2. Zander
CHAPTER 2
ZANDER
My senior year of high school starts next week, and I am pumped. Scouts from a few different colleges came to our games last year, and I caught their attention. If I can have the season of my life, then I’ll have offers coming in from all over the place. Brighton College seems interested, which is the closest to home. Mom’s got her fingers crossed for that one—I’ll only be thirty minutes out of town. Dad and I also sent highlight videos to a college in Texas, one in Colorado, and he made me send one to his alma mater—Kelsey University. I’m not totally opposed to going there, I guess. I just want to follow my own path, not be trailing in my father’s wake, but it’s not like I can say that to him.
At the end of the day, I just wanna play football, and I don’t really care where I do that…as long as I get plenty of time on the field. If I can shine at college, my ultimate dream of playing for the NFL could become a reality.
And that… would be fucking awesome.
I’m pretty fired up over that idea right now, which is why I nearly didn’t come to this party tonight.
But Noah wouldn’t shut up about it, so I agreed.
He had some good points, one of them being that Olivia Monroe’s the richest girl in school and her house is palatial. I went to a few parties last year at her old house and thought that was grand, but her family upgraded over the summer, and you don’t pass up a chance to see what luxury living looks like.
They even have rose-shaped soaps in the bathroom. Apparently. I haven’t gone yet, but that was one of the first things Noah did when he got here. Who knows what other rooms he checked out at the same time, but he came back looking all triumphant.
“What?” I asked him, but he just shook his head with sparkling eyes.
“This place is fucking awesome. Her parents must be so loaded.”
“I know, right?” Kyle breathed, his eyes bulging. “I swear her dad must shit money before breakfast every morning.”
Great, now I’m picturing Mr. Monroe taking a dump, his face straining as he pops out a roll of hundies.
“Classy,” I mutter.
“What?” Kyle laughs. “It’s true!”
I shake my head and move to the keg, pouring my friends a beer and handing them out until I’m left with one in my hand.
I sip the amber brew and remind my buddies that I can’t be out too late. Even though my parents are divorced, they still tell each other fucking everything when it comes to their kids. My dad is riding me hard this year, and I’d rather avoid another nuclear meltdown. The guy has a short fuse. I appreciate his commitment, wanting to get me into the best college possible, but it’s kind of suffocating. Thank God it’s my week with Mom. If I was staying at his place, he probably wouldn’t have let me go out tonight. I mean, he couldn’t have really stopped me, but sometimes it’s just easier to give in and avoid the drama.
“So, which chicks am I hitting on at this party?” Kyle scans the room, and I can’t help joining him, taking in boobs in pretty tank tops and faces enhanced with perfectly applied makeup. The kinds of girls who attend these parties go all out. Who knows how many hours they spent preening before they got here, but I’m not complaining.
My eyes track past Giselle, then over to Amanda before she moves out of the way and I’m staring at a blonde goddess I don’t even recognize.
The air in my lungs turns soft and wispy as I drink her in.
She’s got a stunning smile, her blue eyes sparkling as she grins at Olivia, then takes another sip of beer. She’s wearing a skintight miniskirt with this pale pink tank top that shows off her belly button and toned stomach.
Holy shit, she’s fire.
“Who is that?” I end up whispering the words and no doubt sounding like a love-drunk moron.
“Who?” Noah leans in, trying to follow my line of sight.
“The blonde with the killer tits?” Kyle asks.
“Yeah.” I bob my head but frown at him. “Stop looking at her tits, man.”
“It’s hard not to. Look at them all snugged up in that top. Damn, I’d love to peel that thing right off her body and?—”
I slap his chest with the back of my hand and growl, “Stop talking.”
Noah laughs and cuts in. “I’ve seen her around this summer, but I can’t remember her name. She’s friends with Olivia.”
“How have I not seen her?” Because I can’t take my eyes off her right now, and I would remember a face that beautiful. “Does she go to our school?”
“Yeah, she will be. She starts next week. Junior, I think,” Kyle tells me.
“What’s her name?” Noah mutters.
“I think it’s a mountain range, isn’t it?”
“What?” I turn to look at Kyle.
“I’m serious. It’s like Andes or something.”
“It’s not Andes,” Noah scoffs, lightly whacking Kyle’s head. “It’s like Sarah or something.”
“No, it’s not,” Kyle argues, rubbing his head before landing a punch on Noah’s arm. “It’s like Sierra or something. That’s a mountain range, right?”
Noah rolls his eyes. “Her name is not a mountain range, you moron.”
Ignoring my idiot friends, I snag Jayne’s arm as she walks past. “Hey, who’s the new girl?” I lift my chin toward the blonde beauty.
She glances over her shoulder, then gives me a knowing smirk. “Pretty, isn’t she?”
I give her a “well, duh” look, and she cracks up laughing. “Her name’s Sienna, Romeo.” With a little wink, she glides past us, and Kyle starts looking all triumphant.
“See, I told you it was a mountain range.”
I give Noah a quizzical frown before we both turn to Kyle.
“What?” He glances between us like we’re the idiots.
With a soft snicker, I shake my head, and Noah mutters, “Yeah, want to point out the Sienna Ranges to me on a map, genius?”
Kyle glares at us both, pulling out his phone and getting all huffy and indignant. “I’ll prove it, you little fuckers.” We wait for his thumbs to fly over the screen before he stills, goes kind of red, and then shoves his phone back into his pocket. “I hate you both,” he murmurs, and I can’t help snorting out a laugh while Noah cracks up and slaps him on the back.
“Next time, buddy. I’m sure you’ll be right once in your life.”
Kyle growls in his throat, then gulps down a few more mouthfuls of beer while Noah tries and fails to stop laughing.
I’ve managed because my focus is now back on Sienna.
Sienna.
Pretty name.
Perfect for a girl like her. It’s got this foreign, kind of elusive quality to it, and it seems to sum her up somehow.
I don’t know where she comes from or if she has an accent or… anything about her.
I just know I have to talk to her, and standing around laughing at what a clueless douche Kyle is won’t help me do that.
Downing the last of my Solo cup, I hand it to Noah and softly murmur, “I’m going in.”
He snickers. “Good luck, lover boy.”
I walk away from their hassles. I’m not usually the guy who goes and chats up a girl. They tend to come to me. I’m not being arrogant—it’s just the way it is.
I’m no party animal or ladies’ man, but being the star quarterback on our school team gives me status, and for some reason, girls think I’m cool. I try to be nice to them when they talk to me. I smile and laugh the way I know I should, but with football and studying, it’s not like I have time to date and mess around. So I tend to keep things light, and girls get annoyed with me, calling me aloof and arrogant.
I don’t give a shit what they think about me. Football’s my life. Nothing else matters.
But I might just make an exception tonight…
As I weave through the crowd, my insides jitter with fiery anticipation. There’s something kind of thrilling about making the first move.
I can’t go screwing this up.
Because of all the girls I’ve ever seen or met, this one is special. I can already tell. Something inside me is calling, like a voice buried deep within that’s just been waiting for this moment.
I’m three steps away when she glances up and sees me coming.
Her blue eyes are so vibrant, and they round just a little when they spot me. Her glossy lips part, her pale skin flushing pink seconds before I stop right in front of her.
“Hey.” I smile, my mouth tipping up at the corner.
Shit, is my smile cool enough, or do I look like a dork?
I clear my throat, shoving my hands into my letterman jacket pockets and hoping she’s into athletes.
She’s still staring at me, her cheeks turning even redder.
“I haven’t seen you around before. You’re new, right?” I lean forward, aware of the excited gazes all around me. The girls are being so fucking obvious as they watch me make my move.
“I’m Zander. Zander Donahue.”
She doesn’t need your last name, you douche!
“And you’re Sienna, right?”
She nods, finally entering the conversation. I grin, leaning a little closer as she opens her mouth…
And throws up all over me.