Gina, nearly speechless, only nodded at first.
“Speak, Gina,” I teased, giving her the side-eye.
“Oh, duh,” she giggled. “Yep, a drink would be really nice.”
Leo smiled and placed a hand on the small of her back, ushering her toward the cooler, where Morgan was standing, chatting with someone.
That left Brody and me alone. I didn’t realize we were so close until I looked at him again. My back was pressed on the edge of the counter and his groin was almost pushing into mine. If I weren’t mistaken, he was kind of hard. His head was hanging low, his eyes fixed on my lips. Yet again.
“So, you having fun?” I asked, hoping to distract him.
“Yeah, I am. Even more fun now that you’re here.”
I only smiled, straightening my back.
“You’ve never seen my room, have you?” he inquired.
“Nope.” I popped my lips. “Never even been to this place before.”
“I know, I know. It’s just…the guys are fucking messy. I don’t want to bring you around it.” Brody finally pulled away, sliding the tips of his fingers into his front pockets. “Would you like to check it out? My room?”
I drew my lips in and looked down. “What’s in there for us to see?”
“It’s a little more quiet,” he answered, leaning closer. “There’s something I’d actually like to talk to you about too.”
I knew what he was trying to do. He wanted us to be alone. As badly as I wanted to keep my guard up, I would have hated to say no on his birthday. The whole point of my attendance was to hang with him, after all.
“Sure. Why not?” I finally said, and his eyes lit up, like it was the greatest news he’d had all day.
“Cool.” He grabbed my hand and smiled, leading the way through the crowd. His hand was big and locked around mine. He made sure our grips never slipped, despite the sweatiness of our palms.
He’d made it to the stairs, taking them up casually, glancing over his shoulder to check on me. We passed a few couples making out, groping, and sighing. I looked over the guardrails and saw someone looking up.
Blonde hair. Big green eyes. It was Sophie, and with her was Jay. I looked away when they rolled their eyes.
With my hand still clasped in his, Brody met the top of the staircase and continued down the hallway until we stopped in front of the last door on the left with a STOP sign pinned to the door. He finally let go of my hand to open it.
The room was typical for a football player’s dorm. Two twin-sized beds were across from each other, football trophies and rings and books stacked on the shelf above the computer. A small window was above one of the beds and I assumed it was Brody’s because of the Game of Thrones poster of the Night King pinned above it.
“This is what you had to show me?” I joked, walking into the room. “It’s pretty bland if you ask me.”
He shut the door behind him, shrugging a bit when I glanced his way. “Meh. It’s a chill spot when you need to escape the bullshit.” He rocked on his feet a bit. “So…can I be honest here for a second?”
I glanced at him. “Sure.”
“I’m not digging the party. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful that they planned anything for me at all but… I don’t know. Too many people—more than usual. The guys went all out.”
“Well, that’s a good thing! It’s your birthday and they invited more people. That means they cared enough to step out of their way and let more people know about your awesomeness.”
He smiled, but it didn’t meet his eyes. I felt them on me as I turned to fiddle with the trophies on the shelf.
“Can I ask a serious question?” His voice was lower. Calmer. I looked over my shoulder and found his eyes. They were soft, mellow.
“Of course.”
“What’s up with you and me? Like, where do we stand, Kandy? I’m tired of being in the dark about us. My friends always ask me and I never know what to tell them and it’s getting pretty embarrassing.” He huffed a laugh.
I blinked rapidly. Um…okay. Wow. This was not the question I was expecting. Pretty deep. “I…I don’t know, Brody. I guess I thought we were friends?”
“Friends that hang out more than three times a week, even with practices and conditioning? I don’t think so.” He took a few steps toward me, cupping my waist with one hand and using the other to tip my chin. “I really like you, Kandy. I do, and maybe it’s the drinks making me say all of this, but I want you to be mine. I’m tired of letting the time we share go to waste. I want to kiss you, and hold you, and do so much more with you.”