The Revenge Pact (Kings of Football, #1)(21)

Petite, blonde, and pretty, she’s Donovan’s ex.

She used to spend every free moment here with him when they dated—but not anymore.

“Hey,” Benji says cautiously.

Crew and Hollis send her a wave, but they aren’t smiling.

Her face is flushed, and she won’t meet any of our gazes. “Gotta go. See you Friday at the party,” she tells us as she dashes out the back door.

Weird.

I look at Benji. He’s been at the house the longest. “How long has she been here?”

He lifts his hands. “I got here an hour ago and no one has come in, so she’s been here a while.”

There’s a silence in the kitchen as the guys look at each other, then at me.

Crew arches a brow, like, Dude, what are you going to do about that?

Hollis grimaces. “Is he messing around with her?”

We all know who he is.

Anastasia isn’t part of the fraternity brotherhood officially, but she’s wearing his pin, and that makes her one of our little sisters. Not as important as a brother, sure, and girlfriends with pins come and go, but…

A long exhalation comes from my chest. If Donovan—

“Where is he?” I ask.

“His Tesla is parked on the street, so he’s definitely here,” Hollis says.

“Basement probably,” Benji adds as he stands and peeks into the den.

“Later,” I tell them and walk through the den, saying hi to the guys there. I make a point to check on them, especially the pledges. I ask how their day is going, though I’m only half-listening, my mind lasered in on Harper and why she was here. After fifteen minutes, my finger is twisting my ring furiously as I take the stairs down to the basement.

I step down into the spacious bottom floor of our four-story house. The walls are dark paneling with photo collages of every year, various awards we’ve gotten for service work, and candid pictures of the football team. Hollis, Crew, and I are framed in one from last year after we won the national championship, our arms draped around each other. Seeing it reminds me of how fucked this season was, and I turn away.

After I pass the pool table, I find Donovan sitting on one of the theater recliners as he hunches over his laptop. He’s tall, about six two, and fit. He’s handsome, I guess. Nice guy. Smart. A little oblivious.

I’ve watched him study for a test with earbuds in while we partied. I’ve seen him walk right past Anastasia, his head far away, and not notice her. My hands clench.

But he—oh yeah, he knows when to pay attention when it counts.

After all, he noticed her first. And dibs count among brothers.



* * *



“See that girl? She’s in my chemistry class. I’ve had my eye on her all semester.”

I glance up from the textbook I’m pretending to read in the library and follow Donovan’s gaze to the babe at a table a few feet away.

I know almost everyone on campus, but—

“She has to be new here. Don’t know her name and I’m too shy to just go up to her.” He leans in. “You’re killer at scoring girls. What do I do?”

I’m barely listening.

Her hair is a soft purple, and a pen is tucked into her updo or whatever you call it. Her eyes—can’t see the color—are behind glasses, but I can tell they’re expressive and thickly lashed. Her mouth is pouty as she pulls it down in a frown. Her shirt is bright pink, the curve of her tits…definitely a D cup, and her legs are long.

Tall.

Curvy.

Unconventional.

MY TYPE.

“She’s hot, right?”

“She’s alright,” I murmur.

She isn’t beautiful in a cookie-cutter way like some of the made-up sorority girls who hang at our house; no, she’s frighteningly pretty in an ethereal, natural way. Like a wild angel. All that color.

I almost expect rainbow wings to pop out behind her back.

Her face is heart-shaped and delicate, her nose a hair too long, the arch of her dark eyebrows dramatic against her pale skin.

I tear my gaze off her and look at Donovan. “She really isn’t your type.”

“I hear you, but I need a change from Harper. We keep hooking up since we broke up, and it never goes anywhere.”

“Hmmm.”

Donovan’s eyes practically glow as he stares at the girl. “I mean, look at her. It’s hard to look away, am I right? She’s so different from me though. Advice? How do I start? Just walk up and then what? Fuck. I have no game. I’m useless when it comes to girls.”

“No, you’re not.”

He taps his pen on the table. “I’m a geek and you know it. I’m going over there. Maybe ask her about class? No, that’s too generic. I need a good pick-up line.” He stands up, a panicked look on his face. “River. Shit. Help.”

I laugh and pull him down. “Hold off on storming the castle.” My eyes go back to her, and I stand. “Let me do a walk-by.”

Her head is down as I slowly walk past her and pretend to look for a book on the nearby shelves. She moves around, uncrossing and crossing her legs. A long sigh comes from her chest.

Being covert, I spy the numerous thick textbooks on her table. Can’t read the names of them, but shit, she’s way smarter than me.