Liam was waving us up. He and his friends took up a whole section, spanning five rows. They didn’t fill out the entire row, but Kash was right. Athletes traveled in groups, large groups. Liam was in their third row when he spotted us. The grin faded when he took in Kash, then Matt, then Fitz, and lastly Scott.
Coming down the steps to meet us, he put his hands in his pockets. “I was expecting Liss, Bailey, and maybe a couple guys.”
Kash stared at him. “Well—”
Matt popped his head up, grinning wide. “Deal with it.”
He and Kash both laughed.
Melissa began giggling.
Liam was clueless, his eyebrows raised. He gave me a look. “You know the inside joke?”
I shook my head. “You don’t want to know.”
Kash cleared his throat. “If there aren’t any extra seats, we can sit somewhere else.”
Matt snorted. “That’s code for either he’ll bribe the people for their seats if Bailey wants to stay, or he’ll maneuver us all into a box upstairs.” He hopped up on the same step Liam was standing on, threw his arm around his shoulder, and squeezed Liam to him.
“We’re here for three reasons,” he said, and stuck a finger out. “One: because Bailey wants to be normal. She’s been missing that phenomenon. Me, I was born amazing, so I don’t know any other way.” He held up a second finger. “Two: football. That says enough,” he continued. Then he put three fingers in the air. “And the last reason: to drive Kashton crazy. He’s tempering it right now. He really wants to throw his weight around, bash some heads, make some threats and move Bailey to safety, but he can’t, because we’re back to number one: Bailey. He’s kinda nuts for her, so he’s already primed. Our first meeting sucked, so I’m reintroducing myself. I’m Matt, Bailey’s smarter brother.”
Kash’s mouth twitched.
Liam was slack-jawed. He took Melissa and me in. “He’s for real?”
Melissa nodded. “He’s been like this the whole ride over. I think this is how he is normally.”
Matt winked at her. “Just wait till I get some liquor in me. I won’t care if Bailey’s here. You’re going to be hearing some fabulous pickup lines.” His arm still around Liam, he leaned toward Melissa and dropped his tone suggestively. “They’ll be so smooth, you might learn what ‘combustible climax’ means.” He winked. “If you get my drift.”
Melissa groaned under her breath.
Liam made a gargling sound.
Kash stepped forward, his hand to Matt’s chest, and pushed him upward. “Okay. Calm down, brother.” He winked at me over his shoulder. “Let’s find our seats.”
Whoa.
Wow.
That wink … I was the one who just learned what a combustible climax was.
Melissa sidled close to me. “How do you handle that?”
I spoke, “In bed. As much as possible.”
“Your brother?”
My head jackknifed to hers. “What?”
“I was talking about your brother.” Her eyebrows pinched together.
“Oh!” Matt. I waved that off. “You’ll either love Matt or you’re going to hate him. Don’t sleep with him and you’ll enjoy him. But that’s key. Don’t sleep with him.”
Liam had lingered, overhearing. “Solid advice.”
“Looks like they found some seats.”
An entire row was cleared when we got there, and Matt was already making friends with Liam’s friends. A seat was left open on the other side of Matt, and Fitz went behind our row, dropping into that empty seat.
Matt went first. Kash. Me. Melissa. Scott on Melissa’s side.
Liam moved around so he was in the row in front of us, right beneath Melissa and me.
His friends looked nice.
I didn’t think they were graduate students, just a year younger than Liam.
They, in turn, were studying Kash and me, but Kash laid an arm around me, pulling me to him.
As he did this, my front to his side, he moved to my ear and said, “They’ll stop paying attention to us. Matt will distract them in three, two, one—”
Matt started, “What do you guys lift? What’s the average weight?”
Kash continued, without pausing, “Now all they’ll know is that their computer friend brought another computer friend, a couple, Matt, and two other guys who don’t seem too friendly. They’ll talk to your brother because he’ll make them, and they’ll ignore the rest of us, except maybe one or two will give Melissa attention, wondering if their boy Liam is interested. If he is, we’ll find out who are the good friends and who are the douchebags.”
I slid a hand over his stomach, wrapping around his side. “What do you mean?”
“The ones who respect Liam will be nice to Melissa, but keep their distance. The douchebags will try to hit on her. They’ll either do it at the game or wait till the after-game party.”
“There’s an after-game party?”
Kash lifted his head, cupping my face, and smiled down at me. His thumb traced my top lip. “There’s always an after-game party, and because Matt’s here, he’ll control that.”
I liked how he traced my lip. I tried to catch his thumb in my mouth. “How do you know that?”
He laughed lightly, evading my mouth. “Because Matt likes your friend and he’s going to want to control who’s in her space. He knows I’d rather take you home after the game, have our own after-game party.” He moved more into my space. “And he knows Liam doesn’t want Melissa around him, because what Liam’s friends will notice, too, is that Liam is interested in your friend Melissa.”
“He is? Wait…”
Kash’s eyes sobered. “Matt wants to sleep with her. That’s all.”
I tensed up.
He smoothed a hand down my side, massaging at my waist. It helped loosen some of the tension. “So he wants to sleep with her,” he continued, “but he won’t, because he knows if he does he’s basically just a predator. And that’s what he wants to save her from with Liam’s friends, because some of them are predators.”
Air caught in my throat. “Does Liam know?”
Kash looked over my shoulder, observing a moment. “I don’t think so. Some guys know. Some guys don’t. He seems clueless.”
I frowned.
He eased away, tilting his head, his eyes back on me. His thumb rubbed at my lip again. “But no one needs to worry, because your friend has eyes only for Fitz, when it’s really Scott who’s more interested in her. And both Fitz and Scott know this. Fitz is respecting him by staying away, and Scott isn’t worried about anyone else because he knows he’s the one who’ll reel her in.”
The air escaped me in a sudden rush. I glanced over my shoulder and saw it all in one look.
Scott was next to Melissa, the same grin he always wore on his face, as he watched her talking to Liam. She was nodding, smiling, but kept sending furtive looks down our aisle. I turned. Fitz pointedly had his eyes elsewhere, and Matt was still talking to a bunch of the other guys, but he was seeing it all, too.
I turned back to Kash. “You noticed all of this on the ride over?”
“No. I noticed this the second I met your friend.”
Kash said I was smart, but so was he. Just in different ways.
“Well, I can say one thing for sure.” I cocked my head back so I could really look into Kash’s face. “My friend’s gonna get a boyfriend soon.”
Kash smiled down at me, I smiled back at him, and we continued to have our own moment. It was nice. Spending time at a game with my boyfriend and being able to just be with him. The end of the world wasn’t coming. We didn’t have an entire slew of bodyguards around us. There were regular people behind us. By the time the game started, I already knew it was worth it.
Matt made his rounds by the time halftime rolled around.
He moved from his seat, which was made easy because the guys kept leaving for the concession stands. Everyone remained standing the whole time, which also made it easier for Matt to socialize. So, by halftime, Matt was friends with all of the guys—and with some of the girls that were sitting in front of the guys. There were so many people, but I felt it was safe to say that if Matt walked on the Hawking University campus tomorrow, he’d be greeted as if he’d gone there full time for the past four years.
Liam and two of his friends mostly talked with Melissa the whole time. I joined in every now and then, but I was content to watch the game with Kash’s arm around me.
Fitz and Scott watched everyone. They were still there to do their jobs, and only once were they relieved, when Erik showed. He took Fitz’s spot and Fitz disappeared for a moment. He returned and Erik took Scott’s place. When Scott returned, Erik conversed with Kash a moment before leaving again.
If anyone noticed this, no one said a word.
It wasn’t until the fourth quarter started that a buzz began in the stands.
Kash’s head was tilted down to mine. His temple was resting against my head. We were both watching the game, but his head had been half bent over mine most the time. It was how he watched the game, and I loved it.
Matt came back to us, his smile frozen. “Busted.”
Kash’s head immediately lifted.
Matt’s eyes darted upward.
Kash looked and swore.
Right there, on the Jumbotron, was an image of Kash and me. I looked frozen in place. Kash looked ready to commit murder.
“We gotta go.”
At his command, Fitz and Scott both stood, leaving for the aisle.
“What’s going on?” Melissa asked.
Kash’s hand was firm on my thigh. He was guiding me from behind to the aisle. He said in my ear, “We’ll go up. We can finish the game in a box. She can come with us if she’d like.”
“What about Liam?”
“Him, too. Five of his friends. No more.”
Scott was craning over us, waiting.
Kash motioned. “Go up.”
Scott nodded, and we began the climb upward.
I relayed what he said to Melissa and Liam. Immediately, both stood. Liam was turning toward his friends, but Kash wasn’t waiting. His hand moved to the small of my back. He was right behind me. “Keep your head down. Don’t make eye contact.”
I did as he said, glad his hand didn’t leave me. A few people called to us. A guy asked for money to save his house. Another guy cursed at us. There were others, but we ignored them all the way up to the main floor.
Once there, Hawking security was waiting for us. One of the guys broke forward to talk with Kash. In that time, Melissa had followed us up. Liam, too. Three of his friends were trailing, and their whole demeanor from before was wiped clean. They were wide-eyed and looking at Kash and me with new interest. Matt seemed more reserved, and he moved next to me. “Since word is out, I’m making different plans now.”
Melissa had heard and frowned. “Like what?”
Jesus.
Those two words, how she said them … we both heard it, Matt and I. And a glance at a stiff Liam? Him, too. Longing. Disappointment. Jealousy.
Melissa was interested in Matt, not Fitz now.
Matt cursed under his breath before saying, almost gently, “I was going to have people over to my place at the Francois Nova. Just a small shindig. But now I’m going to invite a couple more of my friends.”
His gaze swept mine, and his was cautious.
Which told me who he was inviting.
“No.”
He cocked his head back. “Hmm?”
“No.” I was firm. “Not around my friends.”
His mouth twitched. He did not like hearing that. “They’re my friends, too.”
“No.”
Kash returned to my side. “What’s going on?”
Eyes still on Matt, I answered him. “Matt wants to invite Tony and Chester to his party at the Francois, where my friends will be.”
“No.” That was from Kash.
Matt’s nostrils flared. “I’m not remembering the moment when you two birthed me, made you my parents.”
Kash laughed. “That a joke?”
Matt’s eyes turned frosty, but he didn’t repeat it. “I’ll invite Guy, too.”
“He’s not much better around them.”
Matt gave me a dark look. “He’s way better and you know it.”
I had it. “Invite Torie and Tamara. Only then will I allow it.”
“Allow it? You her mom, too?” His eyes slid sideways to where Melissa was actively listening to everything. Liam was too, and he was looking pissed off.
Kash had had enough. He broke from my side, his hand going to Matt’s shoulder, and he forcibly turned Matt around. They started forward. Everyone started forward; it seemed we were all waiting for Kash’s move. We were shown to a private box a floor above. It wasn’t at the top, but we had our own terrace.
We walked in.
Kash led Matt to the corner. Kash was saying something. Matt wasn’t looking like he was enjoying it, and Kash wasn’t looking like he gave a shit. He broke away, coming back. “He’ll be fine. Your friends will be fine.”
Matt glowered at me before moving close to pass me. He hissed under his breath as he did, “I would’ve made sure she was safe.”
I said after him, “With Torie and Tamara there, I trust she will be.”
He was going to the box’s restroom. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder at me. “You could’ve come, too.” His jaw clenched, and it hit me then.
This wasn’t about Melissa. This was about me, because he assumed I wouldn’t come.
My head shot up. “Maybe I was always coming.”
He frowned, but his jaw unclenched. “Really?”
“Why not?”
His eyes moved to Kash, his meaning evident.
Kash sighed. “I said the whole day, Matt. I meant it.”
The frown vanished from Matt’s face, and he shot up. “Well, fuck that. I’m getting my drink on now.” He changed paths, heading for the bar instead.
Melissa came up to me later, once everyone settled. “What was all of that earlier? Does your brother not have good friends?”
I paused for a beat.
Melissa was impervious to so much, but it was in a good way. I wanted her to stay that way, but she needed to know. Pulling her farther away from everyone, I told her the truth.
“Fitz is not interested in you.”
Her face fell.
I kept on, “But Scott is.”
Her face brightened. “Really?”
“And Liam is interested in dating you, too, while my brother wants to sleep with you.” I didn’t miss a beat. “Do not sleep with my brother. Just trust me. He’s not head over heels for you.” Hurt flashed, but I made sure she heard me. “It’s not because of you. It’s not even because of the last woman he had feelings for. He’s got things in him that are blocking him from falling for anyone, so don’t sleep with him. As for Liam and Scott, it’s up to you. I think Liam could love you.” I hesitated, looking at Scott over her head. He was frowning slightly in our direction. I added, “I don’t know what to say about Scott, so that’s on you.”
With all that said, I stepped back to give her space.
She was floored—floored. Her mouth was hanging open. “All of them?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Are interested?”
Another nod. Another “Yes.”
“In me?” she squeaked, pointing at herself.
See. Obliviously cute. I hated taking that away from her.
I said, “I’m sure one or two of Liam’s friends would like to sleep with you too, but don’t fall for it. They’re just doing it to be dicks to Liam.”
Another squeak from her. “Oh my God!”
“Bailey.” Kash was standing by the seats.
I said to her, “Now you know. Be smart about who you choose.”
Melissa was quiet the rest of the game. Afterward, we were led to a private exit and left for the Francois Nova, since Matt said the after-game party was supposed to start immediately.
We got there, and it was fun at first.
And then … it wasn’t.