Page 33 of Running Play (Gods of Campus #1)
As the guys head off, Letti and I head inside the frat house.
After grabbing another drink, we move straight to the dance floor, moving our bodies to the music.
A few girls from our dorm show up, and before long we have a large group of us dancing and laughing together.
After twenty minutes the music changes, “Heaven” by Kane Brown comes through the speakers, his deep southern drawl causing everyone to partner up.
I watch my friends grab guys they know. I look for Letti, who is already dancing with one of Travis’s teammates.
I stop when someone very familiar steps in front of me, extending his hand, palm up.
“Dance with me?’ Christian asks, and I feel my body shiver in desire.
A lock of hair falls over his eyes that hold a hint of concern, like I might turn him down.
Without saying a word, I extend my hand into his.
He steps closer, his other arm reaching around my lower back as he holds me tight and starts to sway back and forth.
“I thought you weren’t much of a dancer?” I ask, grateful that he changed his mind and didn’t leave me stranded on the dance floor.
He leans in and I feel his words against my ear.
“Seeing you on this dance floor looking so sensual changed my mind.” He pulls back so his forehead rests against mine.
“Plus, there was also a group of guys who kept staring at your ass, and I didn’t like it.
When they noticed you didn’t have a partner, one of them started walking toward you and I wasn’t having that.
” He gestures with a nod of his head to my left.
There in the corner are the guys he was referring to and they are standing and watching us.
He pulls me closer into his body. “It was pissing me off, actually,” he adds.
I scrunch my nose and pull back to look at him. “I feel like I just got peed on with the territory you just marked,” I laugh out.
He laughs and I watch the strobe lighting dance across his perfect face.
His expression changes, and I watch his tongue dart out with a quick lick to his bottom lip as he stares down at me.
His hands rake up my body and over my neck, gripping my jaw with his hands, his thumb lightly brushing back and forth over my cheek bone.
His arms flex as he leans down and pulls me toward him, his lips crashing into mine.
If being in a room with hundreds of dancing people in a confined space wasn’t hot enough, this kiss has just turned the floor to lava.
The expert way he maneuvers his mouth and tongue has my head spinning as my surroundings drift away.
If this is how my body responds to him from a kiss, I can’t wait to see his skills in the bedroom.
The thought alone has me squeezing my legs together to ease the ache.
The kiss is passionate, demanding, claiming, and deep as he takes control, taking what he needs and leaving me wanting more.
His lips linger on my bottom lip as he playfully pulls away, a cheeky smile spreading across his face.
It causes my stomach to flip. Our eyes are locked, and just as the new song starts, he surprises me by spinning me around to the upbeat song.
I laugh in surprise as he continues to dance with me.
For someone who doesn’t dance, he sure knows all the moves.
The happy demeanor on my face falters as a female hand grasps Christian’s bicep, and my whole-body freezes.
“I’m really sorry to interrupt.” She flashes me with a sympathetic look with her perfect features. Then turns to look back at Christian. “You need to go outside.”
Once again, seeing them side by side makes me all kinds of nervous. Like Barbie and Ken, they look made for each other.
Christian looks into Jasmine’s concerned eyes, his attention shifting to her. “What’s wrong?”
“Tyler,” she simply replies, then motions with her head to follow.
“Fuck,” Christian hisses, rolling his head and grabbing my hand.
Jasmine weaves us through the crowd, and as I follow, I catch him again—the same Ghostface figure, watching.
His stare doesn’t falter, locked onto me even as I pass so close that our shoulders brush.
The brief contact sends a flicker of unease through me, enough to pull my gaze back, but his mask is cold and firm and doesn’t shift from me.
The cool air hits me as we race down the front steps and back onto the street, my focus going back to my surroundings and away from Ghostface.
Even from here we can see a large group has gathered in a circle.
Christian pushes his way through and leaves me and Jasmine on the inner circle. “Don’t move,” he directs both of us.
In the middle, Randy is talking to Tyler. His hands grasp either side of his shoulders. Seth stands beside Tyler, and every now and again his hand reaches out to stabilize him as Tyler laughs and argues back.
“Dude, get the fuck off me, I’m fine!” he yells, trying to pull back from Randy’s grasp.
He’s off balance and looks like he could fall over at any moment. The closer I get, the more details I can make out: the dilated eyes, the purple shading around his right eye, a busted lip.
“Geez, Tyler, what have you done?” Christian asks, his eyes sweeping over his brother as he assesses him.
“I’m cool, I’m cool, everything’s fine, bro.”
“You’re wasted!”
“No, bro, I’m fine. Everyone just needs to calm down,” he drawls out, stumbling sideways into Seth’s hard grip.
“You can’t even stand.” Christian points at him, hard and annoyed.
“Bro, the other guy started it. He was being a complete dick.”
Like the leader Christian is, he takes charge of the situation. “What happened?” Christian directs his question to Randy .
“I’m not really sure, I saw the crowd building and went to investigate and found Tyler and another guy going at it,” Randy says, pointing to a guy across the road. His friends surround him, checking him over and calming him down. “Seth and I broke it up and dragged him away.”
I stand behind Christian, not wanting to get involved as Jasmine goes and stands near her friends, my eyes occasionally scanning the crowd for Ghostface.
I don’t know what it is about him, but he is seriously freaking me out, and it’s nothing to do with the costume because there are some freaky costumes here already.
It’s got to do with him, the person behind the mask and the way I keep finding him watching me.
“We can’t let Dani see him like this, man, it will upset her,” Seth says, coming to stand behind Tyler.
“I’m all good,” Tyler says, getting annoyed and pushing Christian off him, which causes Tyler to stumble into Seth.
“I’m going to have to take him home and keep an eye on him there,” Christian sighs, his hand raking down his face in frustration.
Seth gives a pointed look back. “We’ll come with you,” he says, holding onto Tyler’s arms.
Tyler attempts to brush Seth’s hands from his upper arms, but a quick glance over his shoulder and a look into Seth’s determined and very pissed-off face has Tyler standing in place. He shakes his head in defeat, looking frustrated that everyone is making a bigger deal of this than needed .
“Don’t move.” Christian points a finger at his brother.
“He’s not going anywhere,” Seth shoots back.
“Has anyone seen my Mickey Mouse ears,” Tyler asks, scanning the ground.
“For fuck’s sake,” Seth groans.
Randy quips, “You’re worse than a fucking child.”
Christian walks toward me and shakes his head at the conversation going on behind him. He stops in front of me, reaching out to tug at my black wig. He looks defeated and a lot pissed off at the situation. “I’m sorry, Shelby. I have to take Tyler home.”
“It’s okay. I understand,” I say my head still watching the crowd.
“You okay?” Christian asks, sensing my unease.
“Yeah, just…I don’t know I feel a bit uneasy…someone was watching me earlier, and I don’t know, maybe it’s silly but it freaked me out a bit.”
“Don’t you dare feel silly.” His hands move in slow, grounding strokes.
“You had a stalker, you’re bound to feel like this, so don’t second guess your emotions,” he grips me tight.
“I think there’s only one real solution,” he continues, a hint of certainty curling into the words.
“You come home with me. I protect you. I hold you all night, no argument, no question, no expectations.”
My lips curl up to his words. “I think that would make me feel very safe.”
“Good,” he grabs at my hand. “Then let’s go.”