The Rules of You and Me

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

EXES BY TATE MCRAE

Brianne Archer:

The guy talking to me right now definitely has a girlfriend. I don’t know what it is about him that gives it away. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s constantly checking his phone. Maybe it’s the fact that his two friends are on each side of him like bodyguards. Like they’re watching for her or her friends to show up. Or maybe it’s because of his insistent need for me to be interested in him. He’s glanced at my chest a total of 16 times in the short time we’ve been speaking. Unfortunately for him, I’m lacking in that department, but it doesn’t seem to bother him. He checks his phone and I sigh.

“Is that your girlfriend?” I ask, and he chokes on his beer.

A spatter of it hits the ground between us. I scrunch up my nose and look him directly in the eyes, pressing a very small smile on my lips—an incredibly fake one at that.

“I… I don’t… She’s not my—”

“Listen, Todd,” I start.

“My name is Trey,” he interrupts, and I sigh.

“Oops. Either way, I wasn’t interested. I was hoping you were planning on buying me a drink, but now that I know you’re taken, I don’t bite if your line is already hooked. Shoo.”

I wave my hands and his jaw is slack. Most of the time, I wouldn’t be this forward… But taken men in bars are an exception to that rule. He stutters once more.

I noticed his Seattle Pike University Athletics shirt the minute he started speaking to me. He’s not a football player, but maybe… basketball? Baseball? I have no idea. That doesn’t mean he won’t know who my brother is. Everyone does.

“Fine, if that wasn’t enough… Bellamy Archer is my older brother. Scared yet? Go away.” I tilt my head and smile as his eyes go wide.

I wave my hand, and he turns away, almost tripping over his feet. If my brother knew I was here right now, he’d probably freak out. Overprotective is basically his middle name.

I sigh and turn from him, bringing the straw up to my lips as I sip my margarita. I survey the people around me, and my eyes land on a very familiar face. I almost choke on my drink. Ryland Turner, one of my ex-boyfriends, approaches. It’s absolutely not a good idea that I’m near him. He might have been mediocre in every aspect of the relationship but he did have a nice-sized dick, and he actually knew how to use it which is more than I can say for most of the others. I haven’t been with anyone for months. But right now, I have alcohol in my system despite the fact that I shouldn’t have even been let in the bar. I can’t get tangled up with him. I can’t get myself into trouble before my freshman year of college even officially starts. I scan the room quickly and act fast as I jump in front of the only other freshman teammate that I have on the cheer team.

I have talked to him a handful of times. He’s sweet from what I can tell but I haven’t really gotten to feel him out. The only two people I’ve been around are him, and Valerie, the junior on our cheer team that has been tasked with making us aware of traditions and fun stuff around campus. I wouldn’t consider myself close or even on a first-name basis with either of them. That’s going to change now. We’re going to see if Dakota is a real one or not.

“Dakota… right?” I ask him, and his eyes scan me in a way that is anything but friendly.

I smirk. I guess I wore the right outfit. Or maybe he’s not looking at me in that way, maybe I’m just amusing… Dakota is picture-perfect, I saw that from the start, but I also cheer with him… So the non-friendly way he’s looking at me gives me bad ideas that I will be ignoring.

“Yeah… and you’re Brianne, right? Rumor has it I’m going to be your stunt partner for the foreseeable future,” he speaks in a casual voice, and I raise my eyebrows.

“I guess that means we should probably get to know each other…” I tell him, keeping the same casual nonchalant tone.

I lean against the bar, and he ditches any other plans he had to stand in front of me. This could go very well or very bad. I’m hoping for the former because if he’s right, the next four years will be hell if I hate the man standing in front of me. I send up a prayer that he’s not the absolute worst.

“Are you drinking tonight, Dakota?” I ask him, and he shrugs his shoulders and eyes me up and down once more.

“Whatever you’re having… but I prefer tequila,” he tells me.

His eyes are kind, pretty, and blue, and his facial structure is strong. He looks like a Ken doll. His muscle tone is mouth-watering, and the way his shirt hugs his chest like it was made for him makes it hard not to stare. I’m around 5 '5, but I look miniscule next to Dakota. He could be on the football team, not the cheer team, if we were basing things just on the way he looks. And the answer he just gave is music to my damn ears. Tequila should run through my veins instead of blood. I’d be far more tolerable.

I look over Dakota’s shoulder to see Ryland staring at me like he was waiting for me to notice him. The second of eye contact is enough to make my ex move. It takes a few moments for me to register that he’s making his way over to me, and then the panic sets in. I cringe and groan out. Dakota tilts his head and furrows his brows.

“What?” he asks, confused by my body language.

“Can I kiss you?” I ask Dakota, and he furrows his brows. “Yes or no, quickly please.” I tilt my head, and he narrows his eyes.

“You want me… to kiss you? I just met you,” he offers and I shrug.

“I’ve done worse,” I fight back.

He looks at my eyes, then my lips, and then doesn’t hesitate to pull me to him by the nape of my neck. His large hand splays over my skin and warms me all the way down to my bones. His lips are warm and persistent. My breath catches, but despite how skilled he is at kissing me, there’s not a single spark that ignites. I keep my lips on him though, and I grip his shirt, sinking into the feeling… or lack thereof. I breathe in the scent of him and indulge in that too because this man smells like heaven.

This means nothing, not even slightly, and I hate that because what if fireworks are going off in his brain right now and I’m going to break his heart? I should stop kissing him.

I back up slightly, my body still in his grasp. I leave a distance between our faces so I can look directly at him. His bright blue eyes are staring down at me, a smirk pressed to his full lips. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t absolutely obsessed with his appearance but there are no feelings attached. He’s a cutie and someone else will be damn lucky if they bag him.

“Are you going to tell me why you kissed me now?” he asks, his hand still intertwined in my hair.

“You kissed me,” I clarify, and his smirk grows. He fights a laugh and backs up slightly.

“You asked,” he offers with a shrug.

“Do you do everything strangers ask you to do in bars?” I ask him, and he shrugs his shoulders again, all of his motions subtle and calm.

Bellamy isn’t going to believe it when I tell him what happened tonight.

“If they’re as gorgeous as you then maybe. But… I don’t think I’m interested in getting involved with someone I have to be this close to every day for the next four years, and from the way you pulled back, I think you’re thinking the same thing, so tell me what that was for. Unless I’m wrong, then we can keep kissing, no strings attached and cheer together until our faces turn blue,” he insists.

A smile presses to my lips.

“My ex-boyfriend was walking over, and the last time I talked to him, I ended up sleeping with him. I refuse to go down that road ever again. No more exes now that I’m in college, especially not when tequila is involved.” I slightly raise the drink I have.

He raises his eyebrows and shrugs slightly, accepting the answer as a good one.

“Is he still looking?” Dakota asks, and I casually glance around and don’t see Ryland anywhere. I shake my head slightly.

“Then we did a good job, didn't we?” he asks and lets go of me.

“You were an incredible kisser Dakota, but I think we should never kiss again,” I tell him with a smile pressed to my lips.

I hold my hand out to shake his in agreement. I watch his ocean eyes stare down at my hand, and then I see him glance back up to me, a grin on his lips.

“You’re drop-dead gorgeous Brianne, but I think that’s the best idea you’ve ever had.”

He shakes my hand. I see his eyes leave my face and follow a tall guy across the bar as he walks past us. I realize now that the way he looked at me before was not attraction but curiosity. The way he just eyed the guy that’s now past us… That was lust. Pure and obvious want.

“Are you gay?” I ask him, wondering if I just made a complete fool out of myself. Hitting on a gay guy? Really Brianne? Welcome to college, you idiot. Now he probably hates you and—

“Don’t sound so surprised. I like women and men. I’m bisexual, not an alien,” he laughs, and I sigh in relief.

“Oh, thank god. I thought I just hit on a gay guy. Which wouldn’t be a problem, but if I hit on you and there’s not even a single slight chance you might want to take me home then I totally just made a fool out of myself, you know? Sorry, that sounds dumb. I just didn’t want to embarrass myself, which I’m doing right now by yapping. I’m like… A certified yapper.”

He laughs as I continue to ramble.

“You definitely do talk a lot,” he tells me, and I press my lips together and shrug.

“Sorry,” I apologize, and he shakes his head slowly, now standing next to me, his back also to the bar top.

“I like it,” he tells me. I smile to myself. I like him.

“You know, you basically hit gold being a male cheerleader. You get to stare at hot football players, and cheerleaders all the time,” I tell him, and he holds his drink out to me. I clink mine to his.

“I’ll drink to that,” he chuckles and takes a long drink out of his glass.

My eyes bulge out of my head at the sight of another familiar face. I turn around, ducking my head closer to the bar. I close my eyes tight and cringe.

“Oh my god…” I whisper to myself. Adrian. No fucking way did he actually choose to come to SPU… He said he wasn’t and yet…

“What?” Dakota asks.

“Would you believe me if I said another one of my ex-boyfriends is walking this way?” I ask him, knowing how it might sound.

“If you just want to kiss me again that’s all you have to say. But we did just promise no more,” he jokes, and I look up at him from where I stand with a glare of mild annoyance. “Which one?” he asks, and I peek over my shoulder.

“Long black hair, man bun…” I tell him.

“You’re into man buns?” he asks me, and I shake my head.

“He didn’t have it when we dated. No, absolutely not,” I tell him.

“He’s walking this way,” Dakota tells me.

“Dakota, I don’t know you well enough yet to know if you’re fucking with me or if you’re so dead serious right now.”

“Absolutely as dead serious as I could be. He’s cute, even with the man bun,” There’s a smirk in his voice and I want to crawl under the bartop and risk whatever disease is lingering on this disgusting floor.

It would be worth it.

“If I jumped over the bar do you think they’d kick me out?” I ask him, and Dakota laughs.

“We said no more kissing, and I’ve never been a rule breaker,” he tells me, and I look at him.

“I’ve never been one to make rules,” I admit, with rising panic as time runs out.

I need better tactics but for now…

“Fine, pucker up.”

He brings me back into yet another kiss, and I still feel nothing, not even desire now that I know that there’s a clear line drawn between the two of us. But damn, whatever guy or girl he makes a move on is going to be in for a fucking treat. He breaks away first this time and presses another small kiss to my lips before fully moving back. He looks around and relaxes back against the bar.

“He darted quicker than expected but he’s gone,” Dakota tells me, and I smirk.

“I like you in a weird way… Like the way where we could be platonic soulmates or something,” I admit without dropping the lore about me and my lack of friendships in my life.

I’ve never been good at making connections with people. Not at bars unless they’re meant to be casual and very short-lived. I’m scared of making friends. I’m scared of having boyfriends, too, but they’re easier to come by. With him, though? The pull was instant. Whether that’s because I asked him to kiss me after two minutes of knowing him, or because we actually blend well, I guess I’ll figure out later.

“It’s pretty soon for you to be throwing the soulmate word around, I don’t even know your favorite color,” he tells me, and I laugh. “I like you too, I figured I would have to, or else these next few years would suck. We’re going to be the head bitches in a few years so it’s better this way, I think. Oh, and my favorite color is green,” he tells me, and I smile.

“So is mine,” I admit.

“Never going to beat these soulmate allegations,” he nudges me slightly and I smile with closed lips, not being able to hold it back.

“I guess not,” I laugh through my words.

“Now, tell me how many exes you have, and how many we might potentially run into before I have to kiss you a thousand more times,” he tells me.

“There’s Ryland who was the first one we saw tonight. I dated him for about six months. Then, you obviously saw Adrian. He was a year of my life. I had Jackson, he was cool, but he goes to college in Cali, so no chance of seeing him. There’s Kade, he was a loser, but he was really hot. He didn’t go to college, so no chance. Then, there was Ashton. He also goes to SPU. So… There’s one more, but he probably won't be here tonight. He plays hockey. Either way, there’s no way of us rekindling anything,” I explain.

“And what about that guy at the bonfire? The one we all saw you making heart eyes at?” he asks me.

I did sit next to Dakota at the bonfire. We didn’t speak much, to be very honest I was nervous which happens pretty often in social settings for me. The bonfire was… Oh god, it was a whirlwind.

I think about the exact moment Dakota is speaking of, replaying it on a loop. The beach bonfire was yesterday, it’s annual and happens every year for the new cheer and football teams to hang out before the season starts. Everyone who’s on both teams goes and brings their boyfriends and girlfriends which inevitably turns into a huge beach party.

We were all there, and one second things were fine, but the next a giant football player was crashing into me. A football player with perfect loose curly hair that flows and sits perfectly, even when it falls in his eyes. A football player that could have crushed me, but reacted so quickly that he wrapped his big arms, and hands around me, and took the brunt of our fall. I landed on his chest and locked eyes with him. Did I mention he has the prettiest hazel eyes? It was slow motion, and the way his eyes poured into me felt… Magical, almost. Like a Taylor Swift song. He Taylor Swift’d me and didn’t even know he did it. Then I realized we weren’t alone, and that he was most likely one of my brother's teammates, so I backed off as quickly as I could. I’ve been doing my best to try and pretend it didn’t happen. I’m failing though, especially when my teammate brings it up, reminding me again that every single person around saw it.

“Parker Thompson? No… not even a chance. He’s… He’s my brother's friend. They aren’t the same age, but that doesn’t matter. He’s off limits,” I tell him, diverting my eyes.

I don’t like talking about what happened at the bonfire because I can’t help but heat up when I do. That moment was straight from a movie which is exactly why it’s dumb. That would be me being a silly little girl and a hopeless romantic which I’m not and never have been. So I won’t be that here at SPU.

“Who’s your brother?” Dakota asks me.

“Bellamy Archer. He’s the quarterback on the football team,” I tell Dakota.

“Your brother is hot,” Dak tells me, and I chuckle.

“We have great genes, what can I say? He has hotter friends. You get used to it,” I tell him.

I’m immune to all my friends thinking my brother is hot. It’s inevitable.

“I don’t think I’d ever get used to him and his hot friends. Remember that platonic soulmate thing? How about you keep that in mind so we can sleep over at your place more often than not,” he jokes, and I scoff.

“You’d use me for my brother and his hot friends?” I ask.

“I would,” he clarifies, and we both burst into laughter.

“I cannot believe you.” I sip my drink, and he shrugs.

“I protect you from your five evil ex-boyfriends, you let me stare at your hot brother. I think it’s fair,” he explains.

“Deal, but Bellamy never finds out,” I tell Dak.

“Best idea ever.”

He slinks his arm over my shoulders, and I nestle into Dakota, finding it easy to talk to him. Laughter also comes easy, which is a plus. I have a habit of talking too much and scaring people away. But Dakota talks a lot too, more calm than me, but somehow matches my energy perfectly. I feel a warmth spread in my chest. School hasn’t even started and I’ve already made a friend. That’s more than I’ve ever been able to say before now.