Page 27 of Running Play (Gods of Campus #1)

“Oh sorry! This is Mitch, and this is Lewis,” Jason says, introducing them to Shelby and completely ignoring what I just said. She smiles warmly, greeting them both.

“Well, this is cozy,” Mitch says.

“Isn’t it.” I glare, my head swinging to look at him.

“It’s cool,” Mitch says as he stands back up, and I hold my breath, hoping they get the hint. “I will just slide a table over.”

I sigh in frustration as I watch him drag a table from halfway across the restaurant like he owns the fucking place. It was pretty much the only table left unoccupied, and I don’t think the staff is happy about it, but we all know they aren’t going to say anything, not to a Raptor.

“There, much better,” Mitch declares.

“So, Shelby, you’re from Australia?” Lewis asks as I watch my date get completely hijacked.

Shelby turns her head toward Lewis and says, “Yes, that’s right.”

“What city?” Lewis asks.

“Around Brisbane.”

“Cool. My aunt…my mom’s sister, lives in Melbourne. We went and visited her when I was fourteen. We visited the zoo there and I got to hold a koala and feed some kangaroos. I really liked it down there,” he says.

“Yeah, it’s a beautiful country,” Shelby replies.

They continue to chat as my eyes notice people’s heads turn toward the front door and yep, there he is, my best friend, the town’s golden boy himself.

A waitress tries to assist him, but he brushes her off and points toward me with a look of amusement.

For fuck’s sake, what is he doing here? His long strides carry him over to our table, a bemused grin on his face.

He takes in the situation, both of us observing my date going up in flames.

“Hey, Shelby, good to see you again. You sure are looking lovely tonight,” Randy says, his mouth curved in an amused grin.

She is startled by his presence but recovers with that cute smile of hers. “Thank you, Randy.”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I groan at Randy, my back hitting the back of the seat as I look up to him.

“Me,” he says, pointing to his chest, one eyebrow raised at me. “What the fuck are you doing here?” he counters back. “You took this stunning thing on a date for pizza?” he says, pointing to Shelby.

“What happened to your date?”

“Nothing, it went well, pad Thai for pussy,” he winks, and I internally cringe at him saying that in front of Shelby. “I wore her out, she went home, and I worked up an appetite. Mitch texted me, so I thought I’d join them for pizza.”

He turns to ask a group of girls behind him if he can steal a chair.

They nod too eagerly at him as he slides the chair from their table to ours.

He swings the chair around, straddling it as he sits on it backward at the head of the table.

Randy greets the guys at our table with fist pumps and shoulder slaps, then they start a full-blown conversation about last night’s game.

I let out a frustrated sigh, turning my head toward Shelby. “I’m so sorry my friends don’t have any manners or basic understanding of boundaries.”

Her cheeks have turned a cute shade of red, either from being crammed into the booth, or from smiling too hard at this situation we find ourselves in. “It’s okay, it’s nice that you have so many friends that you’re so close to.”

“A little too close at the moment, if you ask me,” I say, leaning back and stretching my arms above my head, which I instantly regret.

The purple-yellowish bruise I know is on my ribs screams in resistance at the movement.

A few moments later the waitress arrives with our pizzas, which are put down in the middle of the table.

Jason goes straight for our pizzas to grab a slice.

“Don’t touch her fucking pizza,” I growl at him.

I watch Jason throw his hands up in defeat. “Noted. Miss,” he says, gesturing back to the waitress. “Can I get a large meat lover with barbecue sauce, please?”

“Make that two,” Randy says.

“Large supreme and garlic bread,” Mitch says.

“Large pepperoni, and a pitcher of beer, please,” Lewis adds as he looks toward Randy who nods at him. “Two pitchers of beer,” he adds, holding up two fingers.

I lean my forearms on the table and point at my teammates. “So, you guys really aren’t leaving anytime soon, are you?”

“Dude, you don’t bring dates here,” he shakes his head knowingly. “You brought this on yourself.” Randy goes back to his conversation with the boys.

In their defense, it has always been like this.

When one of us has a table, it becomes everyone’s because this place is always packed.

We once joined eight tables together, which basically ran the length of the restaurant.

The staff got annoyed after about ten minutes of being unable to move around the restaurant, so we had to move it into more of an L-shape.

But Shelby requested we go someplace local, and it was the first thing that popped into my mind since I’d seen her here before.

After she shared her past with me, I wanted her to feel comfortable.

Unfortunately, my friends just had to make themselves comfortable too.

“It’s okay, I really don’t mind.” Shelby smiles, reaching over to touch my hand. We stare at each other for a few moments, ignoring the noise next to us. She releases my hand. “So, they all play football too?” she asks as I grab our pizzas and slide them in front of us.

I let out a defeated breath, accepting the reality that this is now my date. “Yeah, so Jason is a linebacker. Mitch is tailback, and Lewis is a tight end,” I say, pointing toward each of the guys.

“I have no idea what that all means,” she says, reaching for a slice of her own.

Jason leans his head into our conversation, coming into Shelby’s personal space. “Well, all you need to know is when we are on the defensive, I’m the man to watch,” he says with a wink, and I feel jealous that he can be that close to her while I sit across from her.

I resist the urge I have to throw my pizza into his face just so his shoulder stops touching hers.

“I’ll remember that for the next game,” Shelby says, smiling at Jason.

The waitress delivers a tray of drinks to the table, which keeps the boys occupied as I concentrate on my date.

My friends laugh and joke at the other end, but it doesn’t distract me from Shelby.

This hasn’t been the most successful date—at least not in my mind—but I’m glad I’m with her.

“Hey,” another voice says as I look up and watch Merrick approach our table.

“Christian, my man, it’s been a while,” he says, leaning over to shake my hand. His large body presses against Lewis.

“Been too long, Merrick. Where have you been hiding?”

“On the ice, you know me,” he shrugs.

“Geez, man, watch the hair,” Lewis chimes in, his hands running through his curls.

I turn my head to Shelby, ignoring Lewis and his messed-up hair. “Merrick, this is Shelby; Shelby, this is Merrick. Shelby is Letti’s roommate, and Merrick here is the captain of the hockey team. He’s good friends with Travis.”

“Oh, wow, it’s nice to finally meet you. I went to your game with Letti last night. You were number 5, right?” she asks him, reaching and accepting his handshake as Merrick once again leans down, pushing Lewis’s head toward the table.

“Fuck, man, nearly spilled my beer,” Lewis grumbles.

“Yep, that’s me!” he replies, everyone ignoring Lewis.

“Letti pointed you out to me, said you were one to watch and one of Travis’s best friends.”

“That I am. Hockey players are very superstitious, so you must have been good luck. Now you will have to attend every game,” he says back to her.

“Until you lose?”

“That’s not going to happen,” he jests.

“I will go with Letti to all the games.”

“You’re a lucky lady to get such an amazing roommate.” He grins, his body is relaxed, and I swear I almost hear him sigh.

“She is fantastic,” Shelby says in agreement. “I would be lost without her.”

He smiles, then turns his head back toward the boys. “Well, I better be going.”

“You sure you don’t want to pull up a chair and join us?” Big mouth says at the head of the table.

“Nah, man, I think you have enough people crammed at this table.”

“It’s good to know you can see that.” My eyes shoot daggers at Randy, who returns my icy stare with a tip of his beer as he takes a sip.

Merrick gives a small laugh. “Besides I’m meeting up with Emma, but I’ll see you guys around. Nice to meet you, Shelby, say hi to Letti for me,” Merrick says, slapping Randy hard on the shoulder as he walks off chuckling.

***

Walking slowly toward the dorm, I watch as Shelby digs around in her handbag for her keys.

“I’m sorry about my friends crashing our date; I feel ripped off that I had to share you with everyone,” I say as I adjust the cap on my head.

Looking around, I study the campus grounds, thankful I finally have her to myself.

She gives me a sympathetic look. “I could see you getting frustrated. Your friends aren’t that great at taking a hint, are they?”

“No, they aren’t.” I exhale. “But we also have an unspoken rule that once anyone gets a table at that place, it’s open to everyone.”

“It was honestly okay. I really did have a great time. Your friends are very entertaining.”

“Oh yeah, they’re a riot!” I come to a slow halt before her, hands hovering near her waist, close enough to feel the warmth but not quite touching.

She tilts her chin up, meeting my gaze, and the weight of whatever she’s feeling lingers between us.

I don’t rush—I let the space stretch just enough, allowing her time to decide.

Then, slowly, she presses closer, her hands finding their way to my shoulders. A quiet approval.

The campus hums around us, the distant sound of footsteps and laughter threading through the moment, but here, at the entrance of this building, it’s just the two of us.

My hands link at her waist and rest in the curve of her back.

I lean toward her, ever so slowly, giving her time to pull away if she wants, but thankful when she leans in.

God, I’ve been wanting to kiss her all night.

It sucked having her stuck on the other side of the booth, staring at her but unable to touch her.

Our lips touch, slowly kissing and exploring each other’s.

Gently teasing each other and keeping it PG for our first kiss.

As our lips break apart, I don’t release her from my arms .

“So, if I asked you out again—by ourselves—what would you say?”

Her hands have gone to my jaw, and she brushes her thumb against my cheek. “I would say yes. Besides, I think I’m only going to count this as half a date…so you still owe me one full date.”

A broad smile comes across my face. “Absolutely, I want a chance to redeem myself,” I say as I reach down and kiss her again. I could get addicted to this.

“Well, I better head up…Letti will be dying for all the details.”

I laugh, glancing up to her window, or where I think her window would be. “Well, we can’t keep her waiting,” I say as I regretfully let her go.

“’Night, Shelby.”

“Goodnight, Christian.”

“I’ll text you tomorrow,” I say to her as I watch her take the first step up into the building.

“I’ll be waiting for that text.” Smiling, she winks and then turns before disappearing inside.