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CHAPTER ELEVEN

Cameron

Ari climbs up in the truck bed as I spin, squeezing my torso through the small back window, and turn up the radio. When I stand again, she’s passing me a fresh lemon wedge, dancing her way to me as music blares through the custom speakers in Brady’s Chevy.

The parking lot is bursting with energy, our entire row more or less a mirror of what we’re doing: getting the party started early and celebrating what sportscasters predicted would be a loss.

Joke’s on them. The Avix U Sharks are a force to be reckoned with, and this season is proving to be no different than the last.

I take a third—small—shot, biting down hard on the lemon before tossing it into the bag hanging off the mirror. Arms up, I sway my hips, spinning and enjoying the chilled night air.

It’s been a fucking week —hell, it’s been a month, and I’m so ready to just…let it all go tonight. I haven’t been properly wasted since the week before the semester began, and that’s a college crime if I ever heard of one.

I’ll pay for it tomorrow, but right now all I can think is worth it .

My limbs are loose, and the only thing on my mind is the music blaring in my ears.

Payton is the first of our friends to make it out of the stadium about a half hour later, her camera bag slung over her shoulder.

She smiles as she approaches, drumming her hands on Brady’s tailgate in excitement.

“So, Miss Media Queen, how does it feel to be officially on the field taking candids?”

“Unreal…and feverish!” she teases.

Ari and I both laugh, dropping down on the tailgate to sit as she stands behind the truck.

“I bet, shit. The testosterone alone must be lickable.”

Payton grins, shaking her head, and looks to her watch. “I have to get going. I told Paige I’d be home before ten, and it’s going to take me a good twenty minutes to get out of this parking lot.”

“Which is precisely why we’re having the party here!” I raise my empty shot glass necklace, and Ari spins, grabs the water bottle full of lemon vodka, and pours a half shot. “That and because we don’t have to drive.”

“Have fun, guys, and do your best to get Mason to stay and enjoy his win,” Payton says.

I scoff, and Ari looks over and smiles, shifting to face me.

“Hey, Mase, Payton would like you to stay with us and party so you can enjoy your win.”

I put a deep frown on my face, pursing my lips, and use my most Masonlike tone I can muster, “No.”

Ari laughs, shaking her head. “No?” she mocks. “That was the best you could come up with? We’re role-playing here.”

“Sorry, little freak-a-leak. Some of us haven’t gotten to the role-playing stage in life, Miss I’ve been practicing the sexy sous chef and the lowly little dishwasher he falls madly in love with .”

Ari’s jaw drops open and then she shoves me off the tailgate, making Payton catch me as we all laugh .

I simply spin and start dancing again, pointing up at my best friend with a teasing grin.

“Anyway, that’s essentially what Mason would say, right?

With a few other words like it means nothing without her and she’s who I want to celebrate with and I don’t care that my son is asleep.

I want to watch him breathe because apparently that’s a thing parents like doing . ”

I can’t even keep a straight face, but the others are laughing with me.

“Technically, that all sounds about right, if worded a bit oddly,” Payton jokes, nudging me in the arm and waving at Ari. “Okay, I’ll see you guys at Sunday dinner tomorrow.”

We wave our goodbyes, and when a guy from the truck beside us drunk dances his way over with a grin, flapping a giant AU foam finger in the air, I take the bait and indulge him until the end of the song.

Ari hops back up, swinging around the tailgate and tugging a few of the girls from our dorm up with her, and before the next song can start, there’s a good ten of us girls singing loudly to some Carrie Underwood.

We’re living our best damn lives right now, and it’s everything.

Not sure how much time goes by, but when the students around all start to whistle and yell, we know who’s stepped out and spin to cheer along with the others as we watch the team file through the crowd, the top trio headed right toward us.

People clap Mason on the back, reaching out for high fives and bro daps of all kinds, and Ari grabs my arm in excitement, her eyes misty as she stares at her twin brother.

He deserves all that star praise he’s getting, and it’s such a cool-ass thing to witness.

People chant Brady’s name too, others screaming out about Chase’s touchdown with three seconds on the clock.

I let out a whoop and spin back around, taking Ari with me, getting lost in the group of girls once again. A few minutes pass, and then the truck bed dips, making us stumble a bit and then big-ass arms are around me, lifting me in the air with a laugh.

“Tell me you got me” is whisper-yelled into my ear as my feet hit the bed again.

I chuckle, sneaking an arm through the little back window and lifting a soda bottle full of honey-flavored Jack Daniel’s from the seat, twisting to hand it to Brady.

“Always.” I smirk.

“My girl.” He beams. “Careful with the clear stuff. If you start to feel overheated, tell me. I’ll get you some water and we can swap to beer, yeah?”

I don’t bother to point out I could get my own water, and he wouldn’t have to swap to anything just because my skin rebels against clear liquor sometimes. He’ll just give me that sharp stare of his, and I’ll crumble like a cookie anyway.

“You got it, Big Guy.”

Satisfied, he kisses my cheek and shuffles away, jumping over the side of the bed instead of weaving his way back through the gang of girls piled in it.

He turns back when someone calls his name and grins up at a brunette wearing an AU tank top.

He opens his arms in invitation, and she jumps into them, letting him carry her to the truck to our left.

I catch Mason’s eye, and he waves, making me shake my head with a knowing grin. Payton is so cute, thinking there was any chance he’d stay.

A few minutes pass and most of the girls clear the back of the truck bed, heading off to join whoever it was they were waiting for, so we drop down too.

Slowly but surely, everyone piles into their vehicles. Chase, our DD, drives us back to the football house for the after-party.

When we get there, the music is already reaching the curb, and inside, we find the keg stands are in full effect.

We pause just inside the entry, and I smile at the chaos. “Bros. Bros everywhere. ”

Ari laughs, and we look up at Brady when he and Chase shift to stand before us.

“You girls know the rules,” Brady begins. “No?—”

“Taking drinks from anyone but you,” both Ari and I say at the same time, and I lift the plastic bottle of liquor we brought for ourselves.

Chase raises a brow. “And no bathroom breaks alone.”

“And no leaving with anyone without talking to us first,” Brady adds, and they all look to me.

“Hey!” I defend, but Ari’s giggle has my head whipping her way.

“Well, I’m not going to go home with anyone, and Paige isn’t here tonight. That only leaves you.”

“Love Noah, not a fan of being the only single female in the gang. Paige needs to get her shit together and act like the twenty-one-year-old she is, not a forty-year-old divorcée.”

“I like a good MILF.” Brady grins.

“We know, Big Guy.” I pet his shoulder. “We know.”

Ari grins, wraps her arm around my shoulder, and drags us away from the guys.

“Okay,” she shouts. “What’s the plan? People watch in the corner, sit by the firepit out back until our buzz becomes something more, or hit the dance floor and figure the rest out later?”

“Option three, baby!”

She smiles, dragging me into the dead center of the makeshift dance floor. We dance to several songs, jumping up and down when “Shots” by LMFAO plays, getting lost within the people around us, swapping from partner to partner and utterly enjoying ourselves.

We pause, take another mini shot, offering some to a couple girls who shuffle in close at the sight of the bottle.

We cheer and get back to it.

Ari grips my arm, and I look up to see her lift her phone in the air, Noah’s face on the screen .

“Hey, best friend’s boyfriend!” I shout, blowing a kiss, and Noah smiles, waving back, a few guys who must be teammates crowding closer to see what all the noise is, I’m sure.

“I’m going to go out back and talk for a minute!” she shouts. “You coming?”

“Nope. I’ll be right here.”

She nods and walks off, and I watch as she makes her way toward the patio door, flagging Brady down on her way. He extracts himself from the girl who was using him as a barstool, smiling as he follows Ari out back.

I grin, forgoing the little shot glass around my neck and finishing off the last little bit in the water bottle before smashing it, dropping it, and kicking it off to the side. It’s fine—I usually come in the mornings to help with clean up anyway.

I close my eyes, moving to the beat as I gather my hair and tie it up in a high pony. Before my arms have even begun to lower, a pair of warm hands find my hips.

The guy doesn’t get all up in my space, so I allow it, swaying a little more intentionally, my knees bent slightly as I get more into the movements.

The lights cut out then, and several strobe lights kick on, making everyone shout in excitement. It’s not dark by any means—there’s still plenty of light coming from the other rooms around—but it’s a vibe.

The liquor starts to kick in, inhibitions out the window, and I press closer to my dance partner. Hands come around my front, closing around me and pressing to my ribs in a way that I’m not too drunk to recognize as intimate.

Still sexy but in a familiar, deeper way.

I peek behind me, meeting a pair of green eyes.

“Hey, beautiful.” Alister smiles assuredly, but I can feel the unease in his hold on me. His fingers twitch the slightest bit, unsure that this is okay.