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SEVEN

lorenzo

It’s Friday night and I’m at the only party I’m likely to attend this summer, so I plan to enjoy it—stay out late, eat something with a weak macronutrient profile, lighten the fuck up like my friends are always telling me to.

Cam, Shafer’s best wide receiver and my freshman roommate, is in town from his internship in Atlanta for two nights, and I’m excited to see him.

It’s a last-minute thing, thrown together by some guys on the team who live in a house off campus.

Everyone’s supposed to bring food, booze, or both, so Cash and I picked up two cases of beer and a giant platter of wings on the way over.

Not exactly high-class foodstuffs, but Cam’s already against the idea of a party in his honor, so he’ll appreciate the casual vibe.

When we walk in, the place is filling up. I spot Cam leaning against the kitchen counter, and he gives me a smile that’s subtle, but his eyes flash with happiness. Unless he has a football in his hands, just about everything Cam Forrester does is subtle.

That’s when I recognize a high, clear laugh. Ruby’s here . I scan the crowd and find her sitting on the couch with her legs tucked up under her. She’s wearing little denim shorts and a loose T-shirt that shows one strap of her blue bra.

For a second I think she’s here for me, even though she rarely comes to football parties.

Then she smiles at someone, and there’s Brad handing her a glass of something clear.

They clink glasses in cheers and drink. The way he stares at her over the rim of his cup makes me want to smack him upside the head.

“What the fuck’s he doing here?” I ask Cash.

“Who?” He follows my glare. “Oh. He’s on our team, remember? Long snapper? Grandpa Lor already losing his memory?”

“He’s not even friends with Cam.”

“Not a lot of guys left on campus, so I guess everyone’s invited.”

“Suddenly we’re all desperate for friends?” I mutter.

Ruby sees me and waves but makes no move to come over.

I force a smile and try not to stare as Brad sits down next to her and pulls her close.

I need to get over it. I’ve already accepted he and Ruby are a thing, and he’s not a bad guy.

Though the more I see of him, the more I realize he’s pretty annoying.

And boring. And just ... blah. Why is Ruby so into him?

Her decision-making process has always been a mystery.

Maybe I just need to get used to seeing them together.

We make our way to Cam, who’s fielding questions about the internship he started in Atlanta.

“Wearing a suit all day is definitely the worst part,” he tells us.

“And being celibate?” Cash suggests.

Cam gives a grim smile. “I stand corrected.” He glances toward the door and shifts on his feet, not trying to hide his eagerness.

“Lenni coming tonight?” I ask. Cam got together with his girlfriend, Lenni, last year, and they’re basically inseparable. Seeing them together could almost make me want to commit myself to someone. Almost.

Cam’s smile warms into something genuine. “Any minute now.”

“In that case, good night and see you in August,” I joke.

Cash tells a story about meeting his twin sister’s new girlfriend and realizing he’d hit on her weeks before, but it’s not too long before Lenni walks in the door, and Cam practically knocks him over to get to her side.

I head over to the food table, not particularly hungry, but this is supposed to be a party, and if I can’t drink, I might as well eat.

I load a few pieces of chicken onto a plate, then start sampling a trio of Mediterranean-looking dips—whipped feta, what I think is baba ghanoush, and then some bright orange thing that tastes like red peppers but better.

I know I’m supposed to be dipping pita chips into these things, but the red pepper dip is so good I throw a heaping spoonful onto my plate, then add another and start eating it straight.

“Fucking delicious, right?”

I turn around to find Brad behind me, Ruby on his arm.

“Yeah. Really good.” I wipe my mouth and settle in for a riveting monologue from White Bread about snack dips. I wonder how many times he’ll use the word chill .

“Ruby made those,” Brad says, and he actually sounds proud. Like Ruby belongs to him.

I look at her. “Oh yeah? I’ve never seen you make anything like this.”

“She let me be her taste tester.” Brad smiles at her. I stare at her. Ruby just shrugs.

Now I’m really not hungry. I know I’m being a total baby. Like Ruby’s supposed to cook exclusively for me?

Meanwhile, Brad’s still talking. “I keep saying she should be a personal chef for some rich person.”

“Uh-huh,” I say. If the dude knew Ruby at all, he’d know this has been suggested to her multiple times in her life and she has no interest in working for that breed of client.

“I was just telling Brad about Lakeside and the big block party,” Ruby says, naming our hometown. Seems like she wants to move on from the subject of cooking as much as I do.

“I never knew you guys grew up on a lake.” Brad looks at Ruby, grinning.

God, his hairstyle is terrible. “Ruby says she’s going to take me out on the boat one of these weekends.

” His eyes flicker. I bet he’s thinking about her in a bikini.

About peeling the wet swimsuit off her skin and fucking her on her dad’s boat. My jaw clenches.

I pull my eyes off Brad’s stupid face and look at Ruby. “Ruby’s not allowed to take the boat out without permission.”

She cocks her head like she’s surprised to find me trying to embarrass her. “When has that ever stopped me?”

I hold her eyes for a second. The lake is our place.

We’ve both taken friends back to Lakeside and occasionally someone we’re dating, but going out on the boat has always been our thing together.

Especially taking Richard’s boat out without permission.

Ruby never trusted anyone but me with that kind of risk.

I force myself to give Brad an affable smile. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Mr. Hayes is a real hard-ass when it comes to his one and only daughter.”

Brad’s eyes narrow with interest as he looks at Ruby. “Daddy’s little girl, huh?”

Barf. Also, he obviously knows nothing about Ruby’s relationship with her father.

Ruby rolls her eyes. “I think Lorenzo meant to say his one and only boat.” She squeezes Brad’s hand and looks up at him, her eyes warm. “You don’t need to worry about Richard. He’ll love you.”

If I’d been eating, I would have choked.

Is Ruby seriously talking about bringing Brad home to meet her parents?

What’s next, an engagement? Ruby has always done everything in her power to keep the guys she dates as far from her mom and dad as possible.

And dating a guy Richard would love? Total opposite of everything she stands for.

I lean closer to Brad, reminding him I’ve got at least a couple of inches on his height. “Doubt it. He’s got certain standards.”

Ruby gives a short, uncomfortable laugh. “Lorenzo, stop. You’re scaring him.”

I smile at Brad, not caring if it comes off like a threat.

I hope it does. I hold his gaze as he looks back at me uneasily, waiting for my next move.

“Are you scared?” Before he can answer, I excuse myself to talk to my friends and walk away.

I can be happy Ruby’s found someone she really likes, but it’s easier if I don’t have to look at her while I do it.

More people show up, and the house starts to feel crowded.

I wander out back and shoot the shit with Cam and a few guys from our team.

Cash is charring an array of meats on a small grill at the bottom of the deck stairs, and when the sun disappears and the tiny backyard glows under a dozen strands of string lights, someone starts a Bob Marley playlist. It’s a laid-back night, totally the atmosphere Cam would want for his little homecoming party, even if being thrown a party is the last thing he would want.

Even I find myself craving a beer, though I resist. I’ve got a three-week streak going for me, and I like that.

It’s been a couple of hours since I’ve seen Ruby when she and Brad walk out onto the back deck.

Clearly he’s been going hard on the booze.

His gaze is watery and slow as he scans the small crowd.

He’s wearing a dull half smile, like someone said something funny an hour ago and he forgot to put away the smile.

Ruby’s bright-eyed and alert. She wraps her fingers tightly around Brad’s bicep, and I feel a sharp stab in my gut.

That’s what’s pissing me off. It’s not some guy touching her—that I’m used to.

It’s her touching him. I can’t stand it.

I’m hoping they decide to go back inside, but nope. They make for the group of us gathered in the grass around the firepit, Brad looking dangerously unsteady on his feet.

“If Brad fucking pukes, he’s going home,” I gruff.

“Cosigned. This is a high-class affair.” Cash burps, tapping his beer against the fraying camping chair that’s straining to hold his muscular frame.

At the top of the wooden deck steps, Brad lets Ruby go first. So either he has decent manners even when he’s hammered or he forgot how to use stairs and needs a demonstration.

I’m just about to turn away when I see Brad stumble.

His eyes widen and his arms flail, but instead of grabbing for the railing, he reaches out to steady himself against Ruby in front of him.

Like a complete asshole. Before I can blink, she’s crashing with an “Oof” onto her knees on the pavers at the bottom of the steps, and Brad is on his ass halfway down the stairs.

I fly out of my chair and reach for her before she can even get up. “Jesus Christ,” I mutter as I help her to her feet.

Behind me, people start asking her whether she’s okay, if she’s hurt, and she gives a quick, reassuring smile to no one in particular. “I’m fine,” she says, her cheeks pink. “Knees of steel.”