Alice turned her head and met a pair of dark eyes. She pursed her lips, trying not to smile. Jack was a Smurf—genius. His blue face was a mask of surprise—he obviously hadn’t expected her to be here.
She whispered in Madison’s ear, then dragged her roommate toward Jack and his fellow blue friend—from his impressive height, another basketball player—to say hello. Alice stopped in front of Jack and smiled. He blinked, stunned. He was gaping at her tight costume and not speaking.
“Hi,” Alice said.
“Hi.” Jack’s jaw tensed and his eyes became wary. “Why are you here?”
It was time to let him know she could play oh so cool.
“Most Kappa Kappa Gammas came here tonight.” Alice casually wrapped her hair to the side, leaving her bare shoulder and neck exposed. “At least, the cool gang did.”
“My man,” the blue friend butted into the conversation. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”
With all the blue paint covering him, Alice couldn’t tell much about the second Smurf’s looks. Just that he was super-tall, ripped, and had popping blue eyes.
“Peter, Alice,” Jack said without enthusiasm. “Alice, Peter.”
“Nice to meet you,” Alice said. “I’d shake your hand, but I’m afraid of turning blue.” She turned around to introduce Madison, but her roommate was already chatting with another Smurf. “How many Smurfs are there?”
“The entire team,” Peter said.
“You play basketball with Jack?”
“Yeah, headed for the NBA next year, hopefully.” He made a cute, no-biggies face.
Alice noticed Jack fidgeting uneasily at Peter mentioning the NBA. Ah, the notorious NBA line. Alice had heard of this guy: Peter Wells was Jack’s preferred wingman, and the NBA reference was his favorite pickup line. Peter was hitting on her and Jack didn’t like it. Perfect!
“The NBA, wow, how cool!” she said, playing along.
“Hi, Alice.” Becky, a fellow Kappa Kappa Gamma dressed as a sexy nurse, stopped next to her. “Fraternizing with the Smurfs?”
“Becky, meet Jack, fellow Chemistry student and the only non-nerd guy in my class, and Peter, future NBA star,” Alice introduced, trying to keep her eyes from wandering from their faces to their painted-but-still-very-visible six-packs.
“Hi,” Becky said. “The house is full of Smurfs.”
“Yep, the Crimson all came as Smurfs,” Alice said. “So, whose idea was it?” she asked Peter.
“It was a team decision.”
“It’s brilliant,” Becky said, openly staring at the generous amount of muscle on display.
“So, Becky, is it? My friend here”—Peter patted Jack on one shoulder—“needs some nursing back to life. He’s recovering from an injured heart.”
“Is he now?” Becky peered at Jack, then at Alice, as if she was silently asking, “Is he cool?”
The sultriness in Becky’s voice made Alice’s skin prickle with ugly emotions: irritation, jealousy, pain, and anger. But she disciplined her features, trying to appear neutral. If Becky ended up sleeping with Jack tonight, she’d be forgotten by morning. It was more important for Alice to act unconcerned.
“Jack’s a darling,” Alice said aloud, then leaned toward Becky to whisper in her ear, “If you’re looking for a night’s fun.” She tilted her head and winked at Jack, then continued speaking to Becky in hushed tones. “Don’t expect anything serious from him.” The sisterly code of Kappa Kappa Gamma, and the more general girl code, demanded she warn Becky of what to expect.
The information didn’t seem to bother Becky. She turned toward Jack once again, saying, “I’m out of juice.” She shook the empty red cup she was holding. “Why don’t we go get another drink?”
He chugged whatever was left of his beer and shrugged. “Sure.”
As they walked away, Jack peered over his shoulder, catching Alice’s eye. Confusion at her attitude was written all over his face. Then they were gone, and Alice was alone with Peter. Madison had disappeared with the other Smurf.
“You’re a junior?” Peter asked.
“Yes. You?”
“Senior. And your concentration is Chemistry?”
“Yep.”
“Whoa, tough. You’re a smart girl, then.”
“Were you hoping for dumb?”
“No.” He shot her a grin, his teeth too white next to the blue lips. “I like a challenge.”
“What’s your major?”
“Econ. But hopefully, I won’t need it—”
“Yeah, I know…” She waved him off. “Not with the NBA knocking on your door soon.” Now that Jack was gone, she didn’t have to pretend she cared about an alleged future career as a pro athlete.
“You’re not into basketball?”
“Not a sports fan in general.”
“Ouch.”
“What? Did I ruin your best pickup line?” Alice smiled to soften the blow.
“Touché. Are you from around here?”
“No, I’m originally from Philly. You?”
“Florida. Small town near Orlando.”
Alice studied him for a few seconds. “I’m trying to imagine your face without the blue paint.”
“Careful with that, I’m told I’m devastatingly handsome.”
“And modest, too.”
“You really have no idea how I look? Haven’t you been to a game? Not even once to see Jack play?”
“No. Jack knows I don’t care about sports.” He also didn’t want her anywhere near his teammates, she suspected. “I don’t even know the rules. I get you guys have to throw the ball inside the basket, but that’s about it.”
Peter chuckled. “I guess in the end that’s all that really matters. You should give basketball a shot. It’s a beautiful game.” He winked. “If you want, I can explain the basics to you.”
“It’s too loud in here to concentrate on a game’s rules.”
“Rain check for tomorrow?”
Now he was playing a whole different ball game, but why not play along? If she really wanted to make Jack jealous, Peter would do the trick, and he might be a little treat for her self-esteem, too. She needed someone to look at her in a way that made her feel beautiful. Desirable. And Peter had definitely mastered that particular skill.
“How about you grab me a drink for now?” she asked.
“What are you having?”
“Beer.”
“Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
Peter disappeared behind a corner and was back in a couple of minutes with two blue cups in his hands. He offered her one, saying, “Want to move upstairs? It’s too noisy to talk down here.”
Dangerous question.
“Sure,” Alice said.
Dangerous answer.
She followed him up the stairs, half-curious, half-worried to see if he would try to take her into a room. But Peter stopped at the top of the stairs and sat on a carpeted step. Alice sat next to him, keeping a safe distance.
“I don’t bite,” he said.
“But you stain.” She bumped her cup into his. “Cheers.”
“To what?”
“To an evening with a blue guy.” She raised her cup, and they both drank.
“Would you get terribly mad if I got some paint on you?”
Alice held his burning gaze. “It depends where.”
He took the cup from her hands and set it alongside his on the landing. “How about on your lips?”
“You can try.” She smiled. “I promise I’ll keep my claws in.”
Careful not to touch her in any other way, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.
The kiss was gentler than Alice expected. And when it was over, it left her wanting more.
“Is my face blue?” she asked.
“Looks like you have dark lipstick on. Listen, I’m over this party. Did you drive here?”
“No, walked. You?”
“Yeah, me too. Can I walk you home?”
“Let me check with my roommates.”
Alice fished her phone out of the small clutch strapped across her torso to text Madison and Haley. Neither texted back.
“I’m afraid my roommates have gone to visit the Smurfs’ village,” Alice said. “We can go if you want; I just have to grab my jacket, I left it downstairs. You came bare-chested in this cold?”
“Hah, no. I left my hoodie in a room.” Peter sprang up and offered her a hand. “I’ll go grab it and meet you by the door.”
Alice ignored the blue hand and stood up on her own. “Cool. See you downstairs.”
Peter let his hand drop and gave her a peck on the lips before hurrying down the corridor.
Alice hopped down the stairs and mercifully found her jacket on its hanger, undamaged. It was always a gamble to leave outerwear unsupervised at house parties; there was a good chance you’d never see it again. As she was pulling on her jacket, Alice caught a flash of white and blue out of the corner of her eye.
She turned around, saying, “You were quick.”
But she didn’t find the Smurf she was expecting staring back at her. She found Jack.