Page 46

"Baby, we have to get up now," Archer mumbled sleepily. I was almost fully asleep when I felt his warm fingers lift from my hair as he tried to rub his eyes awake.

"Not yet," I whined then grabbed his hand and put it back in my hair, wiggling his fingers around to get my point across.

His deep laughter washed over me and made me smile, especially when his fingers began massaging me again.

I practically purred as he kneaded my scalp with his strong yet gentle hands.

"You know what I love?" I added dreamily. A throaty grumble was Archer's response so I continued. "I love that on the outside you are this big bulky monster, but then on the inside, you are just a gentle little love bug."

Archer sat up and pulled his hand away, eliciting a whimper from me.

I opened my eyes to glare up at him and try to pull his hand back to my hair.

When that didn't work I wobbled my bottom lips and stopped blinking so my eyes would tear up.

He stared down at me as though he were trying to stay strong but then sighed and dropped back on the mattress, pulling me into a hug.

"Fine, but don't tell anyone," he said as he pressed a kiss to my forehead. I felt him smirk against my skin, "I have a rep to protect."

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure no one can tell," I giggled.

Archer rolled onto his back, bring me up onto his stomach. I rested my hands on his chest to prop my face up so I could smile at him.

"I guess we're perfect together then hey?

" He mused. I furrowed my brow, not quite sure where he was going with this.

I mean yeah, I thought we were pretty freaking great.

But it seemed random. Archer laughed at my confusion, "You don't see it?

You are this tiny little thing that looks like you'd blow away if it was too windy outside—"

He stopped to glare at me when I pinched him. I was short sure, but that was a ridiculous exaggeration. "Way to prove my point. On the inside, you are seven feet tall and three hundred pounds of muscle."

"HA! And there was a time you doubted my inner Hulk," I laughed at him.

"Alright, Hulk it's time to get ready. We have to be downstairs soon." The slight whoosh of air was a warning and I braced myself just as Archer's hand came down hard on my bottom. I glared at his proud smirk as I climbed off of him, rubbing my tender flesh.

"I take it back you aren't a love bug. If you were you wouldn't love the sound of my pain so much.

" I turned to walk into the bathroom to get ready.

It was the Graduation Party tonight which I had learned has absolutely nothing to do with graduation at all.

It was just the rookies' initiation into being full members of the football team.

Archer came up behind me as I was wetting my toothbrush and grabbed his own. "Please. It doesn't even hurt you." He smiled at me in the mirror.

"Archer sometimes I swear my bum has fallen right off you smack it so hard." My words came out garbled around my toothbrush.

"You are such a drama queen." He laughed with his head tilted back to keep the toothpaste in his mouth.

I went to my duffle bag to grab some clothes and hesitated before I picked up the outfit I had bought recently.

It was totally not my normal style, but Madeline had convinced me to try it on in the store and I had to admit—I liked it.

The pink skirt was short but flowy as it sat high on my waist then flared over my thighs.

There was the thinnest gap of skin showing at my ribs before the simple white long-sleeved crop top skimmed over my upper body.

I thought it was cute in the store, a tiny bit saucy but still generally modest.

Nerves prickled my skin now though as I pulled off my casual clothes. I kept my back turned to Archer, worried about how he might react to the different style. I smoothed the skirt out then adjusted the neckline to sit properly over my chest.

My fingers gently brushed over the metal of Archer's Saint Christopher pendant.

From the second he had put it around my neck I felt a deep attachment to it.

It was as though it carried the protective aura of Archer himself, so even when he wasn't around, I still felt safe.

With that reassurance, I spun around to show him.

Archer sat on the bed as he tied up his sneakers. He'd already thrown on a worn pair of jeans, a white v-neck with a grey plaid over the top and his black ball cap. Of course, as a guy, he could wear his everyday clothes and still look perfect for a party.

I waited nervously until he raised his head to look at me. I couldn't stop myself from fiddling with the sleeve of my shirt while his wide eyes roamed over my body. His face was unreadable as I waited for him to speak.

I jumped a little when he shot up and pulled me against him. A blush warmed my cheeks when I felt his growing erection pressed against my abdomen.

"Fuck me, you are so sexy," Archer growled as he swung us gently side to side.

"You don't think it's... not me?"

"I think I'm probably going to get into a fight tonight. But no I think you look beautiful just like always." His fingers tightened against my hips as he leaned back and checked me out again. "I'm definitely getting into a fight," he said under his breath to himself.

"Okay, put your eyeballs back in your head we have to go now." I laughed and grabbed his hand to pull him out of the bedroom. I shook my head when he followed behind me, walking bow-legged like a cowboy as he adjusted himself.

I was not prepared for the scene I entered into downstairs.

Most of the football team was there already.

I smiled shyly at the guys who didn't live at the house and I didn't know as well.

My eyes widened though as I looked to the center of the room.

All of the rookies were standing in a group, almost completely naked.

They were wearing small red shorts, matching red graduation caps, and nothing else.

Each rookie had writing over their exposed skin and I narrowed my eyes to read some of it.

"Oh my gosh!" I glared at Archer. "Someone wrote that that guy is a little b-word!"

Archer stared down at me unsurely and I could practically see the gears turning in his head as he tried to think up an excuse.

"Hey, Charlotte." Tyler sidled up next to me and gave me a hug. "I didn't know you were here." The last comment was said more to Archer than to me.

"Tyler why did you guys write all over them?" I asked as I returned his hug.

"It's tradition!" He defended. "It's the last of their rookie hell. Plus look? We write their accomplishments too."

I walked closer to the rookies and read more of the messy scrawl on their bodies.

They all stood unsurely watching the upperclassmen as I inspected them.

I smiled warmly at Emmett when I got to him and he shot me back a wink.

He had 'wheels' written across his chest. Tyler was right, most of the boys had good things written on them—but there was some mean stuff.

"Okay give me the marker," I said to Tyler.

He hesitated for a moment so I raised a brow at him with my hand outstretched. Finally, he sighed and grabbed the marker from an older boy I didn't know.

Once he passed it to me I tapped it to my chin as I eyed the rookies.

I walked up to the guy who had been called a b-word and tried to smile supportively.

"May I?" I asked. He looked over my shoulder then nodded at me.

I didn't know this boy so I couldn't write about his accomplishments.

So instead I drew flowers over the curse word on his chest and then below it wrote, 'cutie'.

"Rookie if you flex your damn muscles one more time for my girl you're doing 100 push-ups," Archer called to us. I glared over my shoulder at him before turning back to the boy.

"He's just joking... There! now you are a little cutie instead." I smiled and moved on as the rookie laughed. Each rookie gladly lined up in front of me and by the time I was done I had covered up all of the swear words with cute little pictures and added nice compliments.

I giggled while I walked back over to a bemused Archer as I heard a rookie whisper, "Dude, she said I have pretty eyes!"

"Alright... thanks for that Charlotte," Tyler grumbled. "Rookies!" He said louder making all the younger boys scramble into a line. "Next step, drinks! Everyone has to do a beer bong and a Jager Bomb and the fastest guy wins."

I leaned back as Archer stood behind me and rested his chin on my head. I narrowed my eyes at what Tyler had said. "Wait... but they don't have to if they don't want to—if they are uncomfortable, right?" I asked. The room full of guys all looked at me with blank stares, no one answering.

"Ty?" I prompted wide-eyed.

Tyler grimaced and rubbed his hand over his face as he said something under his breath. "Right. Yeah. You can... choose to participate if you want to." With the look on his face, while he spoke, you'd have thought it pained him to say that.

It got pretty rambunctious when the guys all started lining up to do beer bongs. Archer pulled me into the corner and sat me on a tall stool while he positioned himself behind me again.

I smiled and wiggled excitedly when James walked out of the kitchen and over to us. He was balancing three red solo cups and precariously handed one to me as he dropped a kiss on my cheek.

"For you my lady." He blessed me with his dazzling white smile then passed another cup to Archer.

I looked down at the pale pink fizzy liquid with a question in my eyes.

"It's about a pinky nail's amount of gin and pink lemonade," James said then raised his cup to both of us.

Archer reached around me to knock his cup to ours then we all took a drink.

I smiled appreciatively at James as the liquor tickled my tongue. The boys were well aware that I only liked the smallest amount of alcohol in my drinks and I appreciated the different concoctions they came up with.

I turned my head when I felt Archer's arm snake around my stomach and smiled as he bent his neck for a short kiss. He must have just taken a drink because I scrunched my nose at the harsh whiskey still on his lips. He gave me a cheeky grin then kissed my nose.

"Ugh get a room." A new voice sassed. I twisted to see that Madeline had come up next to James and taken his cup out of his hand. He shot her an annoyed glare then walked back to the kitchen.

"Mads!" I smiled as she came in for a hug. She wiggled her eyebrows over her cup and nodded at my outfit.

"I honestly wasn't sure you'd end up wearing it. You look so cute!"

I brushed the skirt down over my thighs to make sure it was still laying flat and chuckled.

Archer's hand on my stomach played with the edge of the crop top sending goosebumps down my arms. "I particularly like this easy access," he whispered in my ear.

I swatted over my shoulder to push his face back as my cheeks darkened.

I tried to keep my features relaxed as the horndog pressed himself closer behind me.

Our attention was drawn back to the middle of the room as the football players all chanted, "Chug!

" Tyler stood on a chair holding a large funnel up high as he poured frothy golden beer into it.

Emmett was kneeling on the ground with the tube in his mouth and pounding his fist in rhythm with the chants.

I cringed as Emmett pulled away a little too early and foam poured onto his chest. He only laughed though and took a bow as he stood up. The guys surrounding him whacked his shoulders and playfully pushed him around while he walked over to us.

"Hola Amigos!" He shouted as he smacked his cup a little too harshly to Archer's. Madeline burst into laughter as she took in his state. His eyes were glossier than before and he didn't seem to care at all that his slightly-wet body was on full display.

Someone went over to the stereo system and cranked up the music, sending vibrations through the floor as the bass picked up.

More people were starting to show up now and I was glad I had a stool that made me as tall as most people.

It was much less stressful when you could see over the heads of a large crowd.

We all stayed in the corner for a while, laughing and drinking. Madeline tucked herself into my side so we could hear each other while Archer and Emmett got lost in their own conversation.

"That guy has the sexiest arms," Madeline whispered into my ear. I secretively looked in the direction she was gesturing and adamantly nodded my head.

"He has a cute butt too!" I said a little too loudly. Archer's head whipped down to me and his eyes narrowed.

"You better be talking about my butt," he pouted.

"Of course." I patted his chest comfortingly while Madeline fell into a fit of giggles. "You have the cutest butt ever."

Tyler came strutting over to us and threw his arm over Emmett's shoulder. He winked at me and gently touched his cup to mine. "Baby girl—"

"Do not fucking call her that," Archer barked.

Tyler laughed and rolled his eyes then sent me a secretive smile. "Okay... sweet cheeks, you have got to let me steal your bodyguard here. I don't know if he knows how to stand up anymore without you in front of him but we need to try."

I giggled as Archer tried to tighten his hold on my stomach but I peeled his hands away and tugged him around me. "He is all yours! Just bring him back in one piece please."

Archer glared over his shoulder as Tyler and Emmett pulled him away to where the other football guys were standing.

I watched them for a moment and was happy to see Archer fist bump a few guys and get pulled into a conversation.

Sometimes he reminded me of a puppy that was never socialized properly.

He could get a little too nippy or confrontational, but all he needed was patience.

"Good lord, girl. I know your man is hot but at what point do you stop drooling over him?" Madeline bumped my shoulder to get my attention back on her.

"What about you?" I winked flirtatiously at Mads, "See anything you like?"

"Well, Arnold-Schwarzenegger-Arms over there just stuck his tongue down a girl's throat. So, I think he's out." She frowned looking around. "Ooh, there's hot boys by the flip cup table! Let's go!"

I hopped off my chair and linked arms with Madeline to push through the crowd. We approached the table where several guys were setting out cups in two long lines.

"You two in?" A big-boned boy with blonde spikey hair called out us.

"Oh my god, Charlotte! Come be on my team!" Holly pushed a guy out of her way and waved me over. I dragged Madeline with me and went to where she stood with a friend. Holly introduced her as Quinn after I introduced Mads. "We have the numbers now for boys versus girls!"

"Uhm, I don't know how to play this game," I said nervously in Holly's ear.

"It's super easy, it's basically just a race. We all line up on either side of the table, then you have to chug what's in your cup, then put it on the edge of the table like this see? Then use your finger to try and flip it over."

My stomach squeezed at the thought of chugging my drink. I usually nursed my alcohol for hours, so by the end of the night, I had the tiniest buzz.

"Maybe I shouldn't play," I said to both girls as they lined up. "I really don't want to drink that much." I felt bad when I saw that Madeline was about to bow out as well to stay with me.

"No worries!" Holly grinned. "Alright, boys I'm calling an audible! Girls are allowed water in their cups."

The boys on the other side of the table eyed each other before shrugging and telling us to go ahead. I sighed gratefully as Holly pulled a water bottle out of her purse and filled our cups.

I ended up at the top of the line which was incredibly stressful considering I'd never played before.

I was across from the blond boy who offered me his fist to pound and told me to called him Moose.

Madeline had sneakily positioned herself directly in front of the boy she thought was cute and I noticed them both making sneaky googly eyes at each other.

Moose picked up his cup and gestured for me to do the same.

He knocked his cup to mine, tapped the bottom on the table, then lifted it to his mouth to chug.

I mirrored his actions and tried not to laugh while all the girls were screeching at me to go faster.

I finished the water quickly and put the cup on the edge of the table.

One flick of my finger and the red solo cup flew over and landed perfectly on its other side.

Madeline instantly picked up her cup to start chugging and I jumped and cheered with the adrenaline pounding through my veins. A small tingle at the back of my neck made me look around the room and my eyes instantly connected with Archer's.

He was across the room, leaning up against the wall watching me with a wolfish grin.

He raised his cup to me in the air and I laughed and raised my empty one back.

My stomach tightened slightly as his eyes swept down my body.

When they returned to my face there was heat evident in his gaze.

I gulped when he stuck his tongue in his cheek and he twisted his hat backwards.

Dang it that boy knows what he is doing. I rubbed my knees together under my skirt and tried to control the urge to run over to him in the middle of the party. Thankfully, the guy across from Quinn slammed his hand on the table and started shouting when his cup flipped before her's.

The boys all jumped around celebrating as us girls gave each other commiserating hugs. Holly grabbed mine and Madeline's hands and yanked us towards the kitchen before I could answer the pull to go see Archer.

Since tonight was all about the Rookies, they had been given the night off of any duties. Instead, a tall scrawny boy stood behind the counter of the make-shift bar. He smiled as we approached him and I couldn't help but think his slightly nervous demeanour was adorable.

"Hey, there handsome." Holly winked at him. "We need three drinks that are sweet, but not too sugary, and let's keep it light on the alcohol—we are all trying to remain ladies tonight."

Remembering something Archer had told me I quickly got the boy's attention, "Use gin too, please! I don't need to get sick from mixing stuff." I added to the girls.

"So, Holly do you happen to know the guys we were playing?" Madeline asked casually while we waited.

Holly smirked and eyed the guys before putting her two fingers in her mouth and whistling. Several groups of people looked over at us but Holly pointed to the guys in question and waved them over.

"This is Moose, Graham, Patrick, and Cole.

" She gestured to each boy before introducing us in turn.

Cole was the boy making eyes at Madeline and excitement bubbled in me when he held her hand a moment longer than ours while they shook hands.

He was definitely handsome as all heck. He had piercing green eyes, caramel skin, and black hair—plus he was taller than her which I'm sure wasn't easy for a 6-foot tall girl.

I instantly imagined how cute their babies would be.

"Are you single?" Moose grinned down at me as he leant up against the kitchen counter. I took a moment to grab my drink from the bartender before smiling apologetically back to the large boy.

"No, my boyfriend is running around here somewhere."

"Damn, all the cute ones are always taken." Moose shook his head disappointedly. I laughed lightly and shrugged as I was really not sure how to respond to that.

Holly must have overheard our conversation because she punched Moose on the arm and laughed, "Careful buddy. Her boyfriend is Archer Johnson."

Moose's eyes widened as he whipped his head around as though we were being watched. "Well fuck. I'm not trying to die today," he mumbled and dramatically took a step away from me.

Speaking of the devil, I saw Archer's broad form pushing through the crowd before he popped out in front of us. He had a lop-sided grin as he grabbed my hips and pulled me to him.

"H-hey Johnson! I was just saying hello to your girlfriend here." Moose said pointedly.

"Isn't she just the fucking cutest?" Archer asked as he squeezed my head tightly to his chest and wagged his body side to side.

"Oh, Uhm... yeah?" Moose seemed unsure if there was really a right way to answer Archer, and I secretly thought it was probably better to stay quiet.

"Hey, don't you fucking say it," Archer growled then he tucked his head in my neck.

I giggled as he inhaled against my skin and pressed a kiss to the sensitive area below my ear.

He pulled away but kept his face close to mine. "I love you." His eyes were large and a little glassy but he still melted my heart.

"I love you too," I whispered.

"Well, I think I found the party!" A screechy voice cut through our moment.

I looked away from Archer and visibly cringed when Teela was standing next to Holly.

I watched as she went to each person in the circle and gave them an overly cheerful greeting.

She even hugged Madeline which was almost comical as Mads just froze and didn't return it.

My eyebrows shot up into my hairline when she came at me with a bright smile and open arms. "Oh my goodness, Charlotte!

It's been so long! You look so good!" Her chemically perfume stung my nose as her perfectly curled red hair fell into my face.

I pulled back as quickly as I could and put what I hoped was a friendly smile on my face.

"Oh and of course—here's the big guy himself!" Teela laughed and tried to hug Archer. She didn't get there though as he took a huge step away from her and flung me in front of him as protection. I would have burst into laughter at her face if he wasn't so quick to put me in the line of fire.

Teela recovered quickly and joined the group's banter. She was being nothing but sweet and friendly—but I didn't trust her. There was something about her stiff smile, or the small twitch of her eye when she looked at me. It told me everything I needed to know.

The drama had just arrived at the party.