Page 63 of The Hardest Fall

“Nothing is wrong with her, but you know I haven’t been a fan of random hookups since freshman year. Why does it surprise you now? Also, doing some random girl is the last thing on my mind right now. Weren’t you there when we almost lost the last game to Colorado?”

“The keyword is almost. We won, didn’t we?” He leaned over the bar and grabbed a handful of peanuts. “And it’s more like you don’t do anyone anymore. When was the last time you got laid?”

“If only you were this interested in—”

My eyes caught something just over JP’s shoulder and I trailed off. The soft glow of the yellow and red lights hanging from the ceiling gave the bar a relaxed, welcoming look, and it made it possible for me to recognize Zoe walking in with a guy, her arm wound around his. It hit me like a fucking blow to the stomach.

JP followed my gaze and saw what had my attention. “Ah, that’s Zoe isn’t it? So, you won’t do a random girl, but you’d do her, wouldn’t you? I swear to God I’ve seen her before, but I can’t remember where.”

“You haven’t,” I muttered absentmindedly as my brows snapped together. “And we’re friends—no one is going to do anyone.”

She wasn’t holding on to his arm anymore, but I watched her grip the guy’s shoulders to get up on her toes and look around over the crowd. When she found what she was looking for, a big smile broke out on her face and she yelled something at the guy right before she started dragging him behind her toward the back of the bar. She must’ve been looking for her friend, because a girl slid out of a booth closer to the end wall where all the TVs were mounted and met them halfway. There were muted squeals and hugs and kisses. Was this the guy she was dating? I followed her with my eyes all the way to the booth and watched her settle in right next to the dick face.

“From what I can see, looks like she is definitely doing someone. Dude—hey! Did you hear what I said? Earth to Dylan?”

My fingers clutched the rag in my hand to the point where I could feel my fingernails biting into my palm through the material. I forced myself to look away and focus on JP as every muscle in my body tensed.

“What did you want?” It came out harsher than I’d intended, so I rolled my shoulders to try to relax.

His eyebrow slowly rose up and he leaned back in his seat. Surprisingly, he chose not to push me further.

“I’m waiting for the guys.” He paused, his eyes slightly narrowing. “Do we know who the guy is?”

“Probably her boyfriend. I don’t know.”

“Do we kill him? Or just break his legs as a warning?”

I laughed, but it felt foreign. “Neither. Trust me, he is a better option than what I was afraid of.”

“What do you mean?”

Shrugging, I walked away to serve a few newcomers.

Raising his voice, JP kept at me. “So she’s dating, huh? That means she really isn’t dating you. That’s interesting. Did you know about this or is it a surprise?”

I braced myself on the bar with one hand and knocked JP’s away with the other when I saw he was reaching for the peanut bowl again. “What’s so interesting about it? She’s dating—everybody dates.”

His shrug “Oh, nothing. Did you know about it?”

“Yeah, she said she had a boyfriend and it was complicated.” I gritted my teeth and glared at my friend. “I guess it got uncomplicated. Don’t you have something else to do? I’m trying to work here.”

“I’m not holding you up. I’m a paying customer just like everyone else in here.” He looked over his shoulder, and I couldn’t stop myself from looking her way again. Zoe was up and leaning over the table to pull her friend up. All three of them made their way toward the small square section in front of the TVs that most of the customers saw as a makeshift dance floor. There were maybe seven, ten people already dancing. “Despacito” by Fonsi started up for the thousandth time that night, yet somehow, it’d never sounded as good as it did just then.

“Who are we watching?” I hadn’t even noticed Chris and Benji had joined us and were already looking over their shoulders until Benji spoke up. I was never going to live this down, yet that knowledge did nothing to pull my eyes away from the trio I was watching.

“Is that…your roommate?” Chris asked before JP or I could answer.

“In the flesh,” JP answered for me.

“Nice ass, man,” added Benji, our starting linebacker.

I shot him an irritated look, but his head was still turned away. All three of them were watching it unfold, and there was nothing I could do to stop it without looking like a complete asshole.