Page 78 of The Trouble with You (Rixon Raiders 1)

He didn’t make my heart beat wildly in my chest or stir desire in my belly.

He was sweet. Kind and attentive. He was everything I wanted to like.

Everything I should have liked.

There was just one small problem.

He wasn’t Cameron Chase.

Cameron

“Are you going to wear that thing all night?” I asked Jase, eyeing the cheap plastic crown on his head with amusement.

“I’ve already had three offers to suck my dick and Lisa Tenby let me finger fuck her in the girls bathroom so yeah, I’m wearing it all night. What’s up your ass anyway?”

“Nothing, I’m fine.” My eyes searched the sea of bodies, hoping to catch a glimpse of Hailee. But I couldn’t see her.

I hadn’t seen her for hours since I saw her and Flick arrive.

Jase glared at me, his hard gaze burning into my face as he sipped his drink. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah.” I nodded, looking out over the crowd again. I didn’t like school dances, never had, but when you were a Raider and played for Coach Hasson, they weren’t optional. We were expected to show up, smile, and give the people what they wanted. Most of the guys lapped it up—the chance to be kings for the night. But not me.

“Miley’s looking hot,” Jase said and my eyes slid to his. “What’s going on there?”

“It’s just casual.” I lifted my shoulders in a slight shrug.

“No shit. But come on, man, do you like her? I’ve seen the way she looks at you.”

“We’re just friends, Jase.” Nothing more. Nothing less. But he didn’t look convinced.

“Yeah, well, keep it that way. The last thing we need is any distractions. And she has trouble written all over her. I’m going to take a leak.” He made his way across the room, parting the sea of bodies like he was the prodigal son.

And maybe he was.

For a town like Rixon, Jason was a ticket to having their name splashed in the national papers. People couldn’t wait for the day, five years from now, when they could say they knew the new star of the NFL.

I spotted Asher over by the doors on his cell phone. Worry lines were etched into his face, and I straightened, my spine tingling. But before I could go over there and find out if he was okay, his eyes found me across the room and he grimaced.

We met halfway, just as he was ending the call. “Everything okay?” I asked him as he stood staring down at his cell phone.

“I, hmm, that was Fee.”

“Fee? As in Felicity?”

“Y- yeah.” He swallowed, running a hand through his hair. “She, uh, she asked me to get you to call her immediately.”

“Me, but why would she want—Hailee.” The air whooshed from my lungs. “You have her number?”

Of course he did, they had just been on the cell phone. But everything was a little hazy, my heart thundering in my chest.

“I put my number in her phone the time she cooked breakfast. You’d better call her, she sounded panicked. When I asked what was wrong she said there wasn’t time to explain…” he added and my eyes locked on his.

“Text me her number and tell Jase I had to leave.”

“Shit,” he breathed. “What should I—”

“Tell him it’s my mom or something.” It didn’t matter. I just needed to get to Hailee. If Felicity had called Asher....