Out of Bounds (The Summer Games #2)(87)

Once we strolled into the cafeteria and put our stuff down on the table, I followed Rosie over to the food line.

“Oh my god, there he is,” Rosie said, gripping my hand.

“Who?” I said, trying to follow her line of sight.

“Hudson Green. He’s on the U.S. men’s soccer team.”

I saw a group of guys at a table a few yards away from us. One of them had his eyes locked on Rosie and when she noticed, she smiled and waved gently before turning away with cherry-stained cheeks.

“Rosie, he’s still watching you.”

She groaned. “Please don’t do anything embarrassing. Let’s just go get food.”

“Do you know him?”

She shrugged. “We met in the trainer’s office two days ago. He’s a year older than me and obviously way out of my league.”

I turned over my shoulder to glance back at the group and Hudson was still watching Rosie. When he saw me catch him, he turned quickly, trying to focus on his food.

“Rosie! He’s definitely interested,” I assured her as we stepped up in line.

“Don’t say that! I really don’t want to get my hopes up with him.”

I promised her I’d drop it and once we had our food, we settled into a corner of the food court not yet overtaken by rowdy groups of athletes. I attacked my egg white omelet with a vengeance, knowing I’d need every bit of strength for the competition later.

“We don’t have to be at the arena for another hour,” Lexi assured me with a laugh.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I want to make sure I’m not hungry during competition.”

Just as I got the words out, movement near our table caught my attention. Hudson and a few of his teammates were making their way over to us.

“Rosie,” I said, trying to get her attention before she put another bite of food in her mouth. Unfortunately, Hudson was too quick.

“Umm…hi,” she stammered, holding her hand in front of her mouth while she chewed.

“Give her a second, she’s busy swallowing,” Lexi said with a teasing smile. “Who do we have here?”

Rosie blushed. “Guys, this is Hudson. Hudson, these are my teammates.”

We exchanged pleasant greetings, and then I watched as Hudson turned to Rosie as if she was the center of his universe.

“Do you compete today?” he asked, nodding to our matching getups.

She smiled. “Yeah. Team finals.”

His brows arched. “That’s awesome. Our next game isn’t for a few days.”

“Cool.”

“I like your uniforms,” he said, grasping on to something, anything to continue the conversation.

Lexi groaned against my shoulder. “This is actually painful.”

I squeezed her thigh under the table to make her shut up.

Rosie beamed. “Oh thanks. They’re actually pretty comfy.”

“Dude.” One of his teammates stepped up and nudged his shoulder. “If you don’t just ask her, I will.”

Hudson blushed and then reached out to elbow his friend out of the way.

“Just ignore them.” He laughed. “I came over here to invite you and your teammates to a party we’re having tonight.”

Lexi perked up. “What kind of party are we talking about? Kegger? Rave? Pool party? Pants-off-dance-off?”

Hudson looked like a deer caught in headlights. “Oh, uhh…it’ll just be us and a few of the U.S. swimmers. They have a big condo on the fourteenth floor and I think they’re inviting some other athletes, so it should be a fun group.”

What about coaches, I thought before I could help myself.

Lexi nodded before Rosie could even get a word in. “We’ll be there.”

“Uh, not me,” June corrected with a finger pointed in the air.

“Right.” Lexi rolled her eyes. “Everyone but Miss Priss will be there.”

I nearly raised my hand to join June. I didn’t really feel up for a party, especially if Erik wasn’t going to be there. I needed some time to process the last twenty-four hours, and heading to a party with a bunch of rowdy athletes wasn’t really going to help with that. I kept quiet though; I could always bow out after Hudson and his teammates left.

Hudson smiled down at Rosie. “Okay, awesome. Good luck today. I can’t wait to hear about the competition later.”

“Oh-h. Yeah. Okay,” Rosie stuttered, too infatuated to think of a real response.

Hudson and his teammates waved and walked away, leaving Rosie to revel in excitement.

“Oh my god. Oh my god. YOU GUYS.”

Molly and I exchanged a smile.

“I won’t even be able to concentrate today!”

June scoffed. “You better be able to.”

Molly rolled her eyes at June’s bluntness and then reached forward for Rosie’s hand. “I’m excited for you.”

“What should I wear?” she said, turning her spoon through her oatmeal, though I knew she probably wouldn’t eat much more of it. Even I had butterflies in my stomach after that exchange…or maybe they were fluttering around because, oh yeah, I’M IN LOVE WITH MY COACH.

Lexi smirked. “I have something perfect for you to wear.”

At once, Molly and I leaned forward. “No!”