before shooting one back to confirm our meeting time. My pulse quickens as I put my phone away. I’m really doing this.
Chapter Three
“What we had in mind was for the person following the team to stay in a house with them, but since you’re a woman, and excuse me for even bringing that into the equation, we have legal issues to consider. We have to make sure you’re okay living with three guys,” Rodney, the Cruz Media legal counselor says.
“I’m not sure that I am,” I say.
“The alternative would be for you to move next door and be at their place at six thirty a.m.,” Valerie says quickly.
“I don’t understand the legality factor,” one of the baseball players, a blond with striking blue eyes, says. “Is it because you think we’re a threat to her in any way?”
“That’s always a concern when people share a coed space.” Rodney shoots him a look. “You have a party, people get drunk, things happen.”
“You have to know that we would never do anything to hurt her.” The blond’s eyes widen looking between myself and Rodney.
“Not if you want to live,” Mitch adds.
I feel myself go hot and cold at the same time and bite my lip. I hate that his words, as fake as they are, affect me. When I look over at him, he’s leaning back in his chair, long legs sprawled out, looking at me with those seductive green eyes. I snap my attention away quickly, unwilling to allow him to get to me. Not today, Mitch. Not today.
* * *
“We’re telling this story because a group of athletes decided to do something that no one expected them to do, so forgive me for not trusting what anyone’s motives are,” Valerie says.
The blond guys shakes his head. Mitchell sighs heavily, kicking his foot out even further as he fixes his dark wavy hair underneath the baseball cap before putting it back on. He leaves it backwards. The three of them are wearing their hats like that and I don’t know what it is about backwards caps that makes me hot and bothered, but I swear it does it for me.
“Just move her in next door,” Valerie says again. “If I was in her position, I’d definitely want my own space.”
“I have my own space,” I say. “I have an apartment.”
“Thirty minutes away,” she responds. “By signing up for this, you’re agreeing to go to their meetings, practices, away games. It’s a lot.”
“It’s a two-week gig,” Mitchell adds, lowering his voice slightly. “You might as well stay close.”
“Of course you’d say that.” I roll my eyes and glance away quickly when he smirks.
Our brief dating history aside, he can be a real jerk sometimes. My dad is Mitch’s godfather, and that always meant seeing him once or twice a year. For a while, my sister and I were able to escape those visits, but ever since we’ve been in the same place, he’s unavoidable. It doesn’t matter that I go to school on the other side of town since we go to different universities. It doesn’t matter that I’ve made myself unavailable to him to the point that my resting bitch face deserves an Academy Award. Every time I see Mitchell, he comes on to me. Every single time. Whether it be innuendoes or straight up asking me out. It’s as if he enjoys watching my discomfort, because even though to someone else I’d look like an ice queen, Mitchell knows me better than that and he knows I’m affected. I sigh heavily and look at Valerie, who’s waiting for me to chime in about the living arrangement.