Jock Row (Jock Hard #1)(26)

I shoot him a look.

His sheepish grin does not bode well for me. “Never have I ever talked like a pervert with my friends.”

He chugs.

I chug. Wipe my mouth. “Stop doing that.”

He laughs. “Never have I ever watched porn alone in my room.”

“Would you stop?!”

We both drink.

“We need to start drinking alcohol when we play this game. It would be way more fun, and imagine how drunk we’d be.”

It really would be. “I have a feeling you’re going to be a horrible influence, Rowdy Wade.”

“I might be a bad influence, but you obviously like it, and I doubt you’d be coming back every Friday if you didn’t like the thrill of being rejected.”

I don’t tell him I come back to see him, that I don’t feel rejected—I feel excited. I anticipate each day of the week as they fall away, leading to my new favorite day of the week: Friday.

No, I don’t feel the thrill of rejection.

I feel the thrill of being with him on this porch.

“It really does make sense if you think about it: you’ve been told a few times you’re not allowed in the house, yet here you are for the third week in a row. Admit it, you like the element of being somewhere you’re not supposed to be. It’s kind of like breaking and entering.”

“What are you, a psych major?” I joke.

“Yes.”

“For real?”

“Oh yeah, I’m a huge fan of Freud. Huge.” Rowdy’s huge biceps bulge when he sticks his hands beneath his armpits, arms still crossed. “What about you? What’s your major?”

“Marine biology.”

“For real? That’s pretty fucking cool—too bad you’re in Iowa.”

Which is basically the same reaction I get from anyone I tell.

“I realize that, Rowdy. It would be great if I was near an ocean, but…” I didn’t get accepted anywhere on a coastline—not even close. Of course, I don’t tell this to Rowdy.

His mouth curls into a smile, hands still in his pits. “What’s your favorite sea creature?”

“Coral.”

His brows furrow as his head draws back. “How is that a sea creature?”

“Coral is alive,” I enthuse passionately. “And it’s so beautiful. Have you ever been scuba diving? Or snorkeling? Thousands of organisms dwell inside a single reef.” I clamp my mouth shut before I word-vomit my love for the bottom of the ocean floor.

“Like Nemo.”

“Exactly.” I grin. “And his father.”

“And Dory. Man that fish is whack.”

We’re grinning at each other like idiots. The easy set of Rowdy’s mouth has me clearing my throat, his scrutiny of me intimidating. Suddenly self-conscious, I pick at the hem of my jacket, fiddling with the zipper.

Have I mentioned how good-looking he is? Especially when he’s focused.

And right now, he’s focusing all his attention on me.

“I should probably go.” I move to stand up, hand ready to push off the wooden porch. “It’s getting so cold.”

His next question pins me back down and my ass hits the floor again.

“Doesn’t it bother you that your friends leave you out here?”

“You seem really fixated on this—no, my friends do not leave me out here.” They make themselves scarce so I can be alone with him.

“I’m not fixating on it, I just want to know that you’re not being completely shit on.”

“Why? Are you feeling protective?” I try to make a joke, but it falls flat, his mouth still pressed in a straight line.

Damn.

“I think…” I search for the right words. “I’m not going to fault them for loving parties, just like they don’t fault me for wearing puffy coats to those parties.”

He can’t tell if I’m being serious or a smartass. “Remind me where you met them?”

“The dorms.” I pick at a loose strand of yarn on my mittens. “My best friends from home are at other schools, you know how that is. I don’t get to see them unless it’s a holiday or whatever. I do have friends from my classes, but they do lots of studying.”

Which is what I should be doing more of if I want to improve my grades.

“Do you think those friends of yours inside realize they’re wasting their time with my teammates?” he muses, chewing the mouthpiece of his water bottle.

“What do you mean?”

“Derek and Ben? Brinkman? They might be pricks, but they can smell a gold digger from a mile away—no offense, but those girls you came with reek of desperation.” His smile is lazy as the bottle hits his lips. Lopsided grin, eyes hooded. He looks sated. “Not like you.”

“What about me?” The butterflies in my stomach flutter their wings.

He shrugs. “I couldn’t figure out what you were doing with those two. They’re not even close to being in the same league as you.”

“Did you just imply that I’m classy?”

“Why is that so hard to believe?”

I readjust myself, trying to get more comfortable on the hard ground, repositioning my legs. “You know, when the three of us were freshmen, we used to have way more fun. It wasn’t about guys and parties and hooking up.”