Page 103 of The Love Playbook

“Man, someone’s getting increasingly bitter about me trying to establish a love life,” I shoot back, to which Damon frowns.

“So you know where she’s going to be,” Jace says, shoving his phone in his pocket. “What are you going to do about it? Force her to spend time with you?”

“Damn straight I am.”

Jace groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. “And what if she doesn’t want to go out with you?”

“She will,” I say with confidence.

“For someone she’s been avoiding, you seem pretty confident,” Brandon says.

“That’s because if she’s avoiding me, she’s feeling something for me, and I refuse to let her hide. It’s that simple.”

“Or she can’t stand your guts. She hasn’t exactly been shy about saying so,” Damon reminds me.

“Bullshit. She waited up for me after the Arkansas game, didn’t she?”

“The man’s got a point,” Jace says. “She was wearing his jersey, too.”

“Fuck yes, she was!” I shout.

Damon hums under his breath as we walk for another couple of minutes before I split away from them, heading toward the other side of campus instead of the athlete apartments.

“Where are you going?” Damon calls out to me.

“To get my girl!” I holler back, then set off toward Hyde Hall.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

I knock on Liz’s door for the second time, pounding my fist over the solid oak. “I know you’re in there, Charlotte. I can hear you guys whispering and giggling.”

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

“Better let me in or I’m going to strip down and spend the night right here on your doorstep.Naked.”

A small blonde passes, eyeing me with a combination of interest and alarm as I lean against the door and flutter my fingers in a wave. “Hey. Hi there. How ya doing? I’m just out here waiting for my girlfriend, Charlotte.” I hook a thumb toward the door. “Have you met her? She likes to play hard to get.”

“Uh . . .” The girl’s eyes widen in alarm at the same time the door swings open suddenly, and I fall, arms flailing like a helicopter before my ass hits the floor just inside their doorway.

Well, at least I made it inside.

I groan, rolling from my side onto my back like a sack of potatoes to find Charlotte staring down at me, arms crossed over her chest, one brow quirked. “I’mnotyour girlfriend.”

“Yet,” I say, holding up a finger.

With a sigh of exasperation, she helps me to my feet, which I take as a good sign.

“What’s up?” I ask with a grin.

Charlotte rolls her eyes and motions for me to come in, then shuts the door behind us. “Hey, Liz,” I say, shooting her friend a dopey smile.

“Hi, Chris.” She giggles, fixing her attention back on the textbook in her lap.

“So, you really are studying?” I rub my chin. “Huh.”

“Whatare you doing here, Chris?”

I glance over at Charlotte, soaking in the sight of her, pink-cheeked and flustered. “The question is what areyoudoing here, and why are you avoiding me?”