Tutoring the Player (Campus Wallflowers #1)(37)

I stare at her, cataloging how happy she looks. Daisy’s drunk, I know, but still, she looks so fucking happy. They both do. I want to squash it. I want her to only look like that with me.

“If you’re trying to keep them apart, maybe you shouldn’t have brought her to a party and then left her alone.”

“Doesn’t matter. He likes her. She likes him. It’s inevitable.” I take another drink of beer, wishing it were something stronger.

Gavin laughs, and it snaps my attention back to him.

“What?”

“You should see yourself. You look like you’re about to spit fire. You have a thing for Daisy?” He brings a fist to his mouth and keeps on laughing. “Oh man, the great Jordan Thatcher has fallen hard for a girl. She’s cute but not your type. Like at all.”

“She’s…” I stop myself from pouring my heart out on the lawn of the party. “Whatever.”

“The night is young, and the booze is flowing.” He steps back. “Go get the girl, Thatcher.”

He juts his chin, and I follow his gaze back to Liam and Daisy. He’s filling her cup with another beer. Fuck, what she needs is a water. Her eyes flit up, and she smiles right at me. I swear it hits me like a bullet to the chest, and I can’t breathe for a second. Earlier, when she took my hand, I was transported back to middle school like it was my first time all over again.

I don’t immediately move toward them. Maybe I should just duck out and let things happen with them.

Liam is finally playing well, but I want him to be happy. The decent thing would be to walk away.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out, smiling at the text from the last person I expected. I choose dancing now!

I look up at Daisy to find her grinning at her phone.

Daisy is drunk. So am I, but that’s status quo for a Friday night.

Instead of replying, I move toward her. Whatever good intentions I had are gone. I can’t walk away from her. Not tonight anyway.

She sees me at ten feet away, says something to Liam, and then walks from him to me. I catch his eye and give him a head tip to let him know I have her. We’ve both been keeping an eye on her by some unspoken agreement.

When she reaches me, she takes my hand again and presses her tits into my bicep.

Yeah, she’s definitely drunk.

At the outskirts of the dance area, I face her. Her gaze darts around to the others dancing, but she doesn’t move.

“Change your mind?”

“No. It’s just, I’m not a very good dancer.”

I lift our joined hands and force her to do a spin. Graceful, she is not. But this isn’t Dancing with the Stars.

“Nobody cares. Just move however you feel.”

Slowly, she sways to the beat. This is not on my usual adventure map, but I’ve been pulled out here a time or ten. Plus, I don’t give a shit if I can dance. I’m sort of in awe of Daisy. She cares deeply, yet she still puts herself out there. Mostly for Liam’s sake, but I’m trying hard not to think about that. Or how I’m lusting after a girl my buddy likes.

With each song, she gets a little more into it. When the DJ plays a slower song, she looks at me awkwardly and fans her face. “I think I need another drink.”

“You need water.”

“I’m fine,” she insists.

“All right, sweet Daisy. Pick your poison. Beer or liquor?”

Her face scrunches up. “No more beer.”

In the kitchen, our options are limited. Empty cans and nearly empty bottles line the counter. I make her a Sprite with a splash of vodka. She notices but only rolls her eyes.

“Thank you.”

I grab a water and lead her back outside.

“You’re not drinking anymore?”

“I’m plenty drunk. Don’t worry about me.” This is true, but I also realize that she’s on the verge of needing someone to hold her hair back.

Liam and a few guys are still in our spot playing cards. The others are most likely in the pool trying to hook up.

Daisy takes a chair next to Liam, and I fall into the one beside her.

“Do you want to play, Daisy?” Liam asks her.

She shakes her head. I’m momentarily pleased that she’s choosing not to do something Liam asked her to, but then it hits me there’s probably another reason she said no.

I lean closer. “Want me to teach you?”

“No,” she says quietly so only I can hear. “Please don’t make a big thing of it. I’m fine not playing. You can if you want.”

She finishes her drink and then closes her eyes. “I’m kind of tired. I should probably go home soon.”

“Want a boost over the fence?”

Her blue eyes pop open and narrow.

“Kidding. I told you, I like my nipples.” I stand and say bye to the guys.

Liam gets up, and I hold out my hand to pull him into a side hug and talk into his ear. “I’m going to walk Daisy home and make sure she’s okay. She’s pretty drunk.”

I half expect and half hope that he’s going to tell me to stay and that he’ll do it. That’s just the type of thing Liam would do even if he wasn’t interested in the girl.

“Yeah.” He chuckles lightly. “She’s fading fast. Let me know if you need anything.”